Temple Football Forever

This picture is worth a thousand words

2009-12-07T20:05:00.020-05:00

Click on above logo to order tickets through Temple.

Owls and Brian Sanford rejoice in one of the two greatest photos ever (the other is below).
Owlsports.com photo

Photo courtesy Philadelphia Newspapers, LLC

There's a saying way older than I am that pretty much describes what happened yesterday at the Liacouras Center.

A picture is worth a thousand words.

That might come from an old Chinese Proverb, although some internet sources dispute it.

While on the subject of a picture being worth a thousand words, UCLA will bring its cheerleaders and band to D.C., unless (wink, wink) Army beats Navy.

Until yesterday, I didn't think much of the phrase.

"Yeah, right," I always said. "The Chinese guy who wrote that never read a Gary Smith story in Sports Illustrated or never enjoyed morning coffee over a Bill Lyon column in the 1980s or never heard the beautiful word pictures as described by Vin Scully or Harry Kalas."

Then I saw the photo in today's Daily News by Charles Fox and that changed my mind.

That photo, which is credited to Philadelphia Newspapers, LLC and appears above this story, says it all.

The sheer joy on the faces of the wonderful kids who play football for Temple University is genuine and spontaneous and cannot be conveyed by mere words.

So I publish it here instead with a plea.

Nobody took a photo of us in the parking lot during that 2005 game against Miami, but it would have been a lot uglier than that beautiful shot. There were less than 10 of us left tailgating in the rain but, before we even heard about Al Golden, we had a dream that someone, someday would come and lead us back to a bowl game.

That day and that someone has come.

That's why it's important that all 21,046 of you who showed up for the last home game against Kent State purchase tickets for this "home" game in D.C.

All of you and, hopefully, 21,000 more on top of that.

For maximum impact, please purchase your tickets through Temple University by clicking on the logo above. By buying through Temple, the university will be able to show future bowls that this fan base will travel and have concrete figures to back it up.

Please buy as many as you can and give to those who can make the short trip down I-95 and cheer on these great kids. Or you can wait until Monday morning at 10 a.m. and walk up to the Liacouras Center ticket window. The best seats are on the Temple (South) side 200, 300, 400 and 500 levels. Don't buy the obstructed 100-level seats.

But buy them through Temple and don't procrastinate like thousands of folks did only to be caught waiting in long lines at the ticket windows at the last home game.

Take it to the (Eagle) Bank: Temple vs. UCLA

2009-12-06T22:33:00.028-05:00

Eagle Bank Bowl pits Rick Neuheisel (left) against Owl Golden.
Usually, these bowl announcement shows are nothing more than a glorified version of College Gameday, ESPN's weekly pre-game show.
That's pretty much what I expected when I walked into the lobby of the Liacouras Center Sunday night.
That's what I got until there were about 15 minutes left in the show.
I certainly didn't expect to be pumping my fist and screaming, "Wow!" but that's what I found myself doing when Temple scrolled across the bottom of the screen.
... Eagle Bank Bowl ... Temple will be playing either UCLA or Army ....

Wow indeed.
The place erupted.
There were hugs, fist pumps and a very loud "Let's Go Temple" chant roared through the overpacked room. Suffice it to say there were more people in that lobby than attended Villanova's FCS quarterfinal football playoff game on the Main Line Saturday.(Good thing the Fire Marshal wasn't on Temple's campus Sunday night.)
A lot of people weren't expecting the message on that scroll.
"Remember, we have to root for Navy now," my friend, Fred, said.
I looked at him like he was just released from Byberry (that was a mental hospital from the old days for our younger readers).
"What does Navy have to do to beat Army?"
"Show up," I said.
Forget Army. I'm taking Navy and laying large coin on the Mids covering the 15 and I fully expect to collect in the RFK Stadium parking lot come Dec. 29.
I've seen both teams this year. Army's not getting closer than three touchdowns to Navy, so we're looking at playing UCLA.
It's not perfect, but it's the next-best thing and it beats the hell out of what could have happened.
Even though Temple didn't win the MAC East, it certainly got a more attractive bowl than MAC East champion Ohio. The Bobcats are playing Marshall.
That could have been a very dreary late Tuesday afternoon in Washington, D.C., Temple vs. Marshall. Owl fans would have had to hold their nose and down the Prune Juice with that matchup.
Temple-UCLA has a whole lot of juice to it and the good-tasting kind, especially with the news yesterday that The Franchise (Bernard Pierce) was healthy and back practicing with the team.
I'm liking the symmetry here:

Thirty years ago, the Owls had to beat a PAC-10 team (California) to get to 10 wins and they did.
Now the Owls can get to 10 wins by beating a PAC-10 team.
Thirty years ago there were all sorts of dire predictions that Temple wouldn't travel well to the Meadowlands, yet the Owls drew the largest crowd (55,245) in the four-year history of the Garden State Bowl. Trust me, there were no Cal fans there;
D.C. is, like the Meadowlands, an easy drive from Temple Town;
Temple had exploratory talks with UCLA coach Rick Neuheisel about its head coaching job in 2005. Neuheisel had all kinds of demands Temple was unwilling to meet, so the Owls looked elsewhere and found Al Golden.
Two years later, Golden interviewed for the UCLA job that Neuheisel got.

So there are all kinds of interesting subplots here.
I will admit, the thought of putting it to the Big East and having that conference fester over a bowl loss to Temple appealed to me but that revenge motive can be taken care of next September when the Owls face UConn.

I think the possibility is there for a 10K to 20K Temple showing but it must be talked up in every workplace where there is a Temple alumnus and every corner of the Temple campus

It's not playing a former Big East foe in Toronto, but that wouldn't have worked for Temple because it would have given a lazy fan base an out for not attending.
Now there is no out.
Temple must get a good portion of its 260,000 alumni and 33,000 full-time students on board for this trip and show the nation the potential of Temple and its fans to respond.
I think the possibility is there for a 10K to 20K Temple showing but it must be talked up in every workplace where there is a Temple alumnus and every corner of the Temple campus.
It must be the main topic of conversation at 15th and Montgomery and at 13th and Norris as well as 11th and Diamond.
Three weeks to do it.
It can be done.
It must be done.

CBS Sports pulls plug on Temple-Notre Dame matchup

2009-12-03T00:00:00.021-05:00

Well, it was nice while it lasted _ approximately 12 hours.
Yesterday, CBS Sportsline updated its latest bowl projections to put Temple in Mobile, Ala., playing against Notre Dame in the GMAC Bowl.
Around noon today, the guys there revised their predictions to put Temple in the same bowl we told you they were going last Saturday, the International Bowl in Toronto.

GMAC BOWL: Temple vs. UConn (ESPN2).
Who knows where tomorrow's revision will have the Owls headed, but my money is on Washington, D.C.
Seems to be they made a dartboard, put the bowls on the wall and the teams on darts and threw them and projected wherever the darts stuck.
I guess these guys didn't know two things:
1) The GMAC has told the MAC it wants Central Michigan;
2) Notre Dame's players voted not to play in a bowl.
Nice pick, though, and a way for Owl fans to get excited.
Now don't get too hung up on No. 1 or No. 2.
1) The MAC is flexible.
2) The Notre Dame administration has said it, not the players, will decide who plays where.
All of us should be very excited today and not because we had a chance to go to Mobile to play Notre Dame.

"Expert' Bowl Projections:

CBS Sportsline.com:
International: Temple vs USF

The Rivalry, Esq. :

GMAC: Temple vs UL-Monroe

Saturday Sound-Offs:

International Bowl: Rutgers vs. Temple

ESPN's Graham Watson:

International Bowl: Temple vs. Big East

ESPN's Mark Schlabach:

Little Caesars Pizza Bowl: Temple vs Louisiana-Monroe

ESPN's Bruce Feldman:

International: West Virginia vs Temple

Sporting News' Dave Curtis:

Eagle Bank Bowl: Temple vs. Marshall

SI's Stewart Mandel:

International: USF vs Temple

Rivals :

International: Rutgers vs Temple

We're looking at two likely bowls, one that would pit Temple against (probably) a hated Big East foe in another country and one that would give 10,000 of the Owls' very fragile fan base a chance to get off their asses and into a car for a two-hour drive down I-95 to see something they haven't seen in their lifetimes.
Or at least in 30 years.
The Owls in a bowl game.
Playing Notre Dame in a warm-weather climate adds another level to that excitement, I admit, even though it's probably not coming to pass.
I want the opponent to be as high a profile one as any.
I also want to beat said opponent.
What you put your money on Al Golden and Mark D'Onofrio (and maybe Bernard Pierce) against someone from Charlie Weis' staff?
I would.
Don't put your hopes on that trip.
Yet.
The Owls are in a bowl and that's reason enough for me to be happy. Whatever the bowl is, I want them to win it and open some national eyes in the process.
No bitching allowed.
At least not this year.

Bowl Selection Party: 7:30 p.m. Sunday at the LC

2009-12-02T11:28:00.011-05:00

Word comes today via Al Golden that Temple is holding a bowl selection announcement party at the Liacouras Center on Sunday, Dec. 6, at 7:30 p.m.
Hopefully, guys like Bobby Bernardo will be able to make it.

BERNDT: NO BOWL, BUT STILL REASON TO FEEL PROUD
Nov 23, 1990
By Mike Kern, Daily News Sports Writer
No, Temple (6-4) is not going to a bowl
for the first time since 1979, now
that the Independence Bowl has decided to take Louisiana Tech (8-3)and surprise
late entry Maryland (6-5).
And, yes, second-year coach Jerry Berndt is obviously disappointed.
But, no, he is not discouraged.
If the Owls can win at Boston College(4-6) tomorrow afternoon, it would be
the first time in 11 years they won more than six games.
"That's something to be proud of," Berndt said late last night."There's no
question, we felt we had a legitimate shot (at the bowl). And we did. Then, all
of a sudden, Maryland comes out of nowhere. But sometimes, you just don't know
what's going on behind the scenes. "
The Independence Bowl settled on Louisiana Tech and Maryland for the Dec.
15 game in Shreveport, La., after Baylor announced Wednesday night that it
was withdrawing from consideration.
The Bears, who remain in therunning for the Southwest Conference title and
a berth in the CottonBowl, had been under pressure from the Independence to make
a commitment.
"It's unfortunate they (the Independence committee) made the decision
when they did, without giving us a chance to participate Saturday," Berndt said.
But I feel pleased for (Maryland coach) Joe Krivak. And they did upset Virginia.
We've had one of those miracle kind of seasons(after going 1-10 in 1989), and it
would have been a great reward. Butas I told the squad today, it's something we
have no control over. We can't let it affect us.
"They were down. But we had a good practice. I hope we'll use that as
a little more incentive. The fact that we were even considered shows some
respect for what we've done. It's a credit to the players and the staff to
even be considered. It's a real privilege and an honor, particularly coming off
of the season we had last year."

Bernardo was a linebacker on the last Temple team to win 10 games in a row and, in 1973, he was a sophomore starting linebacker when the Owls won eight-straight games.
He took time out to recall those years when a guest on the Bob Rovner radio program on Saturday.
"We were supposed to go to the Tangerine Bowl," Bernardo said, "but that was the year of the gas shortage and they were worried about their being enough gas for the fans on cars and planes and they picked Florida State instead. There were only about eight bowls in those days.
"We were 9-1. Florida State was 5-5, but they were closer so they were picked."
Such is the history of Temple's near-misses in bowl games.
In 1990, the 7-4 Owls were one of six teams wooed by the Poulan Weed-Eater Independence Bowl but they picked a 6-5 Maryland team instead.
"They (the Poulan Weed-Eaters) made the mistake, we didn't," quarterback Matty Baker said.
The Owls are looking at two primary options right now.
1) They have a good shot of taking the ACC's unoccupied spot in the Eagle Bank Bowl in Washington, D.C.
2) They are a lock for the International Bowl in Toronto if they don't.
If I had to handicap it right now, I would say 60 percent chance for Eagle Bank and 40 percent chance for Toronto.
Or maybe 55 percent chance for Eagle Bank and 40 percent chance for International with a five percent chance of shocking the world and ending up in Detroit vs. someone like Middle Tennessee (didn't we already beat them in the Bobby Wallace days?). And maybe a five percent chance of going to a bowl like the Hummanitarian in Boise.
The party will be for this wonderful team that won nine straight, but it will also be for guys like Bobby Bernardo, too.
"Ever since I can remember, my dad (Bill, the former Northeast High coach) was taking me to Temple games," Bobby said. "That since 1957. I've been going all these years and I can't tell you how wonderful it's been to go to the games this season."
Bernardo was on one of about five Wayne Hardin squads which deserved to go to bowl games, but never did.
College football has never been about getting the best teams in bowls, but bringing the teams with the most fans. That's why the cycle of the same teams being good all the time has been perpetuated ad naseum.
Other teams deserve a shot to be good, too, and get rewards like bowl games.
Temple did its part to break that corrupt cycle this year and now awaits its reward.
The Owls won't be screwed out this time and that's one of the advantages of being in a conference.
Party on, Wayne's boys.

Temple could try to get to D.C. the long way

2009-11-30T15:05:00.014-05:00

Is Temple headed to the Eagle Bank Bowl through Toronto?
It's not a straight shot down I-95, but the long way could be the only way for Temple to get what to many of its fans is the more preferable bowl venue.
Right now, it looks as if the only way Temple gets a slot in the Eagle Bank Bowl in Washington, D.C. is if the Owls take Army's slot.
That leaves them holding the bag without a bowl if Army pulls off the improbable upset of Navy on Dec. 12 _ one week after bowl bids are officially extended.
After 30 years of going without a bowl bid, Temple is just not willing to take that chance so that's why many are speculating that the Owls will be going to Canada to take the MAC's spot in the International Bowl.
There is a roundabout way of getting to D.C., though.
Something tells me it makes a whole lot of sense for Temple athletic director Bill Bradshaw to be working on a three-way deal with either Northern Illinois or Bowling Green, getting one of those seven-win teams to accept the risk for a nine-win team.
Bradshaw is getting on a conference call with Mid-American honchos today at 3:30 p.m.
The subject on the table is bowl scenarios.
Bradshaw (to either Northern Illinois or Bowling Green): "Work with us, here."
NIU/BG: "How?"
"One of you go to Toronto if Navy wins (lead-pipe cinch) and we go to D.C. However, if Navy loses, one of you is out and we'll go to Toronto. Who wants in on this with us?"
It's a win/win for everbody because Navy isn't losing, folks.
Temple gets an attractive foe, possibly East Carolina in a best-case scenario, and brings a large fan base to D.C.
Northern Illinois or Bowling Green gets the shorter trip to Canada and assumes only a slight risk.
When the bids are announced, they'll be announced on an either/or basis.
If Bradshaw pulls this off, he's a genius.
We'll see.
Let the dialing begin.

LOS ANGELES TIMES TOP 25

Temple football asked to leave the country

2009-11-28T20:14:00.022-05:00

By Mike Gibson
It seems there aren't a whole lot of people out there who can deal with any success Temple football has.
A few weeks after Temple beat then fellow Big East conference member Rutgers for the fourth-straight season, the Owls were asked to leave the Big East for being "non-competitive."
Conveniently, Rutgers being non-competitive with the non-competitive team wasn't an issue then.
Now, after the first season in which Temple won nine straight games in its history, the Owls are being asked to leave the country.
Don't worry.
This time, unlike the last, it's a good thing, not a bad one.
Temple athletic director Bill Bradshaw appeared late Saturday afternoon on the Bob Rovner radio program on a Philadelphia station for a two-hour guest stint (WWDB-AM) and much of the talk centered on Temple football.
In it, he hinted strongly that Temple will be asked to leave the country only because it will be extended an offer to the International Bowl in Canada shortly.

Bill Cosby talks Temple football with John Kincade on ESPN radio (97.5 in Philly) Sunday morning, Nov. 29th at exactly 9:25.

The delicious irony in this:
One of the three possible opponents Bradshaw mentioned was Rutgers.
(The other two were South Florida and West Virginia.)
"You might think WIP and 950 are the sports radio stations in town, but we talk more Temple sports here on my show than anywhere else," said Rovner, a former state senator and Temple grad.
Although the show is ostensibly a political one, Rovner wasn't kidding. Co-host Frank Rizzo Jr. was away, so Rovner got to play sports talk show host for a day.
The show talked Temple sports, mostly football, for two hours.
Bob Bernardo, a former Owl linebacker who played for the last Temple team to win nine in a row, was a call-in guest.
The meat of the show centered on bowl scenarios.
Bradshaw also hinted (strongly) that the university might be forced to turn down an Eagle Bank Bowl Invitation for that International Bowl berth.
He speculated that Central Michigan would go to the GMAC in Mobile and Ohio to the Little Caesars Bowl in Detroit, leaving Toronto and a Big East foe on the table for the Owls.
There was another option, he said.
He noted the Eagle Bank Bowl was tricky because it would be the last invitation extended and it would be contingent upon Navy beating Army.
But that Army-Navy game is set for Dec. 12, a week after all the bowls are offered.
Should Army pull off the unlikely upset, the team accepting that contingency bid would be left outside of the bowl picture.
That's why Temple is likely to accept a bowl invitation, probably Toronto, when the initial offers are extended on Dec. 6.
"We might have that kind of choice," he said. "I should know more around 3:30 on Monday afternoon after we have a conference call with the MAC."
The Eagle Bank Bowl would be tempting in that considerably more Owl fans would be able to make the trip.
Despite forecasts to the contrary in 1979, Temple traveled very well to its last bowl game, drawing over 55,000 its 28-17 win over California in the second Garden State Bowl.
Temple could travel very well to D.C., not nearly as well to Toronto.
The allure of Toronto, though, could be playing a team from a conference that kicked the Owls out.
The interview between Rovner and Bradshaw will be rebroadcast on WWDB in one week.
By then, though, the Owls and their fans will probably be applying for passports.

Owl Golden is going nowhere and here's why ...

2009-11-27T15:25:00.021-05:00

By Mike Gibson
After Temple's 35-17 loss to Ohio in what was the MAC East Championship game, I've reached one inescapable conclusion:
Al Golden is going nowhere.
Or make that Owl Golden.
Let's get this out of the way first: Owl Golden did a fantastic job as head coach at Temple in 2009, the best job since Bruce Arians went 6-5 against the No. 10-ranked schedule in the country back in 1986.
Let's have a little perspective, though. Arians did it against the 10th-best schedule. Golden did it against the 112th best schedule (out of 119).
Golden's work was much more impressive than Jerry Berndt's seven-win season in 1990, but slightly short of Arians' two six-win seasons against a couple of suicide schedules.
From a pure football coaching standpoint, to me, six wins against the 10th-best schedule in the country is a little more impressive than nine wins against a No. 112 schedule.
No doubt, though, Golden has proven he is the best man for the job.
He's had a lot more to do than being a full-time football coach. He's had to be a full-time babysitter, a full-time disciplinarian and a full-time public relations' man. That's just for starters. He's done much more than his job description for the university and the institution can't thank him or compensate him enough.
From academics to community involvement to character issues, he righted a ship that was listing badly and about to go down.
It's a Herculean effort even Arians could not have mustered.
But there is much more to be done and my hunch is that Golden will stay to do it.
He sweat a lot of blood and tears building this program and now that it's built and all he has to do is coach, does he want to wear all those hats and sweat all that blood again for four more years?
I think not.
Golden won't leave for another reclamation project and, other than Cincinnati or Notre Dame, every single offer he gets will involve years of building again.
Nothing Owl Golden has said has convinced me he'll be around for the 2010 season.
It's what he's done.
Or not done in this case.
All season long, I've gotten multiple reports from reliable sources both inside and outside the program that Chris Coyer was ... by far ... the best quarterback on team.
He was making the most plays in practice every day.
He was turning the most heads.
Yet he wasn't on the field.
Think about it.
I've said for 12 months between the end of last season and now, the only thing that separated Temple from a contender and a champion was the lack of a playmaking quarterback.
I urged the Owls to go get one, even going as far as pleading for Al to sign a big-time JUCO quarterback in the mold of Adam DiMichele.
That the Owls have won nine games without a playmaking quarterback is a tribute to Owl Golden and Matt Rhule.
They got this far on two "game managers" in Vaughn Charlton and Chester Stewart.
Neither one of them can be describe as a playmaker, someone who can win the game on his own, ala Adam DiMichele vs. Eastern Michigan last season.
If Owl Golden cared about himself more than he cared about the program, he would have burned the Chris Coyer redshirt at about the time Chester Stewart succeeded Vaughn Charlton as the Owls' starting quarterback.
What would he have cared if Temple only had three Coyer years left?
He sent a very loud message that he cared very much by protecting the redshirt.
We've all seen the chasm between Stewart and Charlton since.
It is large and it is stark.
That's about the difference between Coyer and Stewart.
You don't need me to tell you about it.
Coyer will win the starting quarterback's job in a three-way battle in spring ball.
Remember, if it happens, you read it here first.
In between now and then, Temple will make it to a bowl game.
It's a lock not because of what I write here but because of the NCAA rule that states you cannot take an eight-win team ahead of a nine-win team for an at-large bowl berth.
That's why the Owls will report to practice on Monday knowing they have another game left to play. They will complement perhaps the best running back in the nation next year, Bernard Pierce, with a playmaking quarterback in Chris Coyer.
With a solid defense in place back, that's an impossible formula to beat.
That's why Owl Golden will report to work the offseason on North Broad Street, knowing that the Owls will be better equipped to shock the world next year, not this one.
Then he can have his choice of moves, should he chose to go anywhere.

Black Friday Game Plan

2009-11-24T23:47:00.031-05:00

Owl Golden explains why he sang Zombie Nation in video above.

John Haley

For the MAC East
Day: Friday
Time: 11 a.m.
Place: Athens, Ohio
TV: ESPNU
Radio: WHAT 1340

By Mike Gibson
There are three ways to watch the Temple at Ohio game for the MAC East title.
One, the most preferable from my point of view, is to be there in Athens, Ohio, giving support the Temple team playing perhaps the most important game in school history.
That might prove problematic for a great majority of Owl fans who have neither the cash nor the time to get there and back. For example, the cheapest fare we could find was $577 roundtrip. You have to have some pretty steep pockets for that kind of coin.
I don't count myself among that group, unfortunately, and that leaves options Nos. 2 and 3.
So I have to settle for a different Black Friday Game Plan.
(All I'll say about the real game plan is this: Rush the quarterback relentlessly (blitz, you can count on John Haley in a big spot) on defense to force turnovers and use the run to set up the play-action pass on offense, spreading the big plays around evenly to Delano Green, Evan Rodriguez, Joey Jones, Matt Brown, Michael Campbell, James Nixon and Jason Harper. Do that and Frank Solich's head will be spinning like Linda Blair's in the Exorcist. It's that simple, but I trust Al Golden, Matt Rhule and Mark D'Onofrio have already figured that out.)

Chester Stewart has more weapons than the NYPD's swat team.
Photo by Ryan Porter

The "real" game plan:
All I'll say about the real game plan is this: Rush the quarterback relentlessly (blitz, if necessary) on defense to force turnovers and use the run to set up the play-action pass on offense, spreading the big plays around evenly to Delano Green, Evan Rodriguez, Joey Jones, Matt Brown, Michael Campbell, James Nixon and Jason Harper. Do that and Frank Solich's head will be spinning like Linda Blair's in the Exorcist. It's that simple, but I trust Al Golden, Matt Rhule and Mark D'Onofrio have already figured that out

So that's the game plan for the team in a TFF nutshell. I'll expand on the game plan for us fans below.
I thought about watching from home, but pacing the floor and screaming at the television alone is not my idea of having fun.
So I'm leaning toward the third and final option:
Finding a place to hopefully celebrate the Owls' first football championship of any kind in my lifetime with my fellow Owl fans.
Ideally, the best place would be on campus but that's shut down tighter than a drum when the kids are on break.
Fortunately, there are plenty of Temple-friendly establishments around where you can find Temple people at 11 a.m. on a Friday morning.
Forget shopping on Black Friday.
I'm spending a large chunk of it Owl-watching.
I'm leaning toward one these establishments:
FOX AND HOUND, Center City _ Plenty of TVs, cheap beer, good food and a real good shot at getting the professionals who work around that intersection to leave work early and catch a long lunch hour. A large room for plenty of fans.
KELLIANN'S, 16th and Spring Garden _ Without question, the best quality 56-inch HDTV I've ever seen and the bartender, Scott, is a good guy who will put the sound up for you if you ask nicely. There's a Temple helmet in the corner of the room. Only drawback is that it's the world's smallest men's room. (I haven't been in the women's room, but I don't think that's much larger.)
APPLEBEE'S (Roxborough) _ It opens at 11 a.m., so it opens just in time for kickoff. The bartender, Maureen (Mo), has a son who goes to Temple, so she's very Temple-friendly and good at her job as well. Get the Oriental Chicken Salad. I highly recommend it.
WINNER'S CIRCLE (Exton) _ A hangout for Temple fans in that area of Southeastern Pennsylvania, it comes highly recommended. I haven't been in there, but I've heard lots of Temple fans go there.
CALLOWAY's (Huntingdon Valley) _ Also superb TVs, good bargain on the beer and the best Caesar Chicken Salad you'll ever have. A lot of good sports fans who know their stuff in that bar.
Those are my picks.
I'd like to hear some of yours in the comment section below.
I'll follow the biggest Owl crowd.

Can we finally put this attendance thing to rest?

2009-11-23T14:30:00.010-05:00

A crowd of 21,046 watches Kee-Ayre Griffin (above) and James Nixon (below).
Photos by Ryan Porter

If you haven't seen it, I direct your attention to Mike Jensen's fabulous piece in Sunday's Philadelphia Inquirer on Temple's wonderful long-time football fans.
I've said this for years and not just because he's a colleague of mine and a good guy, Mike Jensen is the best college writer in this town and he has been for years.
He's really really a terrific wordsmith, a craftsman whose effort is to be admired the way you'd look at a beautiful painting.

Bill Bradshaw's answer to my question
Mike.....although in the Franklin field and Vet days, Temple(I'm told)
use to eyeball the crowd and throw out a number, we've come a long way
in announcing accurate #'s for attendance.
As you know, there is the
actual # at the game, sold tickets, people in suites that
sportswriters don't see, people who stay at a tailgate(with a paid
ticket), comp tickets, and hundreds of fans, at any one time in the
hallways,concession stands and lavatories.
For a sportswriter who
comes to one game, and says the crowd is slightly less than what was
announced, I would question his "eyeball count", since we have the
real data that supports our #, and he does not, nor did he ask us for
it.
And for him to suggest that, because Temple always embellished
attendance, as a rationale for his conclusion, is quite frustrating to
all of us. Its when you always announce the same crowd, with eyeball
evidence to the contrary, that someone should be suspicious of your #.
As you know, we've announced much less in attendance for other games
this year, but we did not think anyone would question yesterday's #,
at least those who had attended other games
......hope this
helps.....BB

After reading "Temple of Boom" _ a terrific headline, by the way, played off a quote in the story about the bemoaning of 'Temple of Doom' headlines _ I looked at Jensen's Mona Lisa and saw a scratch mark.
I felt as though I had eaten a terrific Applebee's Oriental Chicken Salad and gotten indigestion afterward after staring at the scratch mark in the Mona Lisa.
This line bothered me:
The announced attendance of 21,046 seemed slightly high - maybe old habits die hard.
Geez, I thought, when will this shit ever stop?
First of all, Temple hasn't "made up" attendance figures since the old Al Shrier days at Temple Stadium.
A writer would eyeball the crowd, and turn to look at Shrier, who was always standing with his briefcase in hand, behind the back of the press box.
"How many would you say are here, Al?" the guy would ask.
"Ten thousand," Shrier would say.
Then that figure would appear next at the bottom of the box score.
A-10,000.

The MAC: Week 12

Central Michigan 35 @ Ball State 3 -- Att: 5,736

Buffalo 42 @ Miami 17 -- Att: 7,983

Bowling Green 36 @ Akron 20 -- Att: 9,163

Toledo 47 @ Eastern Michigan 21 -- Att: 9,967

NIU 31 @ Ohio 38 -- Att: 14,756

Kent State 13 @ Temple 47 -- Att: 21,046
Source: Supertaco, scout.com (thanks, ST)

The next week the same routine would happen and the same figure would appear under the boxscore.
It hasn't been that way since the day of the scanner and they've had them since the stadium was opened in 2003.
My ticket is scanned, your ticket is scanned and that goes into a computer.
The figure generated by the computer, not the Temple AD or SID, is used at the bottom of the boxscore.
Nobody's hacking into the computer.
There's no conspiracy theory.
Bill Bradshaw isn't running up to the press box and making his guy change the numbers.
It's just not happening.
I asked Bradshaw how this figure was generated yesterday and his response is posted here.
I ran into a few folks in the parking lot postgame and I mentioned I thought the crowd was "about 25,000." One guy said 27,000. Another guy said 26,000. Another guy said 23,000. My friend, Mark, said he didn't know what the crowd was but it "wasn't (as high as) 25,000."
Nobody said as low as 21,046 and none of them were named Al Shrier.
To me, after 30 years of losing, eight straight games isn't going to full the house.
That's just not realistic to expect.
But Saturday was a HUGE step in the right direction and I was very impressed with our fans and it only bodes well for future attendance.
It takes time to lose a fan base and it will take time to rebuild one.

A big day for Owls and their fans

2009-11-22T08:39:00.010-05:00

The sheer joy on fans' faces is evident after AR's INT.
Photo by Ryan Porter

A wall of Cherry and White watches Matt Brown run.
Owlsports.com photo

Plenty of credit to be passed around at Lincoln Financial Field yesterday.
First off, I can't say enough about the fans.
At least 21,000 showed up. I thought the actual figure was closer to 25K.
They were loud, proud and wore cherry (and some white).
It takes awhile to lose a fan base, like 30 years, so it's going to take awhile to build one but Lot K was full two hours before the game and there was a long line at the ticket windows when I walked into the stadium a few minutes prior to kickoff.
"YO, ADRIAN" _ Happy Birthday to Adrian Robinson. On his 20th birthday, AR got the play of his life, rushing the quarterback, getting a near sack, then doing one better by tipping the ball and picking off a pass. Then he showed some good old running back skills in moving the field position by about 30 on the plus side.
"NO FAIR CATCHES, DELANO" _ That's what I always yell from the stands at Delano on every enemy punt. I do that for a reason. He's a one-man terrific offensive play. He proved me right yesterday. Twice.
HALFTIME ADJUSTMENTS _ Al Golden said that's the most overrated notion in football. Yet I've got to like the fact that Temple was unscored upon in the second half the last two weeks in the second half and finished the last two games 49-0 and 38-0. So I like the halftime adjustments Mark D'Onofrio makes. Notice what happens when you rush the passer.
ESPN HELMET STICKER _ Believe it or not, they gave one to Travis Shelton, even though he's been gone from the program for awhile. That guy running the ball wearing No. 22 only looked like Travis. Gotta wonder if ESPN.com has copy editors.
GREAT JOB BY THE BAND _ I usually spend the halftimes in the hallways behind the concessions. I had to stay in my seat yesterday because people have been telling me how great the band has been all season. Geez, they were right. Great job and I loved the "Don't Stop Believing" Theme.
ALL THE MARBLES _ Temple is facing a one-game, winner-take-all, shot for a trip to Detroit and a chance to carry the MAC Trophy around the field on what would be one delicious victory lap. That's what this game at Ohio, 11 a.m. Friday, is for. A lot of guys never get this opportunity. Let's hope the Owls make the most out of theirs.

Last week's Los Angeles Times' Top 25:

Bradshaw: 'Most important Temple home game in 30 years'

2009-11-18T23:43:00.012-05:00

A good way to send the team off would be for a crowd like this.
The sun is setting on the Owls' home season on Saturday afternoon.
By the time it goes down, if the team plays like (focused) crazed men and takes care of business against Kent State, the Owls could be celebrating a MAC East championship on the field.
A home season which kicked off in the sunset of a late-summer night against Villanova (see photo above) will end pretty close to sunset on a late November Saturday afternoon.
A terrific, fitting (and really only) way to send these exceptional young men off would be for a crowd approaching the opening-game crowd of 27,000 fans.
Don't ask for stadiums and the like if you can't get yourself and 29,999 other fans into this one.
In many ways, this is a referendum on Temple football.
If you want a perennial winner, a top 25 program that you can be proud of and the nation will respect, you will vote for it on Saturday.
But you won't be using your right arm to pull the lever.
You'll be using your two feet, making your way to the stadium for the 1 p.m. start.
Like we said, though, in an earlier post, hoping for it to happen won't make it happen.
If you live in California or Colorado or Florida, you are excused.
If you are one of the 150,000 alumni and 33,000 full-time students living in this area, you are not.
We can't count on disaffected Eagles' fans to fill our stadium.
We must do it with Temple people proudly wearing Cherry sweatshirts and game jerseys and screaming their heads off when the Owls are on defense.

"This may be the most significant home football game Temple has hosted in 30 seasons. I cannot say this more clearly: GET TO THE GAME! Bring your families, friends, Temple classmates, and all the people who said to you, 'When Temple starts winning, I’ll be there.' Now is the time: we’d love to see a 30,000+ crowd to push the Owls to victory."
_ Bill Bradshaw, AD, Temple

Be proactive the next few days in getting the crowd out:
Some ideas:

If you have Facebook or MySpace pages, prominently mention the game as The Event of the weekend on it;
Search for any EVENT page on similar social networking websites and sign up pledging that you will attend;
Call radio stations talking up the leading freshman runner in the country and the program in general. (Hint: Don't tell the producer you are calling about Temple football. Tell them you are calling about the Eagles then ease the call into talking about Temple. "I'm so upset with the Eagles, I can't watch them anymore," you say. "I have more fun going to the Temple games. At least they win."
Sign onto Eagles' blogs and message boards with a similar take. When someone says "no one gives a bleep about Temple football" you come back wtih "it's a lot more exciting than watching McNabb choke" or a similar comeback.
Keep telling them where you will be at 1 p.m. on Saturday afternoon, Lincoln Financial Field.
Mention how fun the tailgates are in school and at your place of work.
Tell people "you've got to see this Bernard Pierce" and "this is your last chance" and "he's electric when he touches the ball."
Put a sign out on your lawn. "Temple vs. Kent State, 1 p.m., Lincoln Financial Field, for the MAC title."

All true and just ideas for starters. We'd welcome yours in the comment box below. Forty-eight hours to honor these terrific seniors and this team that has made us so proud.
It might be sunset for the home season, but the sun is just beginning to rise on Temple football with hopefully the best part of the season just ahead.

Week 12 MAC bloggers' roundtable

2009-11-17T23:20:00.003-05:00

By Mike Gibson
It's my week to host the MAC Bloggers' Roundtable and this week is interesting in that we have a pick 'em game on Saturday, Northern Illinois at Ohio, that could determine whether Temple clinches the MAC East on Saturday or not.
The questions to my fellow bloggers are as follows:
1) Do you like the MAC's current bowl setup in which the bowls get to pick, rather than a 1 goes to A, 2 to B, etc? Would you change that, if you could?

2) Recognizing that probably no one will probably be fired this year, who do you think will be the NEXT coach in the MAC to get a pink slip?
3) What do you think can be done, if anything, to get the MAC more bowl tie-ins?
4) Who do you like in the MAC's only pick-'em game of this week, NIU at Ohio, and why?

I will post the answers of my fellow MAC bloggers as I get them below:

Temple Fans: Cherry Out The Linc Saturday

2009-11-16T22:59:00.020-05:00

Loyal Temple fans need to bring at least one other fan to the game.

Weather, SEPTA, Phillies ... no excuses on Saturday. Be there.

By Mike Gibson
A quick search of Ticketmaster's data base revealed some very good news yesterday.
At least 10 rows of end zone tickets were sold in a matter of hours on Monday morning alone.
That's more tickets on one day that any other day this fall and it came on what usually is the slowest day of the week.
Who knows what moved that many tickets in one day?
Let's hope the trend continues to go upward the rest of the week.
Maybe it's the winning, maybe it's the head coach's tireless efforts promoting the program.
Probably a little bit of both.
I've always been a strong proponent that word-of-mouth is the best advertising.
It's been that way since the caveman found out that rubbing two sticks together could start a fire.
So Al Golden's radio appearance combined that word-of-mouth advertising with mass media.

Honor the Seniors:

Longest winning streaks
Florida 20
Texas 14
TCU 12
Cincinnati 10
Alabama 10
Boise State 10
Temple 8
Georgia Tech 8

Golden's 20-minute appearance on an Eagles' pre-game radio show (97.5, The Fan) certainly didn't hurt and may have helped a lot. Give coach a lot of credit for making his way across the bridge and into South Jersey to do that for Temple football and the university.
He didn't have to and could have easily begged out.
The show, hosted by Temple grad Harry Mayes, has upwards of 200,000 listeners every Sunday so Golden spreading the Temple gospel had to have an impact.
We should all follow the Temple head coach's lead. Not all of us can get on the radio, but every single one of us can use word-of-mouth advertising.
If every one of Temple's core base could bring just one other fan, we'd have a crowd approaching 30,000 on Saturday.
If every Temple fan who has been attending all year can bring two or more other fans, all the better. If the students spread the word around campus and on Facebook and Twitter and MySpace, that will help immeasurably.
The pre-game tailgates have been great and the games have been even better.
It's a fun event that won't be duplicated in this town until next year's Mayor's Cup.
All indications are that a large crowd will be seeing off Temple's remarkable senior class for Saturday's 1 p.m. kickoff against Kent State at Lincoln Financial Field.
But it won't be the happening it should unless YOU do YOUR part.
Don't wait for someone else to do it or hope somebody else does it.
Temple has a football team that has won eight straight games for the first time since 1973.
It has a team that needs to beat Kent State in order to move a step closer to clinching a championship.
It has gotten positive mentions in Sports Illustrated and ESPN in recent weeks.
All of that coverage would pale in comparison to what might happen if Lincoln Financial Field was sold out Saturday.
I know and you know it's not going to happen, but bear with me for a second.
Temple has 260,000 alumni, 5,000 full-time employees and 33,000 full-time students.
Do the math. That's 298,000 people still living who are being directly represented by the young men wearing Cherry and White.
Subtract 70,000 from that figure.
In a perfect world, 228,000 fans would be turned away at windows on Saturday, trying to get tickets.
I realize it's not a perfect world, but we can all do a lot in the next few days to get as many of those seats filled with Temple fans on Saturday.
We can and we should.
Let's make Lincoln Financial Field a solid wall of Cherry on Saturday.

Temple 56, Akron 17: Owls unleash nuclear-type weapons

2009-11-14T00:20:00.015-05:00

By Mike Gibson
The 2008 edition of the Princeton Review ranked Temple as the most diverse undergraduate student population in the nation.
There is much to like about that.
Last night, in a 56-17 win at Akron the Owls proved that there is even more to like about diversity in an offense.
In what was Matt Rhule's finest hour as an offensive coordinator, the Owls found every conceivable way to diversify their offense.
They scored on a reverse (twice, one was called back on a penalty), they scored on a long bomb, they scored on an intermediate pass, they scored on running plays.
They established their quarterback, Chester Stewart, as a dual threat.
They even scored on special teams, a terrific punt return by the steady (and now spectacular) Delano Green.
For almost all of the seven wins prior to this one, Bernard Pierce has been carrying the Owls on his broad shoulders.
While it had been fun to watch, you kind of knew that his back would break somewhere along the way if things didn't change.
That would have been an OK plan if the Owls had no other weapons but you and I and Al Golden and Rhule all know that Edberg-Olson Hall if filled with extremely talented players who can do great things with the ball.

''Personally, I really think Temple has the best D-line I have played against since I have been at Akron and I have played against Wisconsin, Ohio State and Penn State.''
_ Senior guard Zack Anderson

Pierce is a good one, the best, but he's not the only one.
I've been saying all year that Temple's No. 1 priority on offense should be feature the talents of Pierce, sure, but to also play off the fear of him by throwing the ball to their edge weapons downfield.
They did that on a long touchdown pass from Stewart to Michael Campbell. They did it on long reverse by Jason Harper and 4.3-40 sprinter James Nixon.
Now the Owls have planted a needed seed in the minds of their future foes: Load up and try to take away Pierce at your own peril.
It was a great night for Temple and proof that this team is getting better as crunch time approaches. The defense was great (49-0 over the last three quarters), but it's been that way all season.
The No. 1 concern was a lack of diversity on offense and it appears that the Owls have now found a pretty good formula going forward.
Last night, they showed that diversity can be a beautiful thing.

Owls could use some diversity

2009-11-09T21:50:00.029-05:00

Owls must find a way to get weapons like Evan Rodriguez, Joe Jones, Jason Harper and James Nixon active and involved.
Special credit for Evan Rodriguez photo to Tom Schoenewald

McManus kicks game-winner
Temple at Akron
Kickoff: 8:30 p.m.
TV: ESPNU
Radio: WPHT, 1210AM

By Mike Gibson
A very wise man (an old Owl, actually) once told me that a good offensive coordinator is like a magician.
"He'll be able to show you three shells and tell you where the ball is at and then lift it up, only to reveal the ball under another shell," the Owl, err, man, said.
Over the last few weeks or so, Temple's offense has been like that shell game.
Only over that time, the Owls showed their shells and the crowd watching guessed where the ball was pretty much all the time.
Not much magic there.
The No. 30 shell, otherwise known as Bernard Pierce, had the ball.
We knew it.
They knew it.
They could do nothing about it.
Miami (Ohio), though, was really the first team to figure out how to combat this offense.
Trailing, 31-13, the No. 1 way the RedHawks were able to get back into the game was sending 11 men to the No. 30 shell. That led to a lot of three-and-outs and a lot of opportunities for the RedHawks to get back into the game. They did, and even led, 32-21, with two minutes to go.
Temple won by countering with a pass on first down. They they ran it. Then they kicked a field goal.
Game over.
Seventh-straight win, 34-32.
The Owls travel to Akron (Friday night, 8:30 p.m., ESPNU) and the Zips will be able to read Miami's blueprint to beat Temple by then.
Sell out for the run and dare Temple to pass.
That's why it might bode Temple head coach Al Golden and Matt Rhule to come with a new Golden/Rhule, ala a Chinese Proverb:

If enemy figures your plan out, go with another plan.

In this case, though, the plan is not all that hard to devise.
Temple has a new quarterback, Chester Stewart, who was a winner while playing at DeMatha in Hyattsville, Md. In his senior year there, Stewart threw for 17 touchdowns and showed the kind of rollout ability to hit moving targets on the run that caused defensive coordinators headaches. He was a major reason why DeMatha went 10-0 and won the D.C. City Title his senior year.
If the Owls want to continue this impressive winning streak, they are going to have to incorporate Stewart, with Pierce, as a major part of this new plan.
Stewart can hit talented tight end Evan Rodriguez, who opened some eyes up in spring ball with his ability to catch and break tackles, in the soft spot of the zones 15, 20 and 30 yards downfield.
He can rear back after play-action fakes to Pierce and hit 4.3-40 sprinter James Nixon on a fly pattern deep down the center of the field.
He can throw 15-yard sideline slants to Joey Jones and Michael Campbell and Jason Harper and have those guys used their exceptional speed and talent to juke defenders and make extra RAC (run-after-catch) yards.
He can and he must, but it must be part of a show formulated by Rhule and approved by Golden.
You and I know what kind of talent those guys bring to this show, but the rest of the league doesn't. Their talent has been kept under wraps.
So far.
That's the beauty of this plan.
It might not mean 40 carries for Pierce (like two of the last three games), but it will be 25 or so more effective carries for The Franchise and a number of needed touches for the incredible edge weapons this team has.
The most impressive trick in this magic show is making a blueprint to beat Temple disappear.

How 'bout them OWLboys!

2009-11-07T01:04:00.022-05:00

Sorry the Miami recap is so late.
Something called a real job and sleep (too little of it) got in the way.
Back to game day.
If the three hours of Temple football aren't the fastest in all of sports, then the three hours of pre-game tailgating rate a close second.
In between, I almost tripped over a wire in a tent where a couple of great young alumni fans had a portable heater (it was really appreciated, by the way) but I showed the kind of balance that made me the Bernard Pierce (well, more like Shelley Poole) of my 125-pound Far Northeast traveling team back in the day.
(If I only had their speed ...)
And a good time was had by all ....
I saw a lot to like, less to dislike and, for the first time this season, I saw a head coach who showed me some cajones by making a move that had to be made.
All that said, I just want to say this:
How about 'dem OWLboys!
How about 'dat OWL Golden?
Some thumbs ups, some thumbs downs:
MARK D'ONOFRIO _ The last three years, I've become convinced that Mark D'Onofrio is the one of the best defensive coordinators in all of college football. If he isn't the best, he's the best no one knows about. No bigger MDO fan than me, but I think this bend-but-don't-break approach is absolute garbage. It killed us against Villanova. It almost got us killed against Fake Miami. I've been saying this all year and it bears repeating. Get to the g-damn quarterback. If you can't get there with four, send five. If you can't get there with five, send six. If you can't get there with six, send seven. If you can't get there with seven, send eight. Chances are almost 100 percent that you will get to the QB if you send eight. In the 2 percent event that you don't, I have confidence that Marquise Liverpool, Jacquain Jarrett and Dominique Harris are talented enough, athletic enough and fast enough to keep the damage in front of them.
AL GOLDEN _ Just an incredible ballsy move to pull the quarterback. You might ask what's so incredible about pulling the starting QB after a 5 for 17, 37 yards, 2 picks, 0 TDs? I say it is incredible. How many QBs have been pulled after winning six straight games? It says that a 5 for 17 and 2 picks is an unacceptable performance level and it sends a message to the rest of the team that everybody's performance is under review and that you must play to a high standard to keep your job.

LFF SECURITY _ Specifically, CSC Security, which holds a contract from LFF. A can of beer, smuggled in some some kids, "rolled" (or was placed, I prefer to think rolled) under the seat of an older lady sitting on the Temple side. She comes to the games every year. She never does nothing but cheer, but CSC security guards approached her, saw the can of beer under her seat, and asked her to leave. She refused to leave so they forcibly removed her to the protests of all around her. CSC guards would take no input from the crowd, they just acted as judge, jury and executioner. Big men, CSC. Kicking out an old lady. Temple should hunt that lady down and give her two free season tickets for next season.
MATT RHULE _ Nobody wants to give the ball to The Franchise more than I do, but 40 times a game? C'mon, Matt. What if he gets hurt? What's Plan B? Let's play off some effective BP runs by rolling out Chester and hitting talented guys like James Nixon, Evan Rodriguez, Steve Manieri, Joey Jones, Michael Campbell in that soft spot of both sidelines 15-20 yards down the field. Guess what? You make those throws and you might open up more stuff underneath for The Franchise. I bet you'll see him go 70 that much more when defenses don't know which shell the ball is under.
VAUGHN CHARLTON _ Yeah, you read that right, Vaughn Charlton. He's the captain of the team and the ultimate team player. What a superb job he did selling the fake FG and scoring the touchdown. Temple doesn't win that game without that play from Charlton. I love the fact that this kid took Chris Coyer under his wing in the early stages of summer ball and said, "He's just a tremendous quarterback. I'm looking forward to getting to know him." The two are roommates and, I assume, friends. If that's not leadership, I don't know what is.
THE FANS _ Although the crowd was 13,897, the fans were into it. The SEPTA strike killed the crowd from a couple of different levels. Our students rely on that mode to get to the games. Heck, a lot of our alumni do, too. Plus, the city was gridlocked for hours before the game. No one wanted to fight that traffic. (I did, and was stuck on I-95 for an hour.) Still, I got to the game with three hours to spare and made the pre-game tailgate. Once inside the stadium, thank God a talented young photographer, Ryan Porter (you've seen his work on this site), took the night off and ended up seated next to me. When I started a "Let's Go TEM-PLE" cheer he joined in and that got our entire section going. When I yelled (more than once but less than 40 times) "GIVE THE BALL TO THE FRANCHISE!" a couple of guys, complete strangers, joined in and yelled that with me. Then they came down to our row and joined me and Ryan with some full-throtted cheering the rest of the game. Other fans in different sections picked up their game, too. That's my dream. To not only get 40,000 into Temple games on a regular basis but to get them active and involved.
That's the Promised Land I see on the other side of the mountain for Temple football.
I hope I get there with you.

No excuses for Owl Nation now

2009-11-03T23:17:00.043-05:00

Owl Nation .... Photo courtesy of Owlsports.com

MAC sack leader Adrian Robinson
Temple-Miami
Thursday, Nov. 5
Kickoff: 7:30 p.m.
Line: Temple by 17 1/2
Records: Owls 6-2, Miami 1-8
Radio: WHAT-AM, 1340
TV: None

Now that the Phillies have lost to the Yankees, there is no excuse for Owl Nation.

Show up and represent for one of the hottest college football teams in the country, YOUR Temple Owls.

Could there have been anything worse for Temple football than for the Owls to be playing a live game against the seventh game of the World Series in a town crazed for one of the participants on a cold night when the buses and subways aren't running?

That would have been a Doomsday Scenario for Temple attendance on the same level of a loss to Villanova.

Well, if you don't have a car, it might be tough to get to the Linc but the university is offering free bus rides to all interested students.

So there is no excuse whatsoever for the 10,000 students who live on campus.

It's time for the 260,000 living Temple alumni to get with the (football) program as well, since most of us have cars and can take up to five other people with us.

The football team has done their part and they are working hard to do more for our great university. They have goals far beyond what they have already accomplished.

You can help them by showing up Thursday night and showing that you care.

There are few teams playing Football Bowl Subdivision ball who need fans, a following, a crowd more than Temple does but too often crap out of the Owls' control conspires against them.

Now that the Owls are winning and the Phillies have lost, both Temple's on-and-off-field luck is changing for good.

Gosh, I certainly hope so.

Consider past happenings that have helped ruin the attendance:
The Catch That Was (but ruled wasn't) _ Bruce Francis caught a ball two years ago at UConn that would have boosted 2007 attendance immeasurably. Yet a Big East (yes, Big East) replay official ruled a catch wasn't a catch.
The Philadelphia Hurricane _ Hurricanes never hit Philadelphia, right? Wrong. The UConn rematch of 2008 was much ballyhooed and promoted with billboards. A crowd of close to 30,000 was expected but a legitimate Catergory One Hurricane (Hanna) rolled through Philadelphia just in time for a Saturday noon kickoff. On the nightly news 12 hours earlier, John Bolaris reported, "No, Temple won't be playing tomorrow. No way in this weather." Bolaris signed off before anyone could correct that boozo that football games are played in all kinds of weather. People turned off the TV and stayed away, many thinking there would not even be a game. The fact that 17,000 die-hards attended and cheered their butts off was remarkable.
The Hail Mary _ It's thrown hundreds of times and knocked down hundreds of times. One or two times every 40 or so years, somebody gets lucky. Buffalo got lucky. Temple attendance suffered the rest of the year.
The Navy fumble _ Everybody else takes a knee in the situation the Owls found themselves in last year in Annapolis. Temple decided to run a play instead, ala Miracle of the Meadowlands. So what happened? Miracle in Annapolis.
The Villanova Debacle _ I saw literally hundreds of people, guys I haven't seen in years, in the pre-game parking lot of this year's Sept. 3 game who told me how excited they were to be playing Villanova again. Almost to a man, all of them offered a caveat. "If we don't beat the crap out of this team, I won't be back," they said. "I mean it." I haven't seen a single one of them back since. That was an attendance-killer for the rest of the season, no matter what the Owls did after it. I was stunned at the depth of feeling going into the stadium and even more convinced that folks were serious about what they said when I walked out of the stadium that night. People felt that strongly about beating Villanova.
The Army Nor'easter _ Owls expected a huge crowd, about 25,000, for Homecoming against Army in October. Unfortunately, a Nor'easter picked Temple's Homecoming to ruin that day. Crowd would have been about 25K with nice weather. It turned out to be 14K and a lot of alumni just skipped Homecoming rather than deal with the wind, rain and cold.
Temple finally deserves to reap the rewards of being the biggest, most interesting, sports story in town.
Sorry to see the Phillies lose but the alternative would have been ugly for the Owls.
Now our fans can make it a beautiful night by doing nothing more strenuous than getting off their butts to get to the game and standing and cheering for three hours at the game.
It's not much to ask.

"Who's Paul Palmer?"

2009-10-31T23:31:00.016-04:00

The question was posed to a young Bernard Pierce in the locker room at Lincoln Financial Field a couple of weeks ago.

"Dude, do you realize you have a chance to break Paul Palmer's records?"
"Who's Paul Palmer?" Pierce said.
What some longtime Temple fans might see as blasphemy was really an innocent remark that illustrated, more than anything else, how young Bernard Pierce is.
The true freshman wasn't even born yet when the kid known as Boo-Boo was in a heated battle with Vinny Testaverde for the 1986 Heisman Trophy.

On Halloween, Bernard Pierce came dressed up as Paul Palmer.
Chances are, Pierce will get to know Boo-Boo well in the coming months and years as each record Palmer set falls.
Temple beats Villanova by AT LEAST 20 points with this sure-handed young superstar getting 20 or more carries, rather than the six he had in the opener.
You'd have to be Stevie Wonder not to see that.
Today, Pierce rushed for 267 yards and two spectacular touchdowns as the Owls overcame an anemic passing attack to beat Navy, 27-24, otherwise known as the best team on their schedule not named Penn State. He did a good impersonation of Paul Palmer on Halloween, becoming the first Owl runner since Boo-Boo to rush for over 200 yards in consecutive games.

Numbers don't lie
Bernard Pierce:
29 carries
267 yards
2 touchdowns
Vaughn Charlton:
5 for 17
37 yards
0 touchdowns
2 interceptions

The fact that the Owls could not throw the ball and hit open receivers (check the film, they were running open through the Navy secondary all day) only makes what Pierce did all that more impressive.
As the game went on, Navy's defense loaded up in the box to stop Pierce.
Didn't matter.
He was too quick, too strong, too fast.
The Owls' offensive line, which averages 310 pounds across the front, also deserves a lot of credit. They knocked Navy off the ball like bowling pins. There is a photo accompanying this story that shows Pierce running through a hole and the Temple line knocking Navy off the ball in the background.
There is still much work to be done for this Owls' team to reach its potential.
The passing game, which really has alternated between bad and worse (today was worse), needs to be fixed.
I've been saying that for eight weeks, but no one wants to fix it.
It's tempting to say leave well enough alone, but I won't join that crowd.
Why not make something real good better, if you can? Why not play off Pierce's runs by throwing touchdown passes to James Nixon, Michael Campbell, Steve Manieri and Evan Rodriguez?
Those guys are doing their jobs by getting open, just like Pierce does his job by punishing linebackers and running past safeties.
You've got to be able to get someone in there who can throw the ball effectively.
Some hard decisions about personnel are going to have to be made at that position.
To win the championship, the Owls need to make Pierce more of a weapon fixing the firing mechanism.
Who's Paul Palmer, yes, but another question could be:
Where's Matty Baker?

Mids give whole new meaning to term whistle-blower

2009-10-28T22:22:00.030-04:00

Mike Gerardi (14), the QB phenom of spring ball, cheers on Peanut Joseph during TD run.
By Mike Gibson
Nothing could be more fitting this year than Temple playing at Navy on Halloween.
Navy played a dirty trick on Temple and it could turn out to be an unexpected treat for the Owls come Saturday.
This year would have been the fourth year of a home-and-home contract with Temple.
Navy and Temple, both in good faith, signed a contract to honor two home and two away games.
Temple honored the final part of its road commitment with a trip to Navy last season.
Then the Owls threw a scare into Navy last season, leading, 27-7, in the fourth quarter before losing, 33-27, in overtime.
Navy's brass thought for a minute about the possibility of playing Temple in hostile Philadelphia in 2009, then placed a phone call to Temple.
"Err, you know that game we promised you? We're not coming."
Navy tore up the contract and would have paid Temple a $200,000 fee for breaking it, but that left the Owls in a bind. They had no team to replace Navy.
So Temple athletic director Bill Bradshaw did the only thing he could do with an 18-inch battleship gun pointed squarely at his head:
Offer to play the game in Annapolis.
"Yeah, that's the ticket," Navy said.
Navy has a distinct advantage at home. The Middies have a fan who blows whistles when Navy ballcarriers are seemingly stopped, yet the fan never gets kicked out of the stadium and game officials feign deafness around him. He's the guy who blew a whistle three times while Temple defenders stopped a ballcarrier on fourth and goal, only to see the guy get off the ground and run into the end zone with the officials signaling touchdown and Temple coaches yelling, "what the fu*k?" The whistle caused Al Golden to run onto the field and scream to officials after the bogus score. Temple players stopped tackling the Navy guy for fear of being called for a penalty, only to see the Navy guy score after the whistle. He's the guy talked about in a response to this well-written post, page down to an answer by Navy72, on a Navy fan website. (He's a skinny guy with brown hair and a moustache, and last year parked his backside across the aisle from a group of Temple fans in the end zone. If you see him blow one whistle, please point him out to security this Saturday.)
Yet there is irony in this situation this year.

Getting the Owls out of here at this time can only help them do what they need to do, focus on the task at hand

The irony is that Navy might have done Temple an inadvertent favor.
I mean, did Navy know the World Series would be played in Philadelphia that day?
No.
The Phillies are playing that day in Philadelphia and the city is crazed right now.
Everything else in sports is an afterthought, even the Eagles.
All of the parking lots around both stadiums will be all Phillies red all day long.
Getting the Owls out of here at this time can only help them do what they need to do, focus on the task at hand. This is an important game between two teams who have won five straight games. The winner, especially if it's Temple, will get sorely needed recognition on a national scale.
It's was a dirty trick Navy played, no doubt.
If the Owls get a win, though, it will be a delicious treat.

The Best Thing on TV: Bernie's MAC Show

2009-10-24T22:44:00.020-04:00

"Give the ball to The Franchise, that's what I've been telling coach all along," Steve Manieri seems to be saying to Bernard Pierce.

Photo by Ryan Porter, Porterhouse Productions

By Mike Gibson

Mark Beier and the Toledo radio broadcast team threw some many bouquets in Temple's direction Saturday night, you didn't know which ones to catch and which ones to send to the niece's wedding.
Beier talked about the size and the fierceness of Temple's offensive line and the overall speed of the Temple defense.
Something Beier said in the fourth quarter of Temple's 40-24 win at Toledo really caught my ear, though.
"I haven't seen a running back of this caliber in the Mid-American Conference in a long, long time," said Beier, whose radio call also streams worldwide on a MAC access channel with video.
Color man Tom Duncan agreed.
Beier was, of course, talking about Temple freshman Bernard Pierce, whose amazing recovery from being carried off in a stretcher last week in the Army game is nothing more than Lourdes-like.

BP's numbers:
40 carries=game
212 yards=game
3 touchdowns=game
766 yards=season
9 TDs=season

Pierce rushed for 212 yards and three touchdowns and now has 766 yards on 135 carries, despite getting only six carries against Villanova. Pierce now has a team-high nine touchdowns and already has bettered Paul Palmer's records for touchdowns (6) and yards (628) by a freshman.
Oh.
Did we mention Palmer finished as a runnerup to Vinny Testaverde for the 1986 Heisman?
Thought I'd mention that.
Temple has now won five straight games for the first time since 1979. The Owls (5-2, 4-0) are also in the MAC East driver's seat, affirming predictions by both the New York Times and CBS Sportsline prior to the season.
Meanwhile, the Toledo game was a tale of two stars with bum shoulders.
One could play. One didn't.
"It's doubtful," Temple coach Al Golden said when asked if Pierce would play Wednesday.
Five minutes later, in the same presser, Golden said: "I don't have any doubt, Aaron Opelt will be playing quarterback on Saturday night for Toledo."
Well, guess what happened?
Pierce's broken shoulder was fixed and Golden's doubt-meter was broken.
Or maybe Al was just playing possum.
Whatever, I don't think Toledo wins that game with Opelt AND Pierce playing.
Then again, I don't think Temple wins that game without Pierce.
That's how good Pierce was.
When you have a running back like Pierce, you can manage the game off him and that's what Temple quarterback Vaughn Charlton did so well on Saturday night.
Vaughn threw a nice touchdown pass that Michael Campbell caught, another ball that Michael Campbell probably should have caught for six (it would have been a really good catch, though) and another flair that went for another touchdown to Jason Harper, who only makes positive things happen every time his number is called.
Pierce went out for a blow late in the fourth quarter and they handed the ball to Lamar McPherson, who promptly went down on the same kind of play Pierce was falling forward for eight yards a pop.
"You can see the difference between Pierce and everybody else," Beier said.
Whatever they rubbed on his shoulders this week, must've worked.
I wonder if they got the bottle overnighted from France.
Whatever, it was the Elixer the Owls needed and one they will have to keep in the medicine shelf the rest of the way.

Toledo: Heart tells me win; gut tells me, err, win

2009-10-23T11:20:00.020-04:00

The best pass defense is putting Opelt on his ass all night long.
By Mike Gibson
I got one of those campus-wides alerts from Temple University security the other day.
It warned students "not to get too rowdy" in their celebrations after big wins.
For a second, maybe even a minute, I thought they were talking about the Temple University football team's four-game winning streak and some anticipated poll-climbing by exhuberant students after win No. 5.
Then I thought about the Phillies.

Temple vs. Toledo
Time: 7 p.m.
Place: The Glass Bowl
Records: Temple 4-2, Toledo 4-3
Line: Toledo favored by 2 1/2
TV: MAC All-Access
Radio: WPHT-AM, 1210

Oh, never mind, I thought.
We've got a long way to go. I'd love to see Temple students identify with their fellow Temple students (playing for them, by the way) than with a group of 25 professionals playing for an entire region.
Maybe that's just me.
But it will take more than a four-game winning streak, or even a fiver, for that to happen.
The worse part is that I don't see a five-game winning streak in this team.
I've got this nasty feeling in my gut and have had it for a few days.
The streak ends at No. 4, I fear.
It's part gut (I've been taking Pepto-Bismol for it, but to no avail) and part based on these realities as I see them:

Despite having great receivers all over the place, we've not been able to develop a passing game anyone fears or has reason to fear for six games;
We went 0 for 9 on third downs in the final three quarters against an EMU team that got torched for 56 the next week. Not good. Not good at all.
We have tight ends lining up in the backfield, when they should be where Pop Warner designed them to be _ on the line of scrimmage;
We have no fullback, either to serve as a lead blocker for the tailback or to protect our quarterback on blindside blitzes. We need a fullback and that's painfully obvious.
We face a quarterback, Aaron Opelt, whose specialty is picking secondaries apart if he has time.
We have not shown the gonads to pressure the quarterback on every down. We play a more bend-but-don't-break defense that plays into the hands of quarterbacks who have time to throw. The best pass defense is putting the QB on his backside. You can't see open receivers if you are running for your life.
The best running back we've had since Paul Palmer is hurt. He may be cleared to play, but he's still hurt.

This could be a 35-20 Toledo win, unless Temple fixes a non-existent passing game or blitzes from the opening toss.
That's what my gut tells me.
Of course, my hope is that Vaughn Charlton throws for 350, four touchdowns, no picks and that Bernard Pierce plays and picks up his usual buck twenty-five.
My gut has been wrong before, as recently as a couple of days ago.
Jimmy Rollins came to the plate.
"Game's over," I told a crowded newsroom, mostly due to my gut but thinking a little reverse Black Cat. "I've never seen this guy come up with a real big clutch hit in the playoffs."
Next pitch, gapper.
Let's hope the Owls prove my gut wrong again.
Now excuse me while I take two more Pepto-Bismols.

We've waited 24 years for a 4-game win streak

2009-10-18T00:18:00.018-04:00

Nice job on that sack, Big Mo (Muhammad Wilkerson).

By Mike Gibson
The year was 1985.
The top-rated television program was "The Cosby Show."
A gallon of gas was 69 cents.
The No. 1 song in the country on Oct. 17 was by a group from Norway, Ah-a, "Take on Me."
That day, the Temple University football team was coming off its fourth win in a row, a 45-16 thumping of William and Mary. That was after wins on the road against East Carolina (21-7) and Cincinnati (28-16) and a 14-13 win at home against Rutgers.
Temple has not won four straight.
Until now.
I was struck by something Al Golden said before all this winning stuff started happening four weeks ago.
"Once we start winning, it's going to continue for a long time," Golden said. "That's the way this thing is built."
It was a telling quote and an unforgettable one.
Four straight wins have now followed and this latest one probably is the most impressive from where I stand.
I'm getting used to this winning, but it doesn't mean I'm taking it for granted.
I saw a couple of people leaving on Saturday and I mentioned to my friend, "I'm not leaving early. I want to go over and sing the fight song with the team. I want to savor every last drop of this."

"Once we start winning, it's going to continue for a long time. That's the way this thing is built."

He understood where I was coming from.
I tasted the sewer water of losing for too long. Now I want to taste the sweet nectar of winning.
If Golden is right, and I have no reason to doubt him, I'm going to be hanging around for a lot of fight songs and I can't think of anything better.
Saturday Temple beat an Army team that beat an SEC team, Vanderbilt, last week.
Army is very well-coached by Rich Ellerson (although you couldn't tell it at times on Saturday) and the Cadets are going to beat a lot of teams.
In fact, I would not be surprised if the Cadets don't beat Rutgers at beautiful Michie Stadium on Friday night because they play a style of defense that all teams should play.
Blitz, blitz and more blitz.
They put eight in the box and they come after the quarterback, hoping the reward (turnovers) outweighs any risk.
I can't see Rutgers' quarterback Tom Savage, a true freshman, thriving against that defense at all.
I like the philosophy and the scheme.
I also like the fact that these wonderful kids who play football for Temple University perserved against it.
Was it a masterpiece?
No.

Post of The Week
Occassionally, we will see a post that blows us over with its logic and perception and we'll use it here. I found this one under a "Matt Rhule" thread on Owlscoop.com and I'm using it in its entirety.
First off, absolutely thrilled we won again. I have never seen 4 straight wins as a Temple fan, at least any that I can remember.
That said, Im going to temper my complaints and hope the future doesn't place so much pressure on our defense. I do not understand our offensive philosophy, if we even have one. I havent identified it other than we are absolutely terrific on short yardage. How many times have we seen Temple stalled on 4th and one/goal in our lifetimes. Not this year.

But what is up with the passing attack? There are simply too many athletes on this team to have such an anemic aerial attack. Particularly our 2nd half offense. Army thought so much of it they went for it on 4th and inches from their 25w 9 mins left? Wow, insanity imo.

I went back and looked at the drive chart. Temple didnt complete a single pass on 1st down yesterday. Why cant we incorporate more simple passes like slip screens and outs? Once again, we threw two deep balls, one was caught for a touchdown and one was missed for a wide open touchdown. Maybe a couple sacks were intended to be deep balls?

I also noticed there were at least two occassions when James Nixon was in single coverage and Army called a timeout. Teams fear that guy but guess how many balls he caught yesterday? Im also happy to see our RS'd highly touted WR recruit Vaughn Carraway makes such an excellent decoy. Maybe Rhule has a thing about two guys with the same name handling the ball. I'd sure hate to see this wonderful season derailed...

Go Owls
MH55

The Owls have to get better on offense. They have to get better protection for Vaughn Charlton. They have to have somebody (whether it be Joey Jones, Lamar McPherson, Kee-ayre Griffin or even Ahkeem Smith) step up and do a reasonable impersonation of Bernard Pierce for a game or two.
They have to get a clutch player like Jason Harper more involved and team leaders like him and Steve Manieri are going to have to keep making great plays like they did on Saturday. (Man, I was sooooooo happy to see Jason Harper reach the end zone for the first of what I hope is many times this season.)
Still, they can't be leaving plays on the field like they have been during this four-game winning streak.
They get so few opportunities to make plays, they've got to cash in when they have them. They can't be dropping long bombs from Chester Stewart or Vaughn Charlton anymore.
The Owls are coming up against a stretch of teams with quarterbacks, like Aaron Opelt of Toledo, who can make plays and put up a whole lot of points.
They are going to get into a track meet (think EMU last year) with one of these teams and the offense must be ready to win a game or two, like the defense has won these last four.
Nobody knows that more than Al Golden and company so while you and I can just hope the offense comes around, that'll be the focus this week. Tinkering with these great weapons, putting the gunpowder in and fiddling with the trigger.
It's a process, Golden likes to say, and it's all about getting better every day and having fun, too.
Like Wayne Hardin used to say, the only way to have fun in football is to win.
I'm having fun right now. It looked like the kids on the field were having fun, too.
I don't know where this road leads, but let's concentrate on both enjoying the journey and getting better every step of the way.
The quality of the journey is directly correlated to the getting better.

The word for Saturday: DEE-FENSE!

2009-10-15T13:35:00.023-04:00

It's Homecoming, so weather be damned, show up and cheer.

Good for football, bad for tailgating.

By Mike Gibson
You can use a couple of words to describe Saturday.
Homecoming is one of them.
Luck is another one, as in bad luck because the Owls drew the short straw from the weatherman for their Homecoming Day game.
Rain and cold come to mind.
So does mud, if it rains enough.
So does the under, as in over/under, which is 39.
So while all of those words are descriptive ones, defense is the operative word on Saturday.

My 5 plays against an 8-man front guaranteed to move the ball:
1. Bernard Pierce left, right and up the middle _ Not on every down, mind you. If it's not working on first down, pass on second. Don't put yourself and 3d and longs.
2. The Chester Stewart Throwback Pass _ When Chester Stewart comes into the game, use his specialized talent to throw the ball deep to James Nixon, suckering that 8-man front up to him and leaving Nixon 40 yards open behind the defense.
3. Five, not one, cracks at Nixon _ All on play-action, all after significant gains by Bernard Pierce. That's when you sell play-action, not on 3d and longs. Throwing the deep ball only once a game to Nixon is borderline criminal. He's good for at least two touchdowns a game if you throw him 3 to 5 deep balls.
4. The jump pass to the tight end _ It works near the goal line, ala Chester Stewart to Steve Manieri last season at Miami. Fake to Pierce, jump pass to an open Manieri or an open Evan Rodriguez.
5. Screen passes to third-down back Kee-Ayre Griffin _ Give KAG some room to roam against the Army secondary and loosen up that eight-man front from time to time.

Defense, as in DEE-FENSE.
Both Army and Temple have good defenses and the one that dominates on Saturday will win the game.
Whatever advantage the Owls have with speed on the edges (James Nixon and Jason Harper in the passing game and Bernard Pierce in the running game) figures to be negated by the cold, windy and muddy conditions.
The latest forecast is for a high of 47 degrees with wind and light rain.
If the rain is light enough, then maybe the field conditions will be acceptable.
Maybe Bernard Pierce will finally be able to break that long run and show that world class speed of his in the 100-meter dash.
Whatever, I don't see the two teams combining for 39 points and I don't see anything outside of a 13-6, 14-7, 17-7 game.
I hope I'm wrong and the Owls break out and Vaughn Charlton finally hits more than his seemingly self-imposed quota of connecting on only one long bomb a game.
I hope the Owls win 44-11, but I don't see it.
This is one of those strap-it-in-games, with a high emphasis on ball security and good execution on things like punt protection that come as second nature to 99 percent of the Division I teams out there.
One external thing that would help the Owls is a whole bunch of their fans participating and yelling DEE-FENSE, DEE-FENSE, for a full three hours in real time.
That's the catchword for Saturday.
If you are a Temple fan and you sit on your hands and stay silent, you give away the homefield advantage and that might be the difference in the game. At the end of the year, if the Owls are at six wins and lose this game, this will be the difference between a bowl or no bowl so let's do all we can to win this one.
That means players, coaches AND fans.
Don't be afraid to get up and yell DEE-FENSE all day.
Unless Bernard Pierce and or Vaughn Charlton have the ball, of course.

Temple's offense runs on BP (Bernard Pierce)

2009-10-13T23:54:00.016-04:00

Dickerson's high school film (above) and Pierce's high school film (below).

Pierce is a guy who was Pennsylvania state high school indoor champion in the 60-meter dash and then pulled the impressive double of of winning the state 100-meter dash ... that translates to one juke and plenty of 40-, 50- and 70-yard touchdown runs coming soon to a stadium near you

By Mike Gibson
As if Temple's football team didn't present the Mid-American Conference with enough problems early in the season, the league has looked up and found another unforseen one coming from Philadelphia.
Bernard Pierce, a 6-foot, 212-pound true freshman, has done something no other running back in the history of Temple football has done _ rush for over 100 yards in each of his first three full starts.
Before you dismiss that as a byproduct of history, that includes a Heisman Trophy runner-up in Paul Palmer, who was also an NFL first-round draft choice.
It includes a guy like Todd McNair, a pretty good running back in the NFL who is now an assistant coach at Southern Cal.
It includes a guy named Sherman Myers, from Coatesville, who scored four touchdowns on on the ground in a 1979 Temple 49-17 rout of Syracuse.
It also includes recent NFLers like Stacey Mack and Jason McKie.
There are plenty of good running backs who have played at the school.
None did what Bernard Pierce has done.
But then again none may be as good when all is said and done.
Pierce is a guy who was Pennsylvania state high school indoor champion in the 60-meter dash and then pulled the impressive double of of winning the state 100-meter dash in the spring season.That's scary enough against track guys.
Against football guys, it translates to one juke and plenty of 40-, 50- and 70-yard touchdown runs coming soon to a stadium near you.
"We thought he could be special," is the way Temple coach Al Golden describes it.
The Temple student rooting section, which sometimes numbers in the 10s of thousands, has taken to Pierce already.
"SAINT BERN-ARD," the students chant in unison.
So the inevitable question arises.
"Who does he remind you of?"
Not really any of the Temple backs, I thought.
Well, he really doesn't remind me all that much of Paul Palmer. Paul could break tackles, sure, but not as well as Bernard. What Bernard doesn't do as well as Paul is to make tacklers miss, with a little juke here and a jibe thbere, but it's still early.
Hmm. Who?
People who watched Temple practice in the summer came up with one name.
Eric Dickerson.
It's what I thought when I saw Pierce for the first time in the Villanova game.
Dickerson was the kind of guy who would approach the hole, take about a half-second to mull his options against the defense, then attack the weakest part of it.
So, I thought, that pretty much was Pierce, a modern-day Eric Dickerson.
I thought me and the other Temple fans were the only ones who thought that until I heard the Buffalo announcers.
"He kind of reminds you of Eric Dickerson," one of them said during the Owls' 37-13 win three weeks ago.
Then the Eastern Michigan announcer said the same thing.
"He runs like Eric Dickerson," he said.
That's all I needed to know.
We're all in agreement then.
There is a new Eric Dickerson and he runs the football for Temple University.
That has a nice ring (and a lot of truth) to it.

Cosby beats Letterman, but punt protection team is the only joke

2009-10-10T23:58:00.025-04:00

Owl fans sport wide smiles watching Bernard Pierce run.
Photos by Ryan Porter

"If that’s not the best defense, especially physically, we’ve played since I’ve been at Ball State, it’s right up there." _ Ball State head coach Stan Parrish

By Mike Gibson
Gotta give Stan Parrish some love.
He's not getting much in Muncie, Ind., these days, there's even a firestanparrish.com website.
Gotta give him some love for this quote today, though.
"If that's not the best defense, especially physically, we've played since I've been at Ball State, it's right up there," Parrish, the Ball State head coach said of Temple.
Temple beat Ball State on Saturday. A cynic would headline it: Cosby beats Letterman in Sexual Harassment Bowl on Breast Cancer Awareness Day.
I prefer to see it, though, as a flawed win for the Owls, a siren call for a tweek here and a tweek there to get this engine raady for the MAC race stretch run.
Even the Owls themselves hinted as much in their post-game remarks.
Consider these words by Owl linebacker Peanut Joseph.
"We have some goals, but we're nowhere close to them," the Owls' linebacker said after a 24-19 win over Ball State.
Nowhere but one small step. There are seven, maybe eight, more steps just like these.
Joseph is right.
Let's face it. The defense won this game. They deserve 11 game balls.
Then there's the flip side.
If the Owls keep playing like this on offense and special teams, they will be nowhere near close to getting those goals.
The good thing is that the problems are fixable.

Al Golden's To Do List:
1. Fix punt protection _ Tighten this up. It looks like the Owls don't even practice this stuff. Change the snapper, if necessary.
2. Fix the passing game _ Way too many plays are left on the field. Going to James Nixon only once a game is borderline criminal. Work Mike Gerardi or Chris Coyer in there one series per quarter, just to give them some experience in case Vaughn goes down and to change things up on offense. Don't worry about Coyer's redshirt. It's all hands on deck for this MAC championship. Whoever moves the team best, stays on the field.
3. Leave Mark D'Onofrio alone _ Coach D'Onofrio is certainly doing his job, which is to keep points off the board. The same cannot be said for special teams coach Al Golden or offensive coordinator Matt Rhule. Al should just say, "Hey, Mark, keep doing what you're doing, big guy. Nice blitz on that interception, by the way."

Temple hasn't shown in the past that it has trouble snapping or protecting.
Special teams coach Al Golden is going to have to put in a whole new scheme of punt protection, and maybe even a new snapper, in the next few days before the Army game.
Ball State evidently saw something in Temple's protection that dictated the Cardinals go after every punt.
That entire scheme must change because the Army coaches will see it, too.
One way to change it is not to have to punt at all.
Temple has to develop a viable passing game to complement Bernard "The Franchise" Pierce.
Pierce became the first freshman in Owl history to rush for over 100 yards in three straight games, getting a buck 25 and two touchdowns.
If the Owls can develop a passing game opponents respect, and it might include changing the passer or the receivers or both, look for Pierce to turn a few of those twisting and turning 8-, 9- and 10-yard runs into 70-yard touchdowns. This is a team with too many weapons to be scoring in the low 20s every game. Temple coaches must view the film and determine what the problem is and correct it. If it requires a change in scheme or a change in personnel, so be it. This is big-time college football and they should not be afraid to hurt anyone's feelings.
Winning ugly is still winning, but Saturday is Homecoming and a good Army team is coming to town before an expected Temple crowd of 25,000 plus.
Winning "beautiful" is the next goal and that means for all three phases to show up, not just the defense.
That would be the next step and it must be forward, not backward.