For long suffering Temple football fans the 2015 season seems like a dream. With wins over Penn State and the Cincinnati Bearcats this past Saturday I have worn my Temple Owl football gear proudly and have received many kudos from quite a few folks I meet.
As anyone who has been an Owl football fan for years it is truly amazing how far we have come. I remember the 2005 season as the nadir of Temple football. We were officially an independent, and with Hopeless Bobby Wallace at the helm we repeatedly got crushed on the field. Although we had left the confines of Franklin Field and the Vet behind our home attendance was pathetic. Our QB was Mike McGann, and Umar Ferguson shouldered most of the load as our RB. Bruce Gordon, Jamel Harris and Bruce Francis were our primary receivers, and Manuel Tapia and Garrett Shultz were our primary stoppers on defense. Future NFL star Terrence Knighton played on this team as did Antwon "Shutdown" Burton. We had talented athletes, just not enough of them as our depth was very thin. Seven players, including many projected starters, were declared ineligible just prior to the start of the season due to academic administrative screw ups.
Toward the end of that miserable season I thought about having pins or patches made up that said, "I survived 2005 Temple football" and handing them out to the guys I knew who showed up to games. And trust me, it was a brutal fall campaign that started off with two road losses, 65-16 at Arizona State and 63-0 at Wisconsin. We then came home to lose to Toledo 42-17. I met a bunch of Rocket fans who drove some crazy bus from Toledo to Philly for that game. They were very friendly and consoled me with wings and Yingling at McFaddens after the game. The next game Bobby Wallace managed to screw up when we lost on the last play of the game to Western Michigan, 19-16. That was the closest game of the entire year.
We were then crushed 70-7 at Bowling Green, and got stomped at home by Maryland 38-7, and Miami 34-3. As I recall the Miami coach only played reserves after half time to not run up the score. Then we went down to Clemson and got manhandled 37-7 and came home to lose to Miami-Ohio 41-14. The Owls ended the season with road losses at Virginia 51-3 and Navy 38-17.
And as it has been said many times: "And that's that." Bobby Wallace unceremoniously crept out of Philly for his home turf of Alabama. The remaining players looked forward to our new Coach, Al Golden, who promised a rebirth of the program. And the loyal Temple football fans prayed for brighter days.
There have been naysayers, such as Bill Conlin, Howard Eskin and others, but a great deal of hard work by many Temple players, fans, and friends have grown the football program. And we are not done yet.
But trust me when I say this, we are light years beyond 2005. Sometimes you need to look back and see just how far we have come to appreciate what Temple University has accomplished. We really do have a Field of Diamonds right here.
Alex Kline @TheRecruitScoop Aug 26
