ADVERTISEMENT

DBU

Tavon is too good. His problem is that he drapes himself all over the opposing receiver, which is why he gets called for interference. Maybe put some rocks in his pockets? Tie his arms behind his back? Put a pound of tape on each hand?

Was that fun or what?

Although I am really ticked we lost, the reactions and comments I have received over the past couple of days from friends, family and even distant buddies brings a smile to my face.

For years I have watched the fortunes of the Temple Owl football program rise from the ashes. I once got into an argument with former President David Adamany about how critical it is for Temple University's future to become a factor in fielding a winning D-1 football team. He opined college football was a diversion, best considered a club activity, and of minimal relevance to the future of Temple. I told him he was dead wrong, and last week's atmosphere, excitement and lead up to Saturday's game showcased Temple University and it's stellar strengths to sports fans around the nation with a profound impact. ESPN's College Game Day followed up with a classic pigskin contest with a member of college football's elite provided immeasurable publicity for the Owls, and the City of Philadelphia.

My sister, who lives in Eau Claire, Wisconsin; my high school buddy who lives in Santa Clara, Ca; and my Daughter and Son in Law who are VT alums and now live in Atlanta all intensely watched the game. They all commented how tough the Cherry and White played, and they stated are now rooting for the Owls in the future games. TU gained thousands of new fans, and are no longer viewed as the cellar dwellers of college football.

Unfortunately I did not make it to College Game Day, but I did bring a crew down to tailgate and attend the game. All of the guys had a great time, and TU gained 3 new fans that night. From the parties in the parking lots, to the excitement on the field and in the stands, you could feel the electricity generated by a great college football game.

The future of Temple football is very bright, and although we lost, it was a great week for Owls football!

GO OWLS!!!

Props for Temple continue

Was just watching Russillo & Kanell on ESPN, and they had a Temple helmet on the desk along with ND, Clemson and Baylor. Kanell had to apologize to Kevin Neghandi after saying that the Owls "had zero chance to beat ND". He now claims he was familiar wit Temples team, but his statement was based on UMass game and lackluster game against ECU.
  • Like
Reactions: tmbmtm

Possibility of AAC Championship in Philly

Looking at the rules determining the AAC Championship host team, it looks like Temple still has a chance to host the AAC Championship, but does not have complete control over those results. Here are the rules and tiebreakers:

1) Division champion with the best overall record in conference games
2) H2H between the two tied teams
3) Best overall record
4) CFP Ranking
5) Computer rankings
6) Record against common conference opponents
7) Coin toss

Looking at these tiebreakers, it would appear that if Temple wins out, they'll be in great shape to host. The only way Temple would not host if they win out is if Houston wins out, in which case there's no head-to-head to go on, but Houston would be undefeated. Should make an exciting finish to the regular season!

As a side note: none of this speculation matters if Temple doesn't take care of business.
  • Like
Reactions: D-Rock.Hahn

Matt Rhule's portion of today's American coaches teleconference

Just got done with Rhule's portion of today's AAC call.

He did say that several starters are banged up and that several of the backups at those positions will have to be ready. He declined to get into specifics and said he would know more tomorrow, but he did say Jahad Thomas "was out there today," so he practiced. I'll follow up about Kyle Friend tomorrow and anyone else.

When you listen to him two days after the loss, you're reminded of how close the Owls were to winning that game. When Rhule was asked again about the touchdown pass to Will Fuller and what Will Hayes' responsibilities were there, Rhule once again said the play was there to be made.

"I think he just broke at the wrong angle," Rhule said. He added that it's a play where Hayes would normally pick the ball off.

And on the 45-yard throw to a wide-open Alize Jones that got the Irish in range, Rhule said the defense was in Cover 3 and that one player jumped an underneath route.

That's kind of what I was trying to get at with my game story. I think the team was legitimately proud of how it played and how it handled the whole week, but it also knows it's a game that was there to be won.

TEMP-ND TV VIEWERSHIP!

Highest rated regular season game to ever be broadcast on the ABC Network! GO OWLS! Up 26% over last year's week 9 game, which was State Penn and tOSU.

Not to mention it was on Halloween night. Incredible! Lots of intrigue about out Owls and what CFB looks like in Philly. We showed the world. Now let's keep it rolling. We must build on this.

Login to view embedded media

Home Schedules

Last night was absolutely ELECTRIC! I have waited to see the day Temple played in a meaningful primetime game with a raucous crowd, and it happened. I couldn't believe my eyes.

That said, the only way to get those environments again, whether it eventually be in our own stadium or the Linc, is to continue to schedule marquee opponents that will draw. We are drawing an average of 30k fans this year (when normalizing for PSU and ND). If we can grow that to 40k by 2020, that would be a great TU atmosphere. That said, until that happens, we need to be able to give our students, alums, and bandwagoners great TUFB experiences.

In 2016 we have PSU on the schedule (away) and in 2017 ND on the schedule (away).

Who would you like to see us get on the home schedule (non-conference) in the coming years?

My thoughts are: Pitt, WVU, Rutgers, Maryland
ADVERTISEMENT

Filter

ADVERTISEMENT