Can The Temple Owls defy the odds with new coach Geoff Collins?
As Matt Rhule gets ready for his first year at Baylor, Geoff Collins is looking to avoid the pressure of faltering in his first year with the Owls.
there is a lot of uncertinity around Collins and the Temple Owls. this year Temple will have to make a decison regarding the quarterback of the team and who gives them the best chance to return to the AAC Championship game.
As Marc Narducci of philly.com mentions, Geoff Collins is known as “The Minister of Meyhem,” while he was an assistant at Mississippi State. His apprentice of “meyhem” is The Eagles very own Fletcher Cox.
Luckily, Collins has some key returners from last year’s squad to help transistion better. Running back Ryquell Armstead, who was responsible for 14 scores, returns along with leading wideouts Keith Kirkwood and Ventell Bryant.
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Unfortunately, Collins has to deal with the pending quarterback situation. Redshirt Junior Frank Nutile and redshirt sophmore Logan Marchi look to be the top two candidates to start for The Owls next season. Don’t count out redshirt freshman Anthony Russo, who stared at Archbishop Ryan, to fight for the starting spot, either.
Last season the only one of the three to attempt a pass in a game was Marchi, who threw six passes all season long. The top spot of gunslinger for this Owls team is up for grabs and it is their’s to lose.
The Owls also have the AAC working against them when the schedule was made public. Temple kicks off the season on September 2, in Southbend against a Notre Dame team who wants to put their disappointing 2016 season behind them.
Following that game The Owls return home to face a Villanova team in the annual Mayor’s Cup game on September 9. There is a real possibilty that The Owls start 0-2 before they even get into league play.
Some other marque matchups features games at South FLordia, Army, and Tulsa. The home games that youre going to want to be at? Huston, Navy, and UCF.
If you realistically expect another 10-win season from the Cherry and White this season than dont get your hopes up. If Temple manages to go even this year than that must be viewed as a success for Collins’ first year at Temple.
Next: Temple Owls Football Players that are set to have Big Seasons
With four nationally televised games this season against some top programs, let’s see how Collins fares under the bright lights. May he defies the odds and produces a better record than the Owls had when Matt Rhule first took over. Only time will tell.