Temple Owls Football: We need to talk about Temple

With an 0-3 record all but certain following the team’s Week 3 road game against the Maryland Terrapins, we need to talk about Temple Owls football.

As fans of Temple Owls football, it’s safe to say we’ve been spoiled over the last few years.

After fielding a mediocre at best football team for effectively my entire life, the team actually became surprisingly competent under first-time head coach Matt Rhule, leading to AP Poll rankings, and a steady stream of bowl games the likes of which a Philly school seldom gets to experience.

And after losing Rhule to an incredibly tumultuous Baylor program, and watching some of the school’s now-signature players like Haason Reddick and Dion Dawkins hear their names called at the top of the NFL Draft, the team still remained an American Athletic conference contender under former Florida defensive coordinator Geoff Collins.

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Which makes the team’s sudden transformation into an outright dumpster fire all the more discouraging.

The team weathered losing a slew of solid players to the NFL in 2017, including Reddick, Dawkins, starting quarterback P.J. Walker and starting tailback Jahad Thomas, yet still finished out the season with a 7-6 record earning a spot in the 2017 Gasparilla Bowlin for their efforts.

This season, Temple returns almost the exact same roster they had one year before. Their biggest loss? Probably do-it-all defensive back Sean Chandler.

However, without any prior knowledge, you’d think Temple lost their entire squad from last season, as they’ve looked downright terrible over the month of September.

Not only did they lose to inner-city FCS rivals Villanova, an almost unconscionable folly for any FBS team, regardless of conference, but Temple then dropped their second consecutive home game to Buffalo at the Linc, a team that on paper looked like a great matchup to get things back on track

Now granted, neither of these games have been outright blowouts, but at the same time, doesn’t that actually make the team’s 0-2 record all the more frustrating?

Temple could have won these games easy, they just couldn’t stop making mistakes.

After serving as a calming presence last fall following Walkers’ leave, Frank Nutile already has over half as many interceptions this season (four) as he had last fall in only two games.

At this point, it’s more appropriate to consider if Temple even wins a game this year as opposed to where their bowl game will be come December.

And believe me, Week 3 is definitely not going to be the game where they turn it around, as Temple is set to take on embattled Big Ten bruisers Maryland.

Now granted, Maryland isn’t exactly having an ideal 2018, as the program is currently deep in the fits of scandal following the untimely death of offensive lineman Jordan McNair, but somehow, despite all the outside pressure, interim head coach Matt Canada has found a way to peel a confident team, going on to start the season 2-0, including an impressive win over Texas.

For how bad Texas has been so far this season, Temple is no Texas.

So with the team all but guaranteed to start the season 0-3, Temple will finally get into the brunt of their American Athletic Conference schedule, where they have to face off against impressive teams like UCF and Houston, which has arguably the best player in the nation in defensive tackle Ed Oliver.

Temple may be the worst team in the AAC period.

Week 2 meeting preview vs the Tampa Bay Buccaneers. dark. Next

Ay caramba, at least one team is playing well at Lincoln Financial Field…

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