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2008 Temple Owls Football Preview

Temple's Strengths:

• WR Bruce Francis led the Owls in receptions (47) and yardage (731) last season while scoring six touchdowns. He has a chance to be really special this season. Francis looked terrific in the spring game as well scoring a 75 yard TD.
• Temple may have the MAC’s top defense this year. Last season the Owls led the MAC in total defense and led the nation in red-zone defense. Both DTs, Terrance Knighton and Andre Neblett, will contend for all-conference honors.
• There are solid defensive ends as well in Junior Galette & Brian Sanford. Toss in interior LBs Alex Joseph and Amara Kamara and Temple easily has the MAC’s best 'seven in the box.'
• Center Alex Derenthal is the best at his position in the MAC. He will contend for All-American honors this fall and has a real shot at becoming a first-day NFL draft pick next April.

Temple's Weaknesses:

• The rush offense was not good last year ranking 108th nationally at 93 yards per game. Jason Harper, last year’s leading rusher (49 yards per game) has been moved to receiver. Jared Williams was a high school sprinter, will be going up against Marquise Liverpool (a converted receiver to RB) along with Joe Jones.
• The entire offense needed help last season scoring just 16 points per game ranking 116th nationally. Four times last season Temple scored seven points or less in a game. No matter how good the defense is – the offense has to do better than this.
• Temple has not had a winning season since 1990 (7-4) and there has been no winning tradition of any sorts since the late 1970s. While it is encouraging that the Owls went 4-8 last season and 4-4 in MAC play, it should be noted that their eight losses were by an average of 17.5 points per game – so it’s not like TU lost many heartbreakers (outside of the UConn game 22-17).

Temple's Opportunities:

• Adam DiMichele is a good leader and a terrific athlete. He returns after an injury-riddled 2007 campaign. With DiMichele Temple was 3-5, without him they were 1-3. The offense is much better with him running the show.
• Temple returns all 22 starters from a year ago and has some high quality recruits entering the program this fall. For the first time in nearly two decades, there is actually excitement around the program and a true sense of building a program that can succeed. There is quality depth and experience too which is a first during the Al Golden era.
• The schedule is favorable as Temple does not play MAC rival Bowling Green while getting Eastern Michigan at home. Road trips to Army and Navy are very manageable and offer the Owls a rare opportunity at a few non-conference victories.

Temple's Threats:

• There are now ‘expectations’ for Temple football so with the optimism surrounding the football program there is now a goal for bowl eligibility - this season. That is realistic but Temple is used to being the underdog and that may not be the case very often this fall. How will this team respond when they are consistently “favored” in half of their MAC games?
• There is little proven depth behind DiMichele and Vaughn Charlton has yet to prove himself consistently. Also, will the offensive line jell quickly and provide the new running back corps some lanes to run? Finally, the kicking game needs serious attention.

The Big Game(s) for the Owls in 2008:

September 6 at Buffalo & October 4 at Miami. Temple has lost to UB the last two seasons including last season’s 42-7 spanking in Philadelphia. Meanwhile, the game against Miami will feature the two top defenses in the league. Toss in the non-conference game at home with UConn. In 2007 the Huskies won when an apparent last-second game-winning TD for Temple was ruled out-of-bounds in the end zone.

Final Analysis for Temple in 2008:

The Owls finally have a solid roster to go toe to toe with almost everyone on their schedule. Defensively Temple should be one of if not the best within the MAC. The big question still remains, can the offense score points? Even if Temple averages just 20 points per game, that should be enough for their first winning season since 1990. It’s not out of the question that Temple wins the MAC East and possible overall MAC title this year. But until the offense improves, they are one year away from that accomplishment. Look for a 5-7 or 6-6 season and a top-half divisional showing.

By Nick Gerogosian
published 07.07.2008