Let’s try not to blow this thing out the water.
Yes, Temple chased Vanderbilt’s starting quarterback out of the game after just six passes. And yeah, it chased the backup quarterback out of the game too. Then it chased the third quarterback out. And sure, the Owls’ balanced run game (five players with seven or more carries) controlled the clock; the offensive line stood tall (one sack allowed); the defense intercepted as many passes as it did all of last year (three), had more sacks than any game last year (5.0), and caused as many turnovers as it did in its first seven games total last year combined (seven).
And, alright, Temple didn’t give up a single point to Vanderbilt’s offense and stayed out of penalty trouble (despite a heavy amount of freshmen and first-year players starting their first games on the road against an SEC team who won its last five games). Oh, and sophomore quarterback P.J. Walker looked sharp as a needle.
But the Owls didn’t come flying out of the gate. On the opening kick return, Khalif Herbin was swarmed and driven backwards by seemingly 25 Commodores. Their first play from scrimmage drew one of those shameful “false start on everybody but the center” calls. Their second play was exact playcall as their first play and resulted in negative yards and an eventual punt. Their second drive netted -11 yards. Then a bad snap on a punt led to Vandy’s first and only touchdown. Temple was everything every AACFootballFever.com expert thought they would be.
Then the momentum swung like a Mayweather hook. Temple’s defense caused seven turnovers; five came in the second half, four of which were on consecutive drives. More telling than anything: Five of Vanderbilt’s turnovers led to scores (and one led to a missed chip shot field goal).
I spent the majority of my first four columns on this site talking about Temple’s offense. I mostly gushed about their exciting young quarterback, their overload of talented running backs, and their NFL-worthy center named Kyle Friend. And I was right, but one of my articles couldn’t have been more wrong.
Two weeks ago, I questioned Temple’s biggest weakness: its offensive line, its receivers, and its defense. Temple’s inexperienced line, which I expected to crumble like the Berlin Wall, looked like The Great Wall of Philadelphia. Its equally inexperienced receivers converted two huge fourth-down-and-long plays in the first half that caused Vanderbilt’s crowd to flatten and never completely recover. But, above all else, it was Temple’s defense that won the game.
How bad was Temple’s secondary last year? I’m glad you asked. It was this bad: The Owls’ secondary intercepted only three passes all year and gave up 24 touchdowns. During one stretch, Louisville, SMU, and UCF combined to complete 69 percent of their passes and threw 10 total touchdowns (versus no interceptions). Opposing teams simply knew that they could pass on Temple.
How good was their secondary last Thursday? Another great question. Three different Vandy quarterbacks couldn’t figure out the Owls secondary, which features two starting corners and two starting safeties who have played a combined zero total games for Temple prior to Thursday. Kudos to coach Matt Rhule and defensive coordinator Phil Snow for completely revamping Temple’s biggest weakness from last year.
I spent the last month thinking of reasons why Temple wouldn’t be good enough this year. I questioned the Owls and found my own answers, assuming the worst. One game later, I stand corrected.
I’ve convinced myself. Let’s blow this thing out of the water—Temple can win the AAC this year, and I’m done trying to think of reasons why it can’t.
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