Adding talent to the pool

Fresh off the most successful season in 30 years, Temple Coach Al Golden and his staff entered the offseason intent on not resting on their laurels.

Instead of sitting back and enjoying the time off before spring practice, Golden preached to his staff and players that the work was only going to get harder now that they’ve achieved some success, Golden told reporters and fans at his Signing Day press conference.

“I read somewhere that the Law of Mount Everest is that when you start to climb, and you start to elevate, the need for teamwork escalates,” Golden said. “And it does. For us, there’s not a lot of room to stand when you start winning nine games. It’s harder to breathe at the top. We have to keep going. I already told the student-athletes that this is going to be the hardest offseason we’ve ever had. It’s not the time to take a deep breath. We have a long way to go.”

To continue on the right path, recruiting is vital, Golden said. However, for the first time since he arrived in North Philadelphia, Golden has enough talent stored that he doesn’t need an incredible influx of incoming freshman to be successful.

Nonetheless, there were still some areas to improve upon from last year’s 9-4 team. On offense, wide receiver was especially important to upgrade, Golden said.

“Our focus on offense was at wide receiver,” Golden said. “I think anybody could recognize that…Deon Miller is a really good looking athlete and a great kid. Darryl Shine is another really, really dynamic player.”

Overall, the recruiting class has one glaring characteristic that links it to previous classes – local products.

“I think the thing that we’re most excited about is that we’re really staying true to our commitment to the local area,” Golden said. “22 of the signees are from within three hours of Temple University, which really fits our mold.”

In total, the Owls signed 27 athletes for their 2010 class, including the younger brother of former Philadelphia Eagle and current Baltimore Raven L.J Smith. Despite his impressive lineage, Nate Smith’s pure talent is what stood out to the staff, Golden said.

“If I had to pick the best pure football player of the group, it’s Nate Smith, hands down,” Golden said. “Offense, defense, kicks off, returns kicks. He’s a throwback.”

Numerous players from the 2010 class chose Temple over BCS offers. The most talented player is arguably Myron Ross, a running back from Wissahickon High School that originally committed to Vanderbilt, a member of the vaunted Southeasten Conference, before deciding to stay closer to home by becoming an Owl.

Another reason that the Owls have avoided getting content is that the Mid-American Conference has a history of flashes in the pan, Golden said.

“For anybody associated with Temple football to think that we’ve arrived or turned the corner is just fool’s gold,” Golden said. “You can ask Western Michigan, you can ask Bowling Green, you can ask Ball State…[They went from] nine-10 win seasons to three or four wins and no bowl games. That’s how quickly it can turn. We want to go from being a winning team to a winning program.”

“Now isn’t the time to take a deep breath,” Golden added. “Now is the the time to move forward, to push forward, to work harder and to improve.”

2010 Recruiting Class
Olaniyi Adewole LB Fr. 6-2 220 Drexel Hill, Pa.
Antonio Belt WR  Fr.      5-11    157      Forestville, Md
Wyatt Benson                    LB         Fr.       6-0     215      Philadelphia, Pa. School
Brian Burns                        DB         Fr.       6-0      170      Bowie, Md.
Taray Carey                      DE         Fr.       6-2      210      Whitehall, Pa
Joe Cenatiempo                 OL         Fr.       6-7      315      Glen Mills, Pa.
Andrew Cerett                    P          Fr.       6-5      240      Huntingdon, Pa.
Desmond Coble             WR/KR     Fr.      5-10    175      Richmond, Va.
Sean Daniels                     DE        Fr.       6-3      220      Blackwood, N.J
Marquise Goods                DB         Fr.      5-11    175      Orange, N.J.
Elijah Grant                       OL         Fr.       6-6      340      Piscataway, N.J.
Aaron Hush                   DE         Fr.       6-4      265      Piscataway, N.J.
Tyler Johnson                    TE         Fr.       6-5      240      Ringwood, N.J.
Zamel Johnson                  DB       R-Fr.     6-0      165      Staten Island, N.Y.
Adam Metz                         OL       Fr.       6-5      310      Hummelstown, Pa.
Deon Miller                  WR        Fr.       6-5      205      Highland Springs, Va.
Jaimen Newman                 DE         Fr.       6-4      250      Colonial Heights, Va.
Connor Reilly                     QB         Fr.       6-2      180      Fairfax, Va.
Anthony Robey                  DB         Fr.      5-10    175      Norristown, Pa.
Myron Ross                         RB        Fr.     6-1     205      Ambler, Pa.
Darryl Shine                    WR/KR       Jr.      5-10    185      Orlando, Fla.
Gerald Silvera                    WR        Fr.       6-0      180      West Orange, N.J.
Nate Smith                         LB        Fr.     6-0    220      Highland Park, N.J/
Rod Streater                    WR         Jr.       6-4      185      Burlington, N.J.
Martin Wallace                  OL       R-So.    6-6      295      New York, N.Y.
Hershey Walton                 OL         Fr.       6-4      320      Reading, Pa.
Dante Weaver                    DT         Fr.       6-2      320      New Brunswick, N.J.

Kyle Gauss can be reached at kyle.gauss@temple.edu

Some Signing Day Commentary

Even though the college football season has been over for about a month, today was   a pretty important day for Temple football. Today was National Signing Day, where high school football players sign letters of intent to play for a certain school and this year, the team signed 27 players will be on the team next year as freshman.

While a casual fan’s reaction may be “Who cares? They’re just freshman.” It is worthwhile to pay attention to the type of players coach Al Golden brings in every year because it shows how Golden and his staff are addressing the team’s needs.

Another reason why freshman matter, I’ll sum it up in two words: Bernard Pierce. Running back Matt Brown and placekicker Brandon McManus were also freshman who were key parts of the team this season if more evidence is needed.

Taking a look at this year’s group without even looking at the names, it’s clear from the number of players the team signed at a certain position says a lot. This year, Golden focused the wide receiver, offensive line, defensive end and in the secondary. The team signed six wide receivers, five offensive lineman and four each for defensive ends and defensive backs. After that, they got three linebackers and only one quarterback, tight end, running back, defensive tackle and punter.

It’s definitely a good idea on Golden’s part to add more weapons to the passing game, which was suspect at times. The question still remains, who’s going to throw to all of those receivers? Will it be redshirt junior Vaughn Charlton or redshirt sophomore Chester Stewart? Will freshman Chris Coyer be in the mix? I guess the answer to that will come at a later time.

Also, since the offense for years to come will probably be run first, stocking up on lineman seems like a logical move. Size on the offensive line was an emphasis for Golden.

“We’ve gone from averaging 275-280 [pounds] three years ago and now were in the 320s.” he said at his signing day press conference. “That’s the kind of group we want to have, a big strong powerful group.”

320-plus pound lineman opening holes for Pierce and company? I have no complaints about that.

Another thing worth noting: Golden’s emphasis on recruiting locally. 22 of the 27 athletes were from schools within about three hours travel time from main campus.

“The brand, the image of Temple University and obviously our football program has improved dramatically, but what will not change is our commitment to the local area.” Golden said. “If you recruit locally, you’ll be more efficient, there will be more economy and you’ll eliminate defects in evaluations.”

18 of the 27 signees were either from Pennsylvania or New Jersey and eight of those signees are from the Philadelphia metro area.

While from an outsider’s perspective, it seems close-minded to keep your recruiting efforts confined to a local area when the country is a pretty big place that I imagine can provide adequate football talent, but then again, Golden lead the team to its first bowl game in 30 years. He can do his recruiting however he sees fit. I can’t argue with the results.

Since I haven’t seen any of the signees play, I’m not going to anoint any particular player as the next Bernard Pierce, but here’s one signee who stuck out to me: Andrew Cerett. Cerett is a punter, a 6-5, 240 pound punter who in high school was also a defensive tackle.

“He thinks he’s got a defensive tackle’s mind, we got to get him to start thinking like a punter.” Golden said.

It sounds like he can tackle, that’s a plus.

“Our net punting was the weakest of our special teams, obviously we need to improve that.” Golden said.

That means there may be a chance he steals the punting gig from junior Jeff Wathne. I don’t recall ever seeing a punter that can play on the defensive line. Watching the big guy kicking a football may be quite a sight. Fun fact: Cerett was ranked as the eighth best punter in the nation by Scout.com.

It’s hard to say what will become of this recruiting class. I’m sure they’re a talented group of guys, but we won’t know what to make of them until they start appearing in games this next season.

“This is a very talented group, I wouldn’t say there’s a premiere player like last year, but I’ve said it many times ‘My wife could have picked out Bernard.’” Golden said.

Brian Dzenis can be reached at brian.dzenis@temple.edu

Tale of two halves

WASHINGTON, D.C. – Not playing in a bowl game for 30 years showed in the first half.

The football team came out with a burst of energy and scored on its first drive of the game and on two drives late in the second quarter.

However, a dreadful second half led to UCLA scoring the final 23 points of the game and beating Temple, 30-21, in the 2009 EagleBank Bowl Tuesday night at RFK Stadium.

“[I’m] obviously disappointed in the outcome, but I don’t want that to diminish what these seniors have accomplished in their careers,” Temple coach Al Golden said. “It was an unfortunate ending, but you’ve got to give credit to UCLA for how they finished the game. I thought we had an excellent plan. I thought we came out with a lot of energy and a lot of passion. I thought we were up for the fight.”

Temple, playing in its first bowl game since defeating California in the Garden State Bowl in 1979, came out energized after not playing a game since falling to Ohio Nov. 27.

The Owls opened the game by marching 80 yards down the field on six plays and capped it off with redshirt junior quarterback Vaughn Charlton’s 26-yard touchdown pass to senior tight end Steve Maneri.

After Temple was forced to punt on its next drive, the Bruins needed just one play to tie up the game. Freshman quarterback Kevin Prince hit sophomore receiver Nelson Rosario down the sideline for a 46-yard touchdown pass.

The game stayed tied at seven until fewer than four minutes remained in the first half. Temple marched down the field for an eight-play, 75-yard drive with freshman running Bernard Pierce, who rushed for an 11-yard touchdown run.

On UCLA’s next possession, junior defensive back Marquise Liverpool intercepted Prince. Liverpool returned the interception 23 yards, and then referees tacked on a 15-yard personal foul penalty on a facemask to put the Owls at UCLA’s 15-yard line. Four plays later, freshman running Matt Brown ran it in from two yards out to give the Owls a 21-7 lead.

With 17 seconds remaining in the first half, it seemed like the Owls would head to the locker room with a 14-point lead. The Bruins took over at their own 45-yard line, and Prince completed consecutive passes of 14 yards and 19 yards. Those passes set up junior kicker Kai Forbath’s 40-yard field goal as time expired to cut the Temple lead to 21-10 at halftime.

That seemed to be the momentum that UCLA needed for the second half.

“We just went into the locker room at halftime and cleaned up our mistakes that we were making,” sophomore linebacker Akeem Ayers said.

The Bruins got the ball to begin the second half and made the decision to go for it on fourth-and-1 at the Owls’ 32-yard line. Prince hit senior receiver Terrence Austin, who tiptoed down the far sideline for a 32-yard touchdown cutting Temple’s lead to 21-17.

Temple’s best chance to put points on the board in the second half came on its first drive. The Owls started from their own 32-yard line and threatened inside UCLA’s 20. On fourth-and-inches, Golden elected to go for it instead of attempting a field goal to put the Owls ahead by a touchdown. The UCLA defense stuffed Brown short of the first-down marker, and Temple turned the ball over on downs.

Temple still led by four points entering the fourth quarter until Forbath nailed a 42-yarder to cut Temple’s once comfortable lead down to one. After both teams punted on their next drives, tragedy struck the Owls.

Charlton, who was benched after the Oct. 31 Navy game in favor of redshirt sophomore Chester Stewart, was the surprise starter Tuesday night. Charlton made Golden’s decision look genius after one half. He was 12-for-16 for 153 yards and a touchdown at halftime.

But with Temple ahead 21-20 and facing a third-and-21 at its own 8-yard line, Charlton tried to dump off a pass to Joe Jones. The pass did not have enough air under it, and Ayers picked off the pass and returned it for a 2-yard touchdown.

“It was a passing down, so I tried to get a good burst off the ball to get to the quarterback,” Ayers said. “As soon as I took off, I slipped, and the first thing that came to my mind was to scramble to my feet and get up and try to put myself back in the play. As soon as I got up, I was in a position to make a play.”

Charlton’s second half stat line: 1-for-7 for six yards and two interceptions.

The final nail in the coffin came on Temple’s next drive. Temple’s punt attempt went south, as the snap flew over senior punter Jake Brownell’s head and into the end zone for a safety. UCLA went ahead 30-21, got the ball back due to the safety and ran out the clock.

“We played a very good second half against a very good team,” UCLA coach Rick Neuheisel said. “We knew we were going to be playing a top-flight program. We’re elated that we have the trophy to go home with.”

“We made too many mistakes,” Golden added. “They beat us soundly in the kicking game, both in punting and returns. We didn’t make good decisions in the return game. We didn’t convert enough on offense on third down. We didn’t really make enough big plays in the second half on offense. And on defense we got worn out because of it.

“We didn’t execute, and that’s the bottom line.”

Regardless of Tuesday’s outcome, the bottom line is that the Owls had a very successful season.

After opening the season with two losses, the Owls strung off nine consecutive wins. Their win total is the most since 1979, and they finished 7-1 in the Mid-American Conference.

“It’s definitely come a long way,” senior defensive back Dominique Harris said. “We’ve been through a lot together. We wish we could have won this game, but we had a successful season. That came from a lot of hard work, blood, sweat and tears.”

The Owls also found themselves a running back of the present and for the next couple seasons. Pierce stormed onto the scene early in the season and finished the season as a Freshman All-American. He set Temple records for 100-yard rushing games (six), rushing touchdowns (16) and yards (1,361).

Pierce left Tuesday’s game late in the second quarter with the same shoulder injury that sidelined him for the final two games of the season. He left with 53 yards, and his rushing touchdown allowed him to pass Paul Palmer and Walter Washington as Temple’s record holder for rushing touchdowns in a season.

“Unfortunate,” Golden said of Pierce’s injury. “He was running well, and obviously, when he and Matt are in the offense, not only is the running game working inside and outside but the play action off of it is working.

“Bernard needs an offseason program, needs to get stronger,” Golden added. “He needs to go through that, and first, we’ll get him healed up, and we’ll go from there.”

In addition to Pierce, sophomore defensive end Adrian Robinson was named MAC Defensive Player of the Year, and Golden earned MAC Coach of the Year honors. Freshman kicker Brandon McManus set Temple’s record for points scored in a season. His three extra points Tuesday put him at 96 points, one better than Don Bitterlich’s 95 points in 1975.

“I’m proud of our guys the way we’ve grown up,” Golden said. “Every game we come to play. Every game we’re competitive, we bring energy, we’re excited, we have a good game plan, we have a good design, [and] our guys are ready to go.”

While Golden admits that this loss will take some time to get over, he is optimistic about the future of the program – one that started just six seniors Tuesday – and ready for bigger and better things.

“In a lot of ways, some of our best players are young players,” Golden said. “We’re excited about the direction we’re going. We need to fill a couple of places here and there, develop some other guys, and we need to move forward. We’re excited about the direction of our program. I know the guys are going to get some confidence that they’ll be able to carry into next year.”

Pete Dorchak can be reached at pdorchak@temple.edu.

Going bowling!

The football team, led by Al Golden, will travel to Washington, D.C. for the EagleBank Bowl.

Temple Football’s unofficial slogan the last four seasons? “Don’t Stop Believin’.”

As the football team learned its bowl game fate, players, students and fans began screaming the lyrics of Journey’s song of karaoke-bar fame in the Liacouras Center lobby Sunday night.

The Owls learned that their 30-year bowl appearance drought had finally come to an end when ESPN’s bottom line read that Temple would be playing in the EagleBank Bowl Tuesday, Dec. 29 at RFK Stadium in Washington, D.C.

Temple will not know its opponent until Saturday’s Army-Navy matchup at Lincoln Financial Field. If Army (5-6) defeats Navy, the Owls will face the Black Knights. Temple defeated Army, 27-13, on Homecoming Oct. 17. If Army loses, the Owls will battle the UCLA Bruins.

“It feels good because four years ago, we stood right in here, and we had a dream. We had a vision, and a lot of people said, ‘OK, show me,’” coach Al Golden said. “And I’m OK with that because that’s Philly style. I get it. These kids, I’m really happy for Temple University and our administration, and it’s a great moment for us.”

It is a moment 30 years in the making. Temple was last bowl-eligible in 1990, and the Owls’ last bowl game appearance was in 1979 when they beat California, 28-17, in the Garden State Bowl.

“We always had the heart and the courage to get to this point,” senior cornerback Dominique Harris said. “But you got to put the right pieces together, the right pieces of the puzzle. We did that this year. It’s been a long road, but it’s very rewarding to get here.”

The first key to the puzzle was bringing in someone to put all the pieces in place. Golden, who was defensive coordinator for the University of Virginia for five seasons, was hired after the 2005 season. At the time, the Owls were coming off an 0-11 season, just one year after being kicked out of the Big East Conference.

When Golden was hired, the football team’s goal was to avoid another winless season while slowly brightening the program’s future.

Temple won just one game in Golden’s first season and then improved to 4-8 and 5-7 in 2007 and 2008, respectively. The Owls started the highest number of true freshmen in 2006 and 2007.

“It’s gone fast,” Golden said. “I couldn’t be more proud of the team and the staff. We have a great staff. The staff’s made an incredible time investment and commitment above and beyond what is really on their job description.

“And the same thing for the players. To get something like that turned, it’s going to be years before we think about what happened, to be that bad and to turn it around four years later. Either way, Temple is in a bowl game, and it’s great,” Golden added.

Record-setting is the word used to describe the 2009 season for Golden and the Owls. After opening the season with losses to Villanova and Penn State, Temple reeled off a school-record nine consecutive wins to make the team bowl eligible for the first time in 19 years.

The Owls finished the season 9-3 overall with a 7-1 record in the Mid-American Conference East Division after falling to Ohio, 35-17, Nov. 26. With the win, Ohio went onto the MAC Championship. The Bobcats fell to Central Michigan, 20-10.

A record eight Owls were named to the All-MAC First Team. They were led by freshman running back Bernard Pierce and sophomore defensive end Adrian Robinson. Pierce, the MAC Freshman of the Year, set Temple freshmen records for yards (1,308), touchdowns (15) and 100-yard rushing games (6). Robinson set the season record for sacks with 12, tops on the Owls and in the MAC, and finished 10th in the nation.

“We’ve come a long way. It’s not done. It’s not completely done, but we’re proud of what we’ve done so far,” senior linebacker Alex Joseph said. “We’re just very excited that we’ve made it to a bowl game. We’ve always talked about aiming to go to a bowl game and trying to get there, and now, we’re actually there, so now we just have to perform. It doesn’t matter who we really play, but we just have to play our game.”

For tight end Steve Maneri and the rest of the upperclassmen, it has been a very rewarding season. They have heard all the jokes and even witnessed locals throwing rocks on the field as the Owls practiced at Edberg-Olson Hall.

But winning can change that very quickly in Philadelphia.

“You see all the support we have now and people calling you left and right and talking about how you had a good season and everything,” Maneri said. “You have to take a second and think about what we’ve been through as seniors and juniors. It’s a great feeling to know that we’ve accomplished something, and we’re going to the postseason.

“It’s nice to have a destination and kind of starting to draw a map on how to achieve our goal, which is win that bowl game,” Maneri added.

Postseason and bowl game sounded foreign when discussing Temple football in the past. Fantasy has now become reality, and Golden said he sees this as a beginning.

“It just means we’re checking off boxes,” Golden said. “I remember sitting up there when we had a one-game win streak and that was the longest in two years. And then we had a three-game win streak, and then we won five games, and then we won nine games. And now, here we are going to a bowl game. I think it’s great for our team, and obviously, the next step is to become a program and you do this every year, and that’s our goal.”

Pete Dorchak can be reached at pdorchak@temple.edu.

Dear Al Golden

Although the football team lost to Ohio Friday, it is almost a foregone conclusion that the Owls are headed to a bowl game. That said, I think it’s time to get something out in the open that has been eating away at me for most of the season.

I am sorry I wrote off Temple at the beginning of the season.

I said you and your team could “forget about playing in a bowl game this year after losing the season opener to Villanova,” in my debut column in The Temple News. Boy, was I wrong.

I have been a sports reporter for four years, and I would have to say calling your season dead after one game might have been one of the dumbest decisions I have made in my career thus far.

I completely disregarded the fact that Villanova was a non-conference team and that there were still 11 games left. I said one loss “puts a black mark on the entire season,” but looking back, I do not actually remember a whole lot about that game.

That loss was admittedly not as big a deal as I made it out to be. The players recovered from it, as they won nine straight games. I have to give those guys a lot of credit. They did a lot more than just recover from a 0-2 start. They are now in position to go to a bowl game, and for the first time in nearly 20 years, Temple football is relevant, which is a huge deal.

I came into the season expecting, at the most, six wins and no bowl game appearance. I was riding the culture of cynicism and apathy toward the team that has plagued the university for so long. It was a bad call on my part not to give your team a chance. I committed one of the cardinal sins of journalism – I lacked objectivity. I came into the season expecting it to be a failure before a snap was even played.
It wasn’t until about the Army game that I started to realize the team was legitimately good. After the comeback win in Annapolis, Md., against Navy, I was finally convinced your team was bowl material.

After that, I figured I might have to eventually submit a mea culpa.

I guess I should also extend my apologies to the players as well, for selling them short at the start of the season.

I reluctantly include redshirt junior quarterback Vaughn Charlton in this group. I have criticized him to the point where I am making jokes about him in non-football related stories at The Temple News. But I will say this about him: He is a bad quarterback, and I will stand by that assessment until the day I die, but he did just enough to contribute – even as a backup – during the team’s nine-game winning streak, and he should get some props for that.

The whole team showed more talent, resilience and character than I ever could have expected from that squad, and that includes freshman running back Bernard Pierce, redshirt sophomore quarterback Chester Stewart, the entire defense and all the other role players who make up the roster. Those seniors have endured whole years of ridicule from folks like myself – but now they will leave Temple to cheers rather than jeers.

While it is not my job to support you or your players, you guys have earned my respect.

You taught me a lesson this season: Never, ever sell a team short, no matter what happened the season before, no matter what happened the previous 20 seasons. Every team gets a clean slate heading into a new season. I let years of futility cloud my judgment, which led me to make the incredibly stupid decision of calling your season dead after one game. I thought at the time that it was a safe bet, but here I am, eating my words.

Al Golden, I apologize for writing off you and your team. I was wrong.

Sincerely,

Brian Dzenis
The Temple News

P.S. If, by chance, that first column was in any way, shape or form used to motivate your team, you’re welcome.

Redemption

Coach Al Golden and the football team completed a four-year journey from a 1-11 season in 2006 to a nine-game winning streak and likely bowl berth.

Though the football team lost to Ohio, 35-17, Friday and missed out on a chance to compete in the Mid-American Conference Championship against Central Michigan in Detroit, the Owls still made visible progress on the football field. With a 9-3 overall finish, including 7-1 in the MAC, Temple recorded its first winning season since 1990, set a single-season school record with nine wins in a row and finished in a tie for first place in the MAC East Division. In coach Al Golden’s first season, the Owls finished 1-11 but have steadily and noticeably improved each season since then.

2005
On Oct. 10, 2005, then-coach Bobby Wallace announced he would not seek a contract renewal. The search for a new coach ended almost two months later on Dec. 6, 2005, when Temple selected Al Golden. At the time, Golden became the second-youngest coach in the Football Bowl Subdivision at 36 years old. He had spent the previous five years as the defensive coordinator at the University of Virginia.
“It is with great pride and enthusiasm that I accept the position of head football coach at Temple University,” Golden said. “I am excited about leading this program …The future looks bright.”
“With Al Golden, we now have the final piece in place for the rebuilding of the Temple football program,” Director of Athletics Bill Bradshaw said.

2006
One of Golden’s first orders of business was signing 24 student-athletes to National Letters of Intent. Collegefootballnews.com ranked that recruiting class No. 1 in the MAC, a trend that continued for three consecutive years.

“To all the football players in the room, I don’t care what’s transpired in the past,” Golden said prior to the start of the season. “We are going to start a new era. You are going to begin with a clean slate. For anything that may have gone wrong in the past, I certainly can’t apologize for what happened. I wasn’t here. But I promise that you’ll get the best that I have, and you’ll get the best that our staff has.
“We want to be known around the country and the MAC for being a physical team that will play anyone, anytime and anywhere,” he added.

The Owls wrapped up Golden’s inaugural season at Temple with a 1-11 record, including an eight-game losing streak. They opened the season with a 9-3 overtime loss at Buffalo and then lost games to No. 13 Louisville and Minnesota, 62-0. No. 12 Clemson later defeated the Owls, 63-9. The lone bright spot for Temple in 2006 was Golden’s first win, a 28-14 Homecoming victory against Bowling Green on Oct. 28.
“We will re-group,” Golden said after the Louisville game. “I told the team I wouldn’t trade locker rooms – and I mean that. I would not trade locker rooms. I wouldn’t want to be with another team. I believe we’re going to get it done here. I know we’re going to get it done here. We have too many good people not to get it done.”

2007
The Owls improved to 4-8 overall and 4-4 in the MAC, even by playing the nation’s most freshmen for the second straight year. All four wins came in conference play, as a pass from sophomore wide receiver Dy’Onne Crudup to junior wide receiver Bruce Francis was ruled incomplete and not reversed following replay for a 22-17 non-conference loss to Connecticut on Sept. 15.

The Owls also dropped decisions to Navy, Army and No. 25 Penn State. Temple opened the season with a five-game losing streak but then won three straight games, including a 16-15 Homecoming victory against Northern Illinois and a 24-17 win versus Miami (Ohio), who was undefeated in MAC play at that point.

The Owls wrapped up the season with three losses in four games, after redshirt junior quarterback Adam DiMichele fractured his left tibia. The Owls did post the No. 1-ranked redzone defense in the nation and the No. 1-ranked defense in the MAC.

“I think the people who know me know I’m a positive person,” Golden said after the 30-19 loss to Navy Sept. 1. “I have supreme confidence in myself and my staff. I have faith. We’ve got unwavering principles. We’re just going to keep going. You look back at all the turnarounds in college football. You look at what all those teams were. I know them all. I’ve studied them. It’s not easy. It’s not just like you’re changing your team. You’re changing everything. We’re going to hang in there and keep plugging away. I’m not going to take off my Temple gear when I go home tonight. I’m not going to do it. I’m proud to be the coach here.”

“I’ve told my team we’re slaying demons one by one,” Golden added later in the season after a 24-20 win against Akron. “Win one MAC game, win one MAC road game … slay them one by one.”

2008
What ifs dominated this season, as the Owls, who finished 5-7 overall and 4-4 again in the MAC, lost five games by a touchdown or less. After opening the season with a convincing 35-7 win at Army, Temple lost to Connecticut, 12-9, in overtime. Then came the 30-28 loss in the Hail Mary game at Buffalo. Golden lost his first game on Homecoming, as Western Michigan defeated the Owls, 7-3. In the latter third of the season, the Owls lost back-to-back close games at Navy and at Kent State. The Midshipmen scored 20 points in the fourth quarter and then scored the game-winning touchdown in overtime for a 33-27 win, while the Golden Flashes held on for a 41-38 win on the road that all but eliminated the Owls from the MAC East Division race. Temple finished tied for second.

“In 21 years of college football, I don’t think I have ever been involved in anything like this,” Golden said after the Navy loss. “It’s heartbreaking, but we’ll get them back.

“Sometimes you have to hit rock bottom,” Golden added after the season-ending 27-6 victory against Akron. “Sometimes you have to experience what we experienced at Navy.”

2009
The Owls opened the season with a 27-24 loss to Football Championship Subdivision opponent Villanova. Temple led, 10-0, at halftime but committed five turnovers.

“These kids have been through so much,” Golden said afterward. “Everybody just expects it to change, and it just doesn’t change overnight. It’s not the end of our season. We got a bunch of games left.”
After a 31-6 loss to then-No. 5 Penn State, Temple ripped off a record nine straight wins. The streak started with a 37-13 victory against defending MAC Champion Buffalo Sept. 26.

“Let me just say this about our organization and our kids,” Golden said. “People talk about the Hail Mary [last year against Buffalo], but they forget the second part of that is ‘full of grace.’ Our kids handled it with grace for a year.”

“I don’t think we’ve ever been 1-0 in the MAC,” Golden added. “I’ve got to hide in the city and hide in the state [after losing to Villanova and Penn State], but at least we’re 1-0 in the MAC.”

The Buffalo game also marked the first start for emerging freshman running back Bernard Pierce. He carried the ball 20 times for 116 yards and his first touchdown. Golden said he had been “working three years to get that kind of rushing game.”

Pierce left the Nov. 17 game against Army with a left shoulder injury but recorded six 100-yard rushing games during the season. He broke the 1,000-yard barrier in the 27-24 win versus Navy (when the Owls officially became bowl eligible). After that game, Pierce was ranked the No. 3 running back in the FBS and the No. 1 freshman. He finished No. 13 after leaving the Kent State game with a shoulder injury and missing the season finale against Ohio. Pierce now holds the record for most touchdowns in a season with 15, however.

“This team is different,” Golden said after the Navy win. “This team loves each other. This team has unity. This team won’t crack. They just hang in there and stay together. I see a team that has some poise and believes in the brand.”

Jennifer Reardon can be reached at jennifer.reardon@temple.edu.

Nine Lives

No Bernard Pierce, no problem.

The football team defeated Kent State, 47-13, for its ninth straight victory on Senior Day at Lincoln Financial Field.

In Pierce’s absence (the freshman running back left the game after one run in the first quarter with what coach Al Golden termed a “fairly significant and substantial” shoulder injury), fellow freshman rusher Matt Brown responded for 156 yards on 18 carries, and the offense scored 41unanswered points.

The Owls (9-2 overall, 7-0 Mid-American Conference) trailed 10-9 at halftime after being outgained offensively 276 total yards to 138 total yards. After the first quarter alone, the Golden Flashes had posted distinct advantages on that side of the ball, as Temple had one total yard of offense, while the defense had permitted Kent State (5-6 overall, 4-3 MAC) to convert on four of six third-down attempts.

“We were in trouble,” Golden said. “We looked like we were running in cement in the first half. They had two weeks off, and it showed.”

Part of the problem for the Owls’ defense was its inability to stop the big passing play. The Golden Flashes kicked a 21-yard field goal and scored on the first drive of the game thanks to a 32-yard pass and a 12-yard pass. Despite a missed field goal on Kent State’s next drive and an interception by sophomore defensive end Adrian Robinson, the Owls surrendered nine more pass plays of 10 yards or more after that first drive.

“[The defense was] breathing fire to start the second half,” Golden said. “We just kept putting the heat on, and it started to snowball. I think we did [emphasize rushing the passer more in the second half], but I think the kids just started rushing the passer better. I think we got our legs back at the half. I think they got almost 45 minutes there where the defense got a chance to rest. We looked bad early. We looked slow-footed. We looked tired. I’m not going to sugarcoat it. We didn’t break on the ball. We didn’t tackle the ball well. We didn’t keep anybody in the pocket. Other than that, we were good.

“[In the second half, we played] more man, tighter coverage,” Golden added. “I think the rush helped a lot.”

The Owls answered back after halftime. In the first half, redshirt sophomore quarterback Chester Stewart showed flashes of big-play ability. He hit junior wide receiver Delano Green for a 34-yard completion and ran for 12 yards en route to a 24-yard field goal by freshman kicker Brandon McManus to close out the first half. An earlier 34-yard pass to redshirt sophomore tight end Evan Rodriguez was negated after Stewart threw an interception to Kent State junior free safety Brian Lainhart in the endzone, and a 40-yarder to Green was overturned on review.

“He makes the plays,” Golden said. “He could do a better job on the interception he threw.”

“Each game, I get a little bit more comfortable,” Stewart said. “This defense was a little tough for me. I’m not going to lie. They came out with a lot of different looks [Stewart finished 6-for-16 for 124 yards and one touchdown].”

But in the second half, those big plays, specifically big runs by Brown, went the Owls’ way.

Temple took its first lead on a 28-yard field goal by McManus on the first drive of the third quarter. After the Owls’ defense knocked out Kent State freshman quarterback Spencer Keith, Brown took a handoff from Stewart 71 yards to the endzone for the Owls’ longest rush from scrimmage this year. Pierce held the previous high with his 68-yard rush in Temple’s 27-24 win against Navy Oct. 31.

“I had a big role to fill. Bernard, he’s one of the best backs in the country. I just had to pick up where he left off,” Brown said. “[I just saw] the endzone [on that 71-yard run]. I just went to it. My line did a great job opening holes for me, and I just hit them.”

“He is a bug [Matt Brown],” Golden added. “He’s good. How do you improve your team? You improve your team when a kid like that comes on, and you move Kee-ayre over to corner, and he picks one off, and he scores.”

Redshirt sophomore Kee-ayre Griffin, who made the switch from running back to cornerback, intercepted his first career pass and returned it for a touchdown.

“It was a situation where we said, ‘Hey, Kee, we think you’re one of the best 22 players on the team, and you deserve to play. The guys in front of you right now are playing really well right now, but we want to work with you,’” Golden said. “And he said, ‘Sure, Coach, let’s do it.’”

Robinson then forced a fumble from Kent State that Brown eventually turned into another Temple touchdown.

And Green, who lost that 40-yard catch earlier in the game, returned a punt 52 yards for the score and then ran in another 50-yarder to complete the Owls’ scoring. He became the first player in Temple football history to return a punt more than 50 yards to the endzone in back-to-back games.

“He’s doing a nice job. There’s a lot of Delano Greens on our team,” Golden said. “He’s got certain plays on our offense, and he’s got certain plays on special teams, and he does it really well. He executes his role really well. He’s one of those guys who’s unselfish. He’s got courage, and he makes really good decisions.”

The Owls close out their regular season Oct. 27 in an 11 a.m. game at Ohio. The Bobcats defeated Northern Illinois, 38-31. The matchup Friday will determine the MAC East Division champion and the Eastern Division representative in Dec. 4’s MAC Championship game in Detroit. Despite Temple’s one-game lead in the conference, a Temple loss and Ohio win would even the playing field, and the tiebreaker is head-to-head record.

“We’re positioned to play Ohio next Friday,” Golden said. “That’s all we’re going to worry about, and all we’re thinking about right now.”

Game Notes: “I don’t even know how he did it. It wasn’t even on a play he carried the ball,” Golden said of Pierce’s injury…Golden said the Owls’ contingency plan for Pierce is probably a combination of Brown, senior running back Lamar McPherson, senior wide receiver Jason Harper and redshirt sophomore Joe Jones…Golden said he sang “Zombie Nation” for the team at halftime because “they weren’t having any fun.”…Brown said if he could compare himself to any running back in the National Football League that it would be the San Diego Chargers’ Darren Sproles. “I like Darren Sproles. He’s short and quick like me. He hits those holes. I ain’t there yet. I got work to do, but I’m on my way.”…The Temple News will have more coverage of the football team in the Dec. 1 issue and will update the blog with results from Friday’s game against Ohio.

Jennifer Reardon can be reached at jennifer.reardon@temple.edu.

Owls survive upset bid with fourth quarter comeback

It turns out Temple is not the only Mid-American Conference team led by a star freshman. On Thursday, the Owls weathered the offensive storm of 426 yards and three touchdowns from redshirt freshman quarterback Zac Dysert for a last second 34-32 win over Miami (Ohio) (1-9, 1-5 in MAC).

At first, it did not look like Miami would be a serious threat to the six-game win streak as the Owls got off to good start with two quick first quarter touchdowns. The first involved freshman running back Bernard Pierce with a 1-yard touchdown run at the goal line and the other was another 1-yard touchdown run from redshirt junior quarterback Vaughn Charlton off a fake field goal attempt. It was the first time the Owls have attempted a special teams trick play this season.

“We just wanted to run the play. I thought we could score there, and we did.” Coach Al Golden said.

There was also another first for the team that game. Golden decided to start sophomore Chester Stewart at quarterback instead of Charlton, who was the starter since the beginning of the season.

“It was no secret that Vaughn didn’t have a good game last week and Chester’s really been improving.” Golden said. “He never complained about not being the starter, he was ready for his opportunity and we just made the decision.”

Stewart played the game-manager role well for the Owls, throwing for 143 yards with no interceptions.

With five minutes left in the second quarter, Pierce scored his second rushing touchdown on a 7-yard run to make the score 21-3. Miami was able to cut their deficit with Dysert throwing an 11-yard touchdown pass to redshirt junior wide receiver Armand Robison and junior placekicker Trevor Cook kicked a 26-yard field goal to cut Temple’s lead to 8 points and the RedHawks went into halftime losing 21-13.

While Temple was winning at halftime, the RedHawks were giving the Owls a run for their money in the passing game. Miami’s spread attack was stretching the Owls defense and Dysert already had 214 yards and a touchdown.

“The kid did a good job getting rid of the ball, he had a hot hand. He made some big time plays creating on the run.” Golden said.

Temple added 10 more points in the third quarter with a 42-yard field goal from freshman placekicker Brandon McManus and 14-yard touchdown run from Pierce, his third of the game.

“It looked like we had a big lead and would move away with it, but they came back.” Golden said.

And come back they did. Dysert opened the fourth quarter with 24-yard touchdown pass to freshman tight end Steve Marck. After the Miami defense forced a three-and-out from Temple. Dysert and the offense marched up the field and threw a 14-yard touchdown pass to Robinson for the tandem’s second touchdown. They attempted a two-point conversion, but failed as Dysert’s QB sneak was stopped short of the goal line. Another three-and-out from Temple and Miami scored a touchdown off 2-yard run from junior running back Travis Merriweather and following another failed two-point conversion, the RedHawks were ahead of the Owls 32-31 with four minutes left in the game.

Just like the Navy, the Owls needed another fourth quarter comeback.

“The look on everybody’s face is ‘OK, let’s get the ball. Let’s get the ball and let’s go.’” Golden said.

An 18-yard run from Bernard Pierce and a 31-yard pass from Stewart to sophomore receiver Joe Jones put the Owls in the red zone. Pierce tried to pound the ball inside for the game-winning touchdown but was stalled and with three seconds left in the game, McManus was called in to kick the game winning field goal.

“I figured it would [come down to a field goal], I just had to keep my composure and just stay calm throughout the process.” McManus said.

McManus drilled the 18-yarder, a kick slightly shorter than an extra point attempt for the win and kept the team’s win streak alive.

“Yeah, that one was the first ever of my career, I just thank the [Miami] defense for stopping them on two to give me the chance to win the game.”

Game Notes: The win guarantees a winning season for the first time since 1990. The last time Temple won seven straight was in 1973 under coach Wayne Hardin, that team won eight straight games that season. Pierce now has 14 touchdowns this season, one shy of the school record, 15, held by Paul Palmer (1986) and Walter Washington (2004). This is Pierce’s fifth multi-touchdown game and his second game with three touchdowns; his last three touchdown game came against Toledo.

Brian Dzenis can be reached at brian.dzenis@temple.edu.

Armed with a victory

Army needed just one yard for a first down halfway through the fourth quarter.

But on successive drives, a third-and-1 from their own 25-yard line and a fourth-and-1 from their 25, the Black Knights’ offense stalled against the Temple defense.

And after officials overturned an interception ruling because of defensive pass interference, redshirt junior quarterback Vaughn Charlton connected with senior tight end Steve Maneri on a six-yard touchdown pass for the go-ahead score.

The Owls extended their winning streak to four games and now stand at 4-2 overall. Army dropped to 3-4 with the loss.

“There’s a confidence right now. There’s an ebb-and-flow on the sideline that wasn’t there before,” coach Al Golden said. “To not lose is a big deal. We have four wins in our first six games, and the average win total in the first six games in this decade is like 1.2, so it is significant that we’re winning games, no matter how it turns out that we’re winning games. But we wake up tomorrow and think about Toledo. We’ve got a big-time opponent on the road. We’re going to focus on Toledo tonight if not tomorrow.”

Temple might have to handle Toledo without freshman running back Bernard Pierce, who left the game in the second quarter with an injury and did not return. Pierce had 65 yards on 11 carries up until that point. His 23-yard run to lead off the game and subsequent touchdown sparked an Owls offense that went dormant after he exited.

“I thought the offense kept their poise, though,” Golden said. “It could’ve been a trainwreck.”

Despite 14 penalties for 100 yards (10 of which came prior to the crucial defensive pass interference call), Army kept it close. The Owls opened the game with the Pierce one-yard touchdown run and jumped out to a 13-0 lead after a 37-yard touchdown pass from Charlton to senior wide receiver Jason Harper. Freshman kicker Brandon McManus missed the point-after-touchdown attempt.

The Black Knights chipped away with a 24-yard field goal in the second quarter and then a 23-yarder to open the third before senior wide receiver Alejandro Villanueva caught a four-yard touchdown pass to tie it.

“He’s 6-feet-10-inches and catching the ball, so that’s going to be tough for anyone to deal with,” Golden said. “[The penalties] are uncharacteristic of them, but we had at least three critical, critical penalties, too.

“But it shows growth that we’re competing,” he added. “The fourth quarter was big for us. They score, and they tie it up, and really, we hadn’t produced any offense for quite some time. We kind of came alive and fed off each other, which good teams do.”

And, for what it’s worth, Golden said that had he been in Army coach Rich Ellerson’s shoes, he too, would have gone for it on fourth-and-1 from the 25-yard line.

“Fourth-and-1, they make them more than they don’t in that situation, to be quite honest, and that’s how they play,” Golden said. “It’s hard to be critical of their coach in that situation because that’s the style of offense they play. They like to get third-and-short, fourth-and-short, and they believe they can convert on that. We just came up and made a big play at that time, got a couple hits that knocked them back. The third-down play was more impressive to me. It was a really great tackle, and it was a heck of a play.”

Jennifer Reardon can be reached at jennifer.reardon@temple.edu.

Game Notes: The Owls last won four straight games in 1985…1986 was the last time Temple opened its season at 4-2…Like Eastern Michigan, Ball State and Army, Toledo and Miami (Ohio) also have first-year coaches.

Three in a row

A blocked field goal, two high snaps on punts (one of which the opposition landed on for a touchdown) and 10 penalties for 85 yards – that sounds like last year’s football team.

But the Owls defeated the Ball State Cardinals in their first-ever meeting, 24-19, thanks to 125 yards rushing and two touchdowns from freshman Bernard Pierce, a 28-yard pass from redshirt junior quarterback Vaughn Charlton to sophomore James Nixon and five forced turnovers.

With the win, the Owls improve to 3-2 overall but more importantly, climb to 3-0 in the Mid-American Conference.

“They stayed together,” coach Al Golden said. “I think they would prefer not to have those catastrophic breakdowns, but the things that we’re doing now are fixable. We kept our poise, and we answered back, which I think is important, and we won. We got some mental toughness, which we found out today. It was ugly at times, but we kept battling, and we won. Nobody’s going to look back a couple weeks from now at the game at how much we won by. The bottom line is we won, and we’re 3-0 in the league.”

On the sixth play of the game-opening drive, Cardinals senior running back MiQuale Lewis fumbled the ball. After 13 plays, Owls freshman kicker Brandon McManus connected on a 27-yard field goal attempt.

Temple increased its lead to 10-0 with the 28-yard touchdown pass from Charlton to Nixon a third of the way through the first quarter.

Then, last year’s football team reappeared.

Between that Charlton pass and Pierce’s rushing touchdown halfway through the third quarter, Ball State scored 13 of its 19 points and even took the lead, 13-10, at one point.

A 20-play series by the Owls at the start of the second quarter ended in a blocked field goal.

“There was some penetration on that field goal,” Golden said. “But the kick never got more than four feet off the ground, so it wouldn’t have mattered. The ball would have hit our own linemen anyway.”

After a series of punts and the first of two interceptions by junior free safety Jaiquawn Jarrett, the Owls entered halftime ahead, 10-0.

But Ball State’s freshman quarterback Kelly Page threw a 50-yard touchdown pass to sophomore wide receiver Torieal Gibson to get the Cardinals on the board, 10-7.

And on fourth-and-2 from the 46-yard line on Temple’s next drive, the snap sailed over junior punter Jeff Wathne’s head and into the endzone, where freshman Eric Williams landed on it for a touchdown and a 13-10 Ball State lead.

“Everybody looks at records, but you have to know where that team was and what they experienced last year,” Golden said. “We haven’t experienced any of that yet – the MAC Championship game, a bowl game, a Top 25 ranking.”

At that point, the Owls gave the ball to Pierce six times in their next nine plays, and he responded with a two-yard touchdown. The Owls led, 17-13. Pierce tacked on another touchdown later in the fourth, and Ball State added a meaningless one as time expired.

“You don’t win the league in October,” Golden said. “You can lose the league in October, and we’ve found many ways to do that. We’ve written a book on that.”

Jennifer Reardon can be reached at jennifer.reardon@temple.edu.

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