Golden says loss to Penn State marked turnaround

It was after his football team lost to Penn State on Sept. 19 that Temple coach Al Golden became convinced that the Owls were ready to blossom.

"We matched them physically and we didn't get pushed around," Golden said of the 31-6 loss to the Nittany Lions, who dropped the Owls to 0-2.

From that point, Temple went on to set a school single-season record by winning nine straight games on its way to a 9-4 finish that was the team's best in 30 years.

The revival resulted in the Owls' reaching a bowl game for the first time in just as long.

Temple's season ended Tuesday in Washington, where the Owls fell to UCLA, 30-21, in the EagleBank Bowl at RFK Stadium.

Golden, who just completed his fourth season at Temple, reached the postseason with members of his first recruiting class leading the way.

"We are obviously disappointed in the outcome, but I don't want to diminish what these seniors have accomplished in their careers," said Golden, who after the game told his underclassmen to thank the seniors for the opportunity to play a tradition-rich team on national television.

"These seniors didn't grow up wanting to come to Temple," Golden said. "For us, the challenge is, can we flourish and grow into a program that is not just a good team? We're going to keep building it. If you do that, you have a resume."

Although losing to UCLA after leading by 21-10 at halftime may not make for a fond memory, the team accomplished much.

The Owls' fan base, which hadn't experienced a winning season since 1990, saw its team share the Mid-American Conference's East Division title with Ohio after both teams went 7-1 in the league.

(However, the Bobcats met the West Division champion, Central Michigan, for the conference championship after downing visiting Temple, 35-17, in the regular-season finale for both teams.)

Temple safety Dominique Harris arrived at the school the year before Golden and watched the Owls go 0-11 as he redshirted.

Harris was one of the building blocks as the Owls went 10-26 during his first three seasons, including a 1-11 campaign in 2006, Golden's first. That year, the Owls were outscored by 365 points. They went 4-8 in 2007 and 5-7 the next season.

"We've been through a lot together," said Harris, an NFL prospect who graduated last May. "We built this program up from a one-win season to this."

Quarterback Vaughn Charlton, a redshirt junior who was one of Golden's first recruits, echoed his teammate.

"We wish we could have won this game," Charlton said after the EagleBank Bowl. "But at the end of the day, we did have a successful season, and it came with blood, sweat and tears."

Temple's rebirth was recognized with a league high of eight Owls making the all-MAC first team. In all, 15 Temple players were named to one of the three all-conference teams.

Moreover, Golden was the league's coach of the year, defensive end Adrian Robinson the defensive player of the year, and running back Bernard Pierce the freshman of the year.

In its first two seasons in the MAC, Temple had seven players recognized as all-MAC.

"That epitomized the turnaround of Temple football," Temple athletic director Bill Bradshaw said of the honors accorded the Owls.

"Those awards come from the league coaches," he said. "To have all of these individuals from our team, it epitomizes where the program was and where the program is."