Favored Owls not looking past Maryland

Perhaps the opening weekend is a lousy indicator of what lies ahead for college football teams.

Coaches will tell you that it's simply a starting point - nothing more and nothing less. That's the message Temple's Steve Addazio is trying to get across to his players.

"I tell the team all the time, 'Watch out. Watch out for that stuff now,' " he said of first impressions. "You can't tell. You really can't tell. It's too fragile right, now. You get a pretty good read on a team around the middle of the season."

At this moment, many observers expect Temple to run over Maryland on Saturday at Lincoln Financial Field, based on last week's performances.

Running back Matt Brown looked like a one-man show as the Owls earned a 41-10 victory over Villanova, a Football Championship Subdivision opponent.

The Terrapins also played an FCS opponent in their opener. They struggled before posting a come-from-behind 7-6 victory over William and Mary.

Maryland quarterback Perry Hills, a freshman, threw three interceptions. Two of them set up Tribe field goals.

The Terrapins also lost a fumble, and junior cornerback Dexter McDougle was called for three pass-interference penalties.

"I can tell you that we are not looking past them one bit," said Temple quarterback Chris Coyer, whose team defeated Maryland, 38-7, last season at Byrd Stadium. "We are looking at them as tough competition and a tough game to win."

Maryland defensive tackle Joe Vellano is confident his team will play better than it did a week ago. He attributed the Terps' shaky performance to having a lot of players making their college debuts.

"Without a doubt, we have tons of talent here," Vellano said of a team that has a combined 27 freshmen and sophomores on the two-deep depth chart. "We've just got to stick with what we are good at."

On Saturday, Maryland's defense will need to stop the run to have a chance.

Temple racked up 301 rushing yards against Villanova. Brown led all rushers with 145 yards and a touchdown. It was the sixth time the Owls rushed for more than 300 yards, dating back to last season.

"I know they are going to try to run the ball at us," Vellano said. "I kind of like it on our defense when I kind of know our defense has to step up."

Maryland held William and Mary to 2.5 yards per carry, with Vellano (11 tackles, interception) and inside linebacker Demetrius Hartfield (13 tackles, fumble recovery) leading the way.

That's why Addazio believes Maryland will be a tough test.

Recruit sends his love. Montour High defensive tackle Tyler Haddock reconfirmed his oral commitment to play football at Temple.

"Temple Nation!!! That's all I have to say," he said Wednesday in a direct message on Twitter.

But according to VictoryBellRings.com, Haddock would be interested in Penn State if the Nittany Lions called. The Nittany Lions have not offered him a scholarship.

Tim Tolley, the website's lead editor and a recruiting analyst for PennLive.com, wrote that Haddock "did not hesitate to admit his intrigue with Penn State, mentioning defensive line coach Larry Johnson."

However, the 5-foot-11, 275-pounder downplayed his conversation with Tolley.

"I would never leave a top promising program for a dying program #Temple Nation #Iloveyou," he said in a Twitter message.

Haddock committed to Temple this summer after backing out of a commitment to Kent State.