Addazio: Temple will get better

STATE COLLEGE, Pa. - Temple's football team is nowhere near a finished product.

The Owls lack depth, do not have a consistent offensive playmaker and struggle to get off the field on defense. They are experiencing what Temple coach Steve Addazio calls growing pains.

Temple (1-2) opened the season with a convincing victory over Football Championship Subdivision foe Villanova. But the Owls followed with a comedy of errors in consecutive losses to Maryland and Penn State.

"We will keep getting better," said Addazio, who played 15 freshmen (including seven redshirts) in Saturday's 24-13 setback to the Nittany Lions. "We will keep working. We've got a young football team right now. And we've got a bunch of young players."

Slowed by injuries and inconsistency, the Owls appear hard-pressed to post their fourth straight winning season.

After its second bye week of the season, Temple opens Big East play on Oct. 6 against South Florida at Lincoln Financial Field. The Owls' homecoming game will be their first of six straight conference contests. And Temple will most likely be the underdog in all six.

"We needed that last [bye week]," Addazio said. "This one we need to play. So we are going to have to figure out how to scrimmage or whatever we are going to do.

"We've got to keep developing the team and get ready for conference play."

There is a lot to develop.

Temple is ranked 119th out of 120 Football Bowl Subdivision teams in total offense at 276.33 yards per game. The Owls are 117th in passing offense (121 yards per game), and Chris Coyer is ranked 94th among 100 quarterbacks in passing efficiency (121.26). The ranking includes quarterbacks who average at least 15 pass attempts per game.

But the redshirt junior has not exactly had reliable receivers. The Owls have dropped 15 passes through three games.

Temple also struggles on defense. The Owls rank 92d nationally in third-down conversion defense (44.44 percent) and last in the Big East in both total defense (396.67 yards per game) and rushing defense (176.33 yards per game).

"We just need to make our plays when they are presented to us," said redshirt freshman middle linebacker Nate D. Smith, who leads the nation in forced fumbles at one per game. "Other than that, we have to keep fighting and come together as a defense."

Smith said it is too early to count the Owls out. He has a blueprint for getting over Saturday's loss and preparing for conference play.

"You've got to have a short-term memory," he said. "Learn from the mistakes of this loss and get back and attack the work week. Just attack it."