Temple looking for 'a great week'
TEMPLE (3-5, 2-3) has lost three straight, by a total of 83 points. Two of those were to ranked opponents who were both unbeaten at the time. The Owls have given up 31 in the first half the last 2 weeks, after allowing 35 in the second half the week before that.
TEMPLE (3-5, 2-3) has lost three straight, by a total of 83 points. Two of those were to ranked opponents who were both unbeaten at the time. The Owls have given up 31 in the first half the last 2 weeks, after allowing 35 in the second half the week before that.
Sometimes the learning curve can be daunting.
Now the Owls host Cincinnati (6-2, 2-1), whose losses were at Toledo (8-2) by six and in overtime at Louisville, where Temple just lost by 28. But those were also the Bearcats only true road games.
If you're the Owls, this season was about playing with house money anyway. So you look for whatever you can hang something on. They were leading Rutgers 10-0 at the half, before it quickly went poof. And they were tied at Louisville midway through the second quarter, before they again stopped scoring. Untimely turnovers have hurt. They usually do.
They've played without running back Matt Brown, which obviously hasn't helped either. And they have one of the worst passing games in America. But they did win back-to-back Big East games last month for the first time, and have a chance to get three victories for the second time (the other was 1998). And this is, after all, a first step.
"For us, we've just got to have a great week," said coach Steve Addazio. "Continue to get better. I think this team's got a lot of fight. We're looking forward to this game at home . . .
"I think we've competed admirably, in some games. But a half doesn't make a football game. I get that. You've got to have the big picture in mind. But I don't want to lose one. So you think big, but focus small. That's kind of where we are right now."
It's hard to argue the point, even if from an outside perspective the theme does get redundant. Reality can be that way. So you play on, trying to get as much out of it as possible, knowing that the circumstances are mostly working against you.
After this they go to Army (2-7). Then it's Syracuse (4-5, 3-2) here. And maybe even a trip to Hawaii (2-7), if the logistical and financial details can be settled. So bowl eligibility remains a possibility, even though the Owls already won their bowl game back in March when they got back into a league that will soon have a much different look.
"What's happening is we've been playing some really explosive teams, and we're exchanging blows with them pretty good," Addazio said. "You go back and watch tape and there's a handful of plays where all of a sudden the complexity of the game changes. A freshman mistake might be a part of that. It's hard to chastise them because they're playing so hard. I can't help that right now. We have to deal with it. It's not physical. It's not toughness. But we do those things along the way. It's more about teaching them how fragile this is."
If he's not making the same statements a year from now, then he has done his job.
Drive for Sandy victims
Gently used clothing, including winter jackets, and blankets, diapers (all sizes), and toiletries will be collected before the game to benefit the victims of Hurricane Sandy on Nov. 10.
All items will be donated to the American Red Cross.
Drop off boxes will be located outside the North East Gate, the Comcast Gate, and the Box Office.
