Temple Owls
Preview 2007
By
Pete Fiutak
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2007 Temple Offense Preview |
2007 Temple Defense Preview
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2007 Temple Depth
Chart
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2006 CFN Temple
Preview
Unceremoniously booted from the Big East after 2004, Temple won one
game in the last two seasons on the way to becoming the worst D-I
program in college football. That’s changing, and it might happen
far faster than anyone could ever imagine.
No, this isn’t going to be a Rutgers situation right away, but under
second-year head man Al Golden, and with the move to the MAC, Temple
pulled off two stunningly good recruiting classes that will get
plenty of early action to build for the future. Unlike most new
coaching staffs that have to deal with the pieces they inherit,
Golden and his coaches are going with their guys and their recruits.
If you’re going to lose, lose and get experienced and improve along
the way.
Head coach: Al Golden
2nd year: 1-11
Returning Lettermen:
Off 24, Def 9, ST 1
Lettermen Lost: 31 |
Ten
Best Owl Players
1. C Alex Derenthal, Jr.
2. DE Brian Sanford, Soph.
3. NT Andre Neblett, Soph.
4. QB Adam DiMichele, Jr.
5. WR/KR Travis Shelton, Jr.
6. QB Vaughn Charlton, Soph.
7. WR Bruce Francis, Jr.
8. LB Alex Joseph, Soph.
9. LB Wallace Bates, Jr.
10. RB Marcellous Grigsby, Jr. |
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2007 Schedule
CFN
Prediction:
2-10 |
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Aug. 31 |
Navy |
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Sept. 8 |
Buffalo |
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Sept. 15 |
at Connecticut |
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Sept. 22 |
at Bowling Green |
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Sept. 29 |
at Army |
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Oct. 6 |
Northern Illinois |
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Oct. 13 |
at Akron |
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Oct. 20 |
Miami University |
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Nov. 2 |
at Ohio |
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Nov. 10 |
Penn
State |
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Nov. 17 |
Kent State |
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Nov. 24 |
at Western Mich |
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2006
Schedule
2006 Results:
1-11 |
|
8/31 |
at Buffalo L 9-3 OT |
| 9/9 |
Louisville L 62-0 |
| 9/16 |
at Minnesota L 62-0 |
| 9/23 |
at Western Mich L 41-7 |
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9/30 |
at Vanderbilt L 43-14 |
| 10/7 |
Kent State L 28-17 |
| 10/12 |
vs. Clemson L 63-9 |
| 10/21 |
at No Illinois L 43-21 |
| 10/28 |
Bowling Green W 24-14 |
| 11/4 |
Central Michigan L 42-26 |
| 11/11 |
at Penn State L 47-0 |
| 11/18 |
at Navy L 42-6 |
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Even
though the talent and athleticism has been significantly upgraded, it’s
still going to take a while before Temple becomes competitive. No one
goes from getting outscored by an average of 43 to 10 over the last two
years, while scoring fewer than ten points in 13 of the last 23 games,
and becomes a superstar overnight.
Seven starters on the offense from the end of last year were
underclassmen while eight freshmen or sophomores starters on the
defensive side. Throw in all the recruits from this year’s class,
arguable the best in the MAC, and this will likely be a maddening year
when it comes to any sort of consistency. Owl fans will take that if
there just a few wins here and there.
No, this isn’t the same Temple of a few years ago. Golden won’t let
there be any talk of losing, he’s changing the overall attitude, and
most importantly, he’s getting the players. While it might not be enough
to mean much this season, the program just got a lot more interesting,
and for the right reasons.
What to watch for
on offense:
More pop. Any production from the nation’s worst offense will be
appreciated. There was so much turnover and so many players thrown into
the mix, there was never a chance for any running game to develop much
less a sophisticated passing attack. The offensive line is the big key
with four starters returning after an awful year. They need to do at
least one thing really well to see what the skill players can do.
What to watch for on defense: There will be more wrinkles thrown
in. With only two returning starters last year and no developed depth
whatsoever, the defense wasn’t even remotely close to coming up with a
stop against any offense with a pulse. The problem wasn’t necessarily
athleticism or talent; it was youth and inexperience. Now the coaching
staff can try to be more creative to generate pressure as it tries to
find something the D can rely on.
The team will be far better if … it finds a positive identity of
some sort. Being patient and living through mistakes will be a must once
again, but there has to be at least one thing the team can do well. The
offense and defense will come in time, but until then, the Owls have to
cut down on the turnovers, have to start to pass protect, and must be
far, far better on special teams.
The Schedule: There aren’t any easy games against D-IAA teams to
rely on for wins, so unless the Owls get by Buffalo at home in the
second game of the year, it’ll require an upset to come up with a
victory. Four road trips in five weeks, and the lone home game in that
mix against Northern Illinois, it’s not likely to be a great first half
of the season unless the Owls can play hard at Army. The second half
isn’t much better with road trips at Akron, Ohio and Western Michigan
and home games against Miami University, Penn State and Kent State.
Best Offensive Player:
Junior
C Alex Derenthal. One of the only players on the roster who knows he has
a starting job, the 6-4, 292-pound junior will be the anchor of the line
after starting every game last year in the middle. He’ll have to be the
steady force with all the changes to the rest of the offensive lineup.
Best Defensive Player:
Sophomore DE
Brian Sanford. But this could quickly change if JUCO transfer Wallace
Bates lives up to his billing at linebacker or if Alex Joseph becomes a
killer at middle linebacker. Sanfrod saw just three starts as a true
freshman but showed immense promise at outside linebacker. Now he’ll
move to the line where he’ll use his speed to potentially become a pass
rushing terror.
Key player to a
successful season:
Sophomore DTs Daniel
Popper and Andre Neblett. More than anything else, Temple can’t get
knocked out of games right off the bat. The Owls got outscored 153 to 20
in the first quarters of 2006 mainly because offenses were able to run
at will, get up quickly, and force the Temple offense to scramble. If
Popper and Neblett can do something, anything against the run, the
entire team picture might change.
The season will be a
success if
... Temple wins three games. Considering the program has won four games
in four years, three this season would be a monumental step forward for
the young team. It’ll take a win over Buffalo, a win at Army, and an
upset where everything goes the right way against someone who comes into
the game sleepwalking. At the very least, just being more competitive on
both sides of the ball would be a nice start.
Key game:
Sept. 29 at Army.
Temple doesn’t have more experienced talent than anyone on the slate but
Buffalo and Army. A win over the Bulls is a must, but coming up with a
victory over the Black Knights would be something special since it would
break what will likely be a 23-game road losing streak. Not only would
it be a nice win, it would be the first on the road since beating Middle
Tennessee 44-36 in October of 2003.
2006 Fun Stats:
- Rushing touchdowns: Opponents 41 – Temple 4
- First half scoring: Opponents 311 – Temple 41
- Sacks: Opponents 48 for 364 yards – Temple 15 for 99 yards