2010 Temple Owls Football Preview

2009 Results: 9-4, Lost to UCLA in the Eaglebank Bowl

Head Coach: Al Golden (5th year @ Temple, 19-30 Overall)

Home Venue: Lincoln Financial Field (68,532), Philadelphia, Pennsylvania

What a turnaround 2009 was for the Temple Owls: After three hard years rebuilding the fabric of the program, Head Coach Al Golden’s team ended up surpassing everyone’s expectations by going 9-4 and tying for the MAC East Title at 7-1. While they lost the tiebreaker to Ohio on the season’s final day, this was the most successful year for the Owls since 1979. With perhaps the most veteran team in the entire conference, can Temple take the next step and win the MAC Championship?

OFFENSE

The Temple offense has improved in every season under Golden, the smallest improvement of which was a six point per game jump! If that trend continues, the Owls would end up scoring 35 points per game this season! Now, let’s not get ahead of ourselves here: That kind of perpetual upwards climb simply doesn’t happen. However, Temple certainly has the pieces in place to improve their scoring once again this season as their offense brings back nine starters.

There was a remarkable shift at the quarterback position this offseason. 2009’s starting QB Vaughn Charlton (1,390 yards, 10 TDs, 11 INT) unselfishly moved to Tight End after junior Chester Stewart started the final four games last year. He’ll have an experienced but underwhelming set of receivers to throw to, led by senior Michael Campbell (27 catches, 419 yards, 3 TDs). The Owls are going to find their best chance at success passing the ball off of play action this season and Charlton could end up being a major contributor.

The great news is that the running game is going to be one of best in the entire league this fall. The three top ball carriers from 2009 return as sophomore Bernard Pierce (1,361 yards, 16 TDs, 1st Team All-MAC) is coming off of a break out campaign, classmate Matt Brown (529 yards, 5 TDs) was strong as a backup as a true freshman and junior Kee-ayre Griffin (335 yards, 3 TDs) is a solid 3rd option. Even better, they’ll be running behind a very strong line that brings back two 1st team All-MAC selections in seniors Colin Madison and Darius Morris! The line has four starters back in total and is a group of road graders that are the best that the MAC has to offer.

Overall, this team looks to be the best in the league at running the football thanks to a very deep group of tailbacks and a powerful offensive line. While I am concerned about last season’s weak passing game, they will have the potential to pass very effectively out of play action and that could prove to be a big step forward. On top of that, the Owls didn’t need a great passing attack last season as they ran their way to nine wins with the league’s 2nd best rushing game. I think that Temple will control the clock with great efficiency once more and that means plenty of points in 2010.

DEFENSE

The Owls were also extremely successful on defense last year, holding opponents to the 2nd lowest total in the conference at only 22.3 points per game. This was no surprise as it was the 4th consecutive season that they cut down the number of points allowed per contest. Temple had the league’s best run defense and managed a league-best 34 sacks! With the majority of those players back this fall, can they repeat their great performance?

The Owl defense is going to be extremely good up front this season. While they only return two starters on the D-Line, they’re two of the best players in the conference. Senior DE Adrian Robinson (46 tackles, 13 sacks) was the MAC Defensive Player of the Year after running away with the sack title in 2009. Classmate Muhammad Wilkerson (61 tackles, 7 sacks) was also a 1st Team All-MAC selection, giving the Owls two of the absolute best in the league at any position to build their run defense around.

At linebacker, senior Elijah Joseph (63 tackles, 2 sacks, 1 INT, 1st Team All-MAC) was the team’s 2nd leading tackler last season and will anchor the group. On top of that, senior Amara Kamara (44 tackles, 2 sacks) is an excellent player and he be a big contributor after moving from DE to linebacker this fall. Both should benefit from playing behind a great D-Line this season. Furthermore, the secondary also returns three starters, two who are senior All-MAC players as safety Jaiquawn Jarrett (76 tackles, 3 INT) was a 1st Teamer and cornerback Marquise Liverpool (38 tackles, 3 INT) was a 2nd Teamer. This is going to be a strong group of defensive backs.

Overall, the entire defense looks to be loaded this season for the Owls. They have the top two returning defensive linemen in the conference, their linebackers look solid and their secondary is full of talent. The Owls have five players returning who were 1st or 2nd Team All-MAC on this defense! With so much experience back from a great unit, I think that this group is quite sure to be one of the best in the conference in 2010.

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SCHEDULE

The non-conference schedule is quite fair for the Owls. They face two BCS Conference opponents in Connecticut (who actually comes to Philadelphia) and Penn State and both will be tough games. Their other two non-MAC games are far more reasonable as they face D-1AA Villanova and Army. In league play, Temple plays all six of their MAC East rivals but they have a tough draw from the West with defending champion CMU and contender Northern Illinois. This will be a reasonable but tough schedule for the Owls.

OUTLOOK

This could turn out to be a historical season for Temple. They have the best players in the trenches in the conference and they will succeed by running the ball and playing great defense. Furthermore, I think that their passing game is going to be much more successful this season coming off of play action. With a fair schedule and home field advantage against rival Ohio, I think that this will be the season that the Owls claim the MAC East Championship.

But I think that they won’t be happy with just winning the East. Their conference-best 7-1 record will give them home field advantage in the MAC Championship Game and I predict that their opponents will be the Toledo Rockets. While Toledo has a very strong offense, they will have trouble scoring points against Temple’s stout defense, especially if the Owls control the clock and keep Toledo’s defense on the field for prolonged periods of time. On top of that, I don’t think that the Rockets will have an answer for the powerful Owl running game and that will be the difference as Temple is my pick to win the 2010 Mid-American Conference Championship. Expect the Owls to head to a good bowl game this year with a chance to set a school record for victories in a single season.

PREDICTED RESULT: 9-3 (7-1 MAC) MAC Champions