2011 Temple Owls Football Preview

The Temple Owl football program has been in the best position it has ever occupied. Put a distinct amount of emphasis on that one word, though: “has.” After a truly Golden run under the best coach in the program’s last third of a century, Temple must show that it possesses the resiliency and durability of a truly formidable football force.

The prelude to this season reads like something of a fantasy novel come true: Five years removed from a winless season, head coach Al Golden led the Owls to eight- and nine-win seasons in consecutive years. Few people in and around the program thought that kind of achievement – complete with a bowl game in 2009 (the EagleBank Bowl against UCLA) – was remotely possible. Temple has played before dozens upon dozens of sparse crowds in cavernous professional football stadiums over the past three decades, first in Veterans Stadium during the 1980s and ‘90s and then in Lincoln Financial Field over most of the past decade. This was never a program that inspired much of any enthusiasm in recruits or made itself stand out as a destination market for quality football talent. Yet, Golden – wearing dress slacks, a shirt, and a tie on the sidelines each and every gameday – truly dressed up the Owls and turned them into a high-class outfit on the field. Temple quickly developed an identity as a team that would knock opponents off the ball and play a rugged smashmouth style led by running backs who would charge between the tackles and prevail with determination, persistence, and blue-collar effort. The ability to rise to the upper reaches of the Mid-American Conference took the league and the nation by storm, garnering more than a little publicity in the City of Brotherly Love. Golden’s stay at Temple was truly beyond the Owls’ wildest dreams.

Now, though, the fantasy made real by Golden is in jeopardy. It’s up to new coaching blood – blood which has been doubted – to keep the train rolling.

While Golden moved on to the University of Miami, another Florida connection made his way to Philadelphia. Steve Addazio, who was the offensive coordinator at Florida last season, was named Temple’s head coach and is commissioned to keep the momentum going. Addazio is the man who failed to sustain Florida’s offensive prowess under recently-retired coach Urban Meyer. Florida was a juggernaut under former offensive coordinator and Meyer lieutenant Dan Mullen, but under Addazio in 2010, the bottom fell out. Florida could rarely if ever get out of its own way, scoring just seven points in one home game and 14 in another. The Gators failed to defend their SEC East Division title, leading Addazio to seek a much more off-the-radar program in the offseason. Temple might think it has a nice find as a coach, but as far as many college football observers are concerned, the burden of proof rests with Addazio; the failed Florida coordinator needs to show that he can succeed in the MAC.

The Owls return eight starters on offense. There are three quarterbacks who may become the main cog during the season. Chris Coyer, Mike Gerardi, and Chester Stewart are competing for the starting slot. The offense was mediocre in 2010; it was saddled with a marked inability to use the pass efficiently in support of the much more potent ground game.

The 2010 defense gave up just under 20 points per game, good enough for a top 16 finish. With only five returning starters, it may be difficult to keep up that kind of performance. Addazio’s first test will be Philly rival Villanova to open the season. Temple has just two BCS games on the slate, hosting Penn State in week two and traveling to Maryland the following week. The MAC slate looks very manageable, with a trip to Athens to face Ohio during the first week of November with possible division title ramifications. Temple went 8-4 last year. At the very least, a 6-6 season is expected in year one of the Addazio era. A bigger drop-off will immediately create the kinds of questions that can undermine a new coach’s hold on a program.

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