SPORTS | SPRING COLLEGE FOOTBALL TEMPLE Senior linebacker Matakevich expects big thingsfor Owls and says, ‘You makesomany BY ANDREWALBERT tackles,’ but,atthe end of the Philly.com day, Ican’tdoany of thatwith- [email protected] out everyone elseonthe team,” Matakevich said. “Thedefen- URING Tyler Mata- siveline makes it so mucheasier kevich’s sophomoreyear to play. Whentheyare blowing Din the Temple football up 300-poundguysand Ican program, newly installed head justmeet arunning back in the coachMattRhule posed aques- hole, thatissomuch easierfor tiontohis entirefootball team. me.Igetall the spotlightand Rhule asked howeachplayer stuff likethat, but it is all these wanted to be remembered at guys. It is literallyateameffort.” Temple. Thisyear’s Temple teamhas ForMatakevich,the answer the makingstobethe bestinre- back then was simpleand has re- cent history,and thatstarts mained the same, as he heads withthe defense. Lastseason, forhis lastyear in cherry and the Owls allowed only17.5points white. per game,and Matakevich has “A hardworking, nose-for-the- even higher expectations for balltype of footballplayer,”the seniorlinebacker said, describ- thisseason. ing howhewants to be remem- “Weare expecting to be the bered. “A kid thatnever stops. best,”Matakevich said. “Last That’s it right there.” year,wewereranked highin Forthree yearsananOwl, he somecategories,but afew has shown to be justthat. He sits games camedowntothe wire. sixth on the all-timecareer tack- The wayIlookatitis, if you les listatTemple,with355.He don’t let the other teamscore, has hadmorethan100 tackles in theycan’twin.Itiscompletely each of his three seasons.Ifhe on the defense.” can do it again in his senioryear, As anchor of the Owls de- he willbeonly the seventhplay- fense, Matakevich has his eyes er in NCAA history to do so. set on teamsuccess ratherthan “Tyler is one of the guyson individualaccolades.Inhis first our defensethathas to be in twoseasons, Temple compiled a there forustoplaywell,” defen- record of 6-17.Last year,the sivecoordinator PhilSnowsaid. Owls went 6-6.Things areon Matakevich has achancetobe- the upswingonNorthBroad come Temple’sfirst defensive Street,and Matakevich and com- All-America in program history. panythink theyare close to com- Success of thatnaturecannot be petingatahighlevel. ignored. It can be downplayed, The Cherry-and-White spring whichMatakevich doeswell. game is 1p.m. SaturdayatChod- He doesnot see his personal off FieldatEdbergOlsonHall. success as anythingmorethan As withall programs,optimism the success of the teamaround runseternalbeforesummer him.The third-year captain sees workoutsstart. Matakevich just howmuch everyone must re- wants thisyear to end different- ly on one another forsuccess in ly from the previousthree and football. He appreciates the really wants to place his stamp work his teammates put in daily on the program. to makethe teambetter. “Everyone alwayslooksatme Continued on Next Page

Page 44 PHILADELPHIA DAILYNEWS—Philly.comThursday,April23, 2015 whereitneedstobebySept.5 when Penn State visits Lincoln Fi- “Ever since Igot here, the only nancial Fieldtokickoff the sea- thing I’vewanted to do was win a son.Matakevich,likethe rest of championshipatthe collegiate the Owls,has beenputting in the level,”Matakevich said. “I feel work to ensurethe 2015season likethisteamthisyear has an op- endsastheywantitto. portunitytodosomethingreally “I really careaboutthisteam special. We have tremendous and thisprogram,”Matakevich leadershipinguyslikeKyle said. “Ever since Igot hereI’ve Friend, Matt Ioannidis and Tavon beentryingeachday to makemy- Yo ung,guyslikethatwho know selfbetter to makethe teambet- its our lastshotand we’renot go- ter and getthe teamgoinginthe ing to let our chanceget away right direction.” ¢ from us.” Rhule is relying on his senior leaderstocarrythe teamto " @AndrewJAlbert01

Thursday,April23, 2015 PHILADELPHIA DAILYNEWS—Philly.comPage 45 SPORTS | COLLEGE FOOTBALL

“Touchdownare alwaysgood,” Owls’Rhule likes effort Deloatch,aredshirtjuniorthis fall, saidindiscussingthe play. “ButIhave to thank the line, at annual spring game thank the quarterbackfor getting me the ball, so Ihavetocelebrate withthem. It alwaysfeelsgood an end. BY SHAMUSCLANCY getting points formyteam. As astarter in 12 games as a “P.J.’s one of the bestquarter- Daily News StaffWriter truesophomorein2014, quarter- [email protected] backs I’veplayedwith... I back P. J. Walker threw for2,317 thank him fortrusting me and yards, whiletossing13touch- trusting all of the receivers. EMPLE’S CHERRYand downs to 15 interceptions and That’s prettybig.” White Gamegot off to a completing53.3 percent of his T Rhule was as encouraged about quirkystart on Saturdayaf- passes.Comingoff thatinconsis- Deloatch’s work, three recep- ternoon,asanannouncerstood tent6-6 campaign forthe Owls, tions for63receivingyards and on the field to narrate the Owls’ Walker’sdevelopment has been thattouchdown catch,ashewas performancethroughthe Ram- an obvious focal point forhead about Walker’simprovement. page,amodern updateonthe old- coachMattRhule thisoffseason. “Romond has all the physical schoolOklahomadrill,and akick- “I thought P. J. lookedsharp for talent in the world,” Rhule said. ing competition.Points were aspring game.Hehit the deep “We’rejust tryingtoget him to awarded forsuccess in those ball. He hit someotherthrows,” not justthink of himself as aone- workoutstothe Cherry squad, Rhule saidofWalker’sperfor- trick pony, aguy that’s going to the defense, and the White team, mance.“It’shardwhen I’m on the getdownnear the end zoneand the offense, respectively,inthe field.I’m so busyyelling at the catch fades.Wewanthim to do spectacle. linemenunder my breath thatI more.” Those points were distributed don’t really evaluateeverything, throughoutthe game morehap- but he made good checks, hadus As the semester winds down hazardly thanon“Whose LineIs in the right plays, didn’tturnthe and the Owls transitiontosum- mer practices to continuetheir It Anyway?”withTemple’sof- footballover. Ithought P. J. played ED HILLE /STAFF PHOTOGRAPHER fensepulling off the 43-23 win, well.” Leah Still performs cointossatTemple’sannualCherryand White development in advanceoftheir but the on-field scrimmage action While alternatingdrives with GameonSaturday as her father Devon, of the Bengals,watches. Sept. 5season opener against still brought real physicality, op- the Owls’backupsignal callers, Penn State at the Linc, Walker portunities forimprovement and Walker finished the Cherry and strikes, as he completed sevenof throw cameearly in the contest simplysummed up his and the someoptimism forthe fall as White Gamewith99passing 13 attempts. on a10-yardpasstoSam Ben- team’sgoalgoingforward. spring practicesessions cameto yards and twotouchdown Walker’sfirst touchdown jamin. As Benjamin ranafade “I justwanttoget betterand route to the back leftcorner of bettereachday from hereon the end zone, Walker executed out.” the playprecisely withahighloft and perfect spiralonthe ball. To uchdown, Leah His second touchdown was the Leah Still,the 4-year-old daugh- bestthrow he made all afternoon, ter of Cincinnati Bengals defen- hittingRomond Deloatch witha sivelineman DevonStill,was hon- 40-yardbomb on apostroute. ored beforethe game and per- Walker facedastingypassrush formedthe coin toss.Leah spent on the play, and was forced to timeatthe Children’sHospital of scramble abit in the pocket, step Philadelphia in the fall being treat- up and sling it down the field to ed forneuroblastoma,achild- Deloatch,getting the balltohim hoodcancer.She was declared in stride. cancer-free in March. “They’veworked hard. They On the first playofthe game, cameout. Theyhad no lapsesout Templequarterback LennyWill- there,”Walker saidofTemple’s iams took the ball from center,and receivingcorps. tossed it to the elder Still,who “Last year,Romond,hehandedoff to Leah. With Hooter wouldn’t have beenadeepthreat. the Owlacting as ablocker,Leah He was prettyheavy lastyear.He ran45yards foratouchdown. The wasn’tasphysical and fast as he schoolpep band playedasthe en- is now. tireteam ranonto the field to “He’llbeadeep-field threat meet her in the end zone. ¢ that’llhelpusbecause he has size and he can run,sothat’s an amaz- ing thing forus.” " @shamus_clancy

Page 54 PHILADELPHIA DAILYNEWS—Philly.comMonday, April 27,2015 SPORTS | COLLEGE FOOTBALL Owls eye2016draft But seniorsfocused first on the upcoming season

“I think we’llhaveabunch of four seasons recording 100 tack- BY ANDREWALBERT guysnextyear thatget invited to les.Friend made second-teamall- Philly.com the combine,abunch of guysget American Athletic Conference [email protected] drafted,”coach Matt Rhule said. lastseason, and would have won “I think we’llhaveabunch of guys the 225-pound bench pressatthe VERYApril, there is abuzz be [undrafted] free agentsand NFL Scouting Combine the last2 in the footballworld that maketeams.Ithink we have six years, being abletolift that Eusually revolves aroundthe or sevenguyswithachanceto weight 43 times. Ioannidis also NFL draft. playpro football.” was second-teamall-conference Thisweek,ChipKelly, Marcus Mostnotably,linebacker Tyler and led the Owls’defensiveline Mariota and other prominent Matakevich,center Kyle Friend with47tackles. names willbehardtoavoid until and defensivelinemanMattIoan- While the dream of playingin Eagles fans findout justwhat nidis presumablyhavethe best the NFL is present forall three, Kellyhas in store forhis team. chancetoplayatthe next level. theyare morefocusedonmaking sureTemple’steamgoals aremet Next year,the focus of the city, All three areentering their senior first. Personal accolades and ca- aside from Kelly’s antics,couldbe seasons and have gottenlooks reer aspirations arebeingput to squarely on North BroadStreet. from NFL teams already. the sidefor the greater good of The Temple Owls have acluster Matakevich has achance to the team. of players whocouldheartheir break Temple’sall-time tackles names called from the lectern at record and become onlythe sev- “It’s alwaysbeen adream since the 2016NFL draft. enthplayerinNCAAhistorywith youare alittle kid,” Matakevich saidofthe prospect of getting drafted. “I’mnot really focused on thatright now. I’m focused on thisseason. It’sour lastopportu- nitytodosomethingspecialat Temple.” He added: “It is justafact. If it happens, it happens. It would be a dream come true, but my focus right nowistowin achampion- shipand getthisprogram and teaminthe right direction.” ASSOCIATED PRESS “It is exciting,” Ioannidis ac- TylerMatakevich could breakthe Te mple record fortackles. knowledged. “You would be aliar if yousaid it wasn’t,but it is not re- allymyconcern at the moment. younger guystocome along and coln Financial FieldonSept.5, WhatIreally wantisthischampi- helpalot of these guyswho ha- withhopes of an upset to start the onship.” ven’tplayedalot,socome game season. Temple improvedfrom2-10in timewecan all getinthere and Lastyear,Temple fell,30-13, to Rhule’sfirst year in 2013to6-6 playfast and playhard,” Friend Penn State at BeaverStadium. lastyear.The Owls think they said. “Rightnow,the success of The defense, whichallowed17.5 have alegitimateshotatcompet- the individual comes from the suc- points per game lastseason, ing forthe AACchampionship, cess of the team. Youcan’tbean looks forwardtoprovingitself and the bowl bid thatcomeswith individualinthe game of foot- not onlyagainstthe NittanyLi- it. ball.” ons,but the other opponents, as Abig reason forthe improve- “I think coachRhule and some well. mentisthe leadershipprovided of the leadersonthisteamhave “This defense, Ihavehighex- by the three,who all were cap- really steppeduptothe plate,” pectations for, incredibly highex- tains lastseason. Theyunder- Matakevich said. “Wehaveaspe- pectations for,”Ioannidis said. “I stand younger players willlisten cialopportunityinfront of us and can’t waittosee what we can go to what theysay,sometimesmore it is on us to makeithappen.” out there and do in the fall.” ¢ so thanwhen it comes from the Right off the bat, the Owls have coaches. an opportunitytomakeastate- “I’msofocusedongetting these ment, hosting Penn State at Lin- " @AndrewJAlbert01 SPORTS | COLLEGE FOOTBALL Owls extend Rhule’s contract

ue to leadthe program into the fu- of 2012, succeeding Steve Add- ture,”Rhule saidinastatement azioand inheritingateamthat yesterday. “I’mproud of our stu- went 4-7in2012. EMPLE ANNOUNCED it dent-athletes and all thattheydo The Owls went 2-10 in Rhule’s and Ilook forward to continuing first seasonbut improvedto6-6 has extended the contract T to leadand teach themfor years lastyear. of headfootball coachMatt to come.Templehas been my fam- “Matt Rhule is one of the best Rhule forfour years ily’s homesince 2006and Iam young coaches in college foot- throughthe 2021season. honored to be abletoserve the ball,” saidDr. Patrick Kraft,the “I am thrilled to signthisexten- universityasits footballcoach.” Owls’director of athletics. “Matt sionand to knowthatIwillcontin- Rhule was hired in December has the program headinginthe right direction ...and we are confidentthat he is the right person to take the program to even great- er heights.” The Owls opened last seasonwitha 37-7 victoryat Rhule Vanderbilt, giving them their first win against an SEC teaminover75years. Temple alsopostedawin against No.21EastCarolina at Golden and heldamyriadofroles. playedlinebacker at Penn State Lincoln Financial Field, marking He coached the defensiveline, under JoePaterno.Hebegan his justthe third Owls’victoryovera tight ends, quarterbacks, and was coachingcareer at Albright Col- legein1998 and alsocoachedat ranked opponent and first since offensivecoordinator,aswell as re- cruiting coordinator.Hewas a the UniversityofBuffalo 1998. The Owls’ 59-0win over Del- (1999-2000), UCLA (2001) and Temple assistantfor six seasons, awareState was their largest Western Carolina (2002-05) be- including twobowlteams. He left margin of victoryinover60 fore coming to Temple. years. And Temple’sdefensefin- in 2012tobecome the assistantof- The Owls opentheir 2015sea- ished fourth in the nationinallow- fensiveline coachfor the NewYork son against Penn State at Lincoln ing just17.5points-per-game. Giants beforereturning to North Financial FieldonSept.3at 3:30 Rhule,40, first cametoTemple BroadStreet as headcoach. p.m. in agame thatwill be tele- in 2006asanassistant under Al Rhule,anativeofState College, vised on ESPN. ¢

Page 56 PHILADELPHIA DAILYNEWS—Philly.comFriday,June26, 2015 Owls transferOK’dtoplay

OOD NEWSfor Temple State on Sept. 5. G football. Widereceiver Ado- Theymight alsohavewideout nis Jenningswillbeeligibleto RobbieAnderson availableagain. playthisseasonaftertransfer- He had44receptions, ateam-lead- ringfromthe UniversityofPitts- ing 791yards and ninetouch- burgh,the Daily News has con- downs in 2013beforebeingdis- firmed. missed from the team foracadem- The news was first reportedby ic reasons. But he recently re- Owlscoop.com turned to the universityand The South Jersey native, who should be cleared to playaslong leftPittafterone year forfamily as he fulfills the necessarysum- reasons, willnot have to sit out a mer coursework requirements. season after successfullypetition- The Owls went 6-6 lastseason, ing the NCAA forawaiver. He afour-win improvement from playedsparingly as afreshman af- coachMattRhule’sdebut,but ter starringatTimber Creek their passinggame struggled noti- HighSchool. cably,compared with2013. ¢ The Owls begin preseason campThursday. Theyopen their —MikeKern seasonathomeagainstPenn

Page 60 PHILADELPHIA DAILYNEWS—Philly.comFriday,July31, 2015 SPORTS | COLLEGE FOOTBALL Owls picked No.3in AAC

Three weeks later,theylost to Cin- cy,also at the Linc, 14-6. They’llvisitCincy on Sept. 12 in the AACopener.Thatcomesa week after theyhostPenn State. So we might knowsomething very early.Theyget UCFathome in mid-October.Theylost to the ASSOCIATED PRESS Knights lastyear in Orlando by Robbie 20. And Memphis visits in late No- Anderson vember. wasamong The Owls getabreak and don’t Te mple’s playHouston or Navyinthe rotat- most ing two-year schedule. Theylost productive to bothlast season, giving up 31 widereceivers points each time. before And,ofcourse,NotreDame missing2014. comestotownonHalloween.It’ll be the Fighting Irish’s first tripto Philly since 1993and second in justoverfour decades. They’ve neverplayedTemple here. But they’re14-1-1againstPenn State, Penn,Armyand NavyatFranklin Field, Municipal Stadium(JFK) and Veterans Stadium. Temple dropped the 2013opener at South BY MIKE KERN and Connecticut, whichopensat Bend, 28-6. ¢ homeagainstVillanova. Daily News StaffWriter Thisisthe first timethe AAC [email protected] willbesplit intodivisions. On " @mikekerndn Dec. 5, the champion with the bet- N2013,the debut seasonfor terconferencerecordwillhost Ithe American Athletic Confer- the inauguralfinal. ence, Temple and newcoach In the West,Memphis barely Matt Rhule were pickedtofinish edged Houston and Navy, fol- ninth out of 10 teams in the pre- lowedbyTulane, SMU and Tulsa. seasonpoll. The Owls wound up The Owls,who start training going 2-10, 1-7, to tie forlast. camptomorrow,havealmost all Ayear ago, theywerevoted of their startersback. Theymight eighth of 11 and ended up sixth at alsohavewidereceiver Robbie 6-6 overall,4-4 in the conference. Anderson,who was P. J. Walker’s Memphis, whichwas pickedsev- favoritetargetin2013.Hemissed enth, tookthe title by finishing 7-1 lastseasonafterbeingdismissed (10-2).The Tigerswon the three- from the universitybecause of ac- waytiebreaker withpreseason fa- ademic issues. But he recently re- voriteCincinnatiand No.2Cen- turned and should be eligible tral Florida. oncemoreifhecompleteshis Ye sterdayinNewport, R.I., Cin- summerclasswork.Further,the cy was again annointed as the Owls’defenseimproveddramati- most likely to succeed, forwhatev- cally in 2014, ranking fourthna- er thatgets youatthispoint.The tionally in points allowed. Now Bearcatswerethe choiceon22of maybe it’smostly amatterofget- 30 media ballots.And theywerea tingboth sides of the balltoclick near-unaminous selection (29 at the sametime. votes)inthe EastDivision,ahead LastNovember,the Owls lostto of UCF. Temple was third,ahead Memphisathomeonalate field of EastCarolina,SouthFlorida goal after leadingby10early.

Wednesday, August5,2015 PHILADELPHIA DAILYNEWS—Philly.comPage 43 SPORTS | COLLEGE FOOTBALL WR gets 2nd chance; Owls’offensegetsboost

messed up,madesomemistakes. thirddown, youknowyou’rego- year ... forme. BY MIKE KERN It’sablessing. Ihavetothank ev- ing to thatguy.Itell him in the hud- “One semester [atValencia] I “I think this will help open Daily News StaffWriter erybody thatstood behindmein dle to be ready. took six classes. Some of them thingsfor all of us,” said Ander- [email protected] my hardtime. “It makes me feel real happy, were hard, but Ihad to getitdone. son, whomight also be able to con- “I honestly believedIwould get just the fact thathe’s trying to Ithought maybe sinceIwas gone tribute as akick/punt returner. OMETIMES it’simpossi- back, even when theytoldmeI come back. Alot of guysget out of theyforgotabout me.But every- “My mentalityisevery time Iget ble to grasp justhow much couldn’t come back ...Iunder- school, they’d be done.Hewanted body was behind me.They the ball Iwant to score. Idon’t you’regoingtomisssome- S stood youmakedecisions you’ve to be part of the team. Whynot pushed me.Theysaid, ‘Wegot playwith fear.This is what Ilove thing until it’staken away from gottolivewith. You’vegot to bring him back?Hewas agreat as- [your back].’ So Ijust want to help to do.Why would Ibescared do- you. work throughit. Iuseditasmoti- set. He can do the same thing.” this team, in anyway possible, Or youtakeitawayfromyour- ing it?I’m just trying to make vation. It was sad. IknewIcould Anderson figures to contribute, achieve thingsthatTemple’s nev- something happen.” self. be herehelping [theteam].Iwas maybe evenabunch, eventhough er done.It’s an 11-man sport. I He already has. ¢ RobbieAnderson knows the their No.1fan, but it was rough.” Rhule insists he’s still going to don’t really put it on one person. If feeling. Lastyear,Temple’soffense have to earn his waybackinto a Ihad been out thereand P. J. was He hadev- tookanappreciable stepback, prime-time role.But there’s no de- gone,itwould have been difficult " @mikekerndn erything going even thoughthe Owls wonfour nying thathis presence, and his forhim.Then, moregamesthantheydid in 2013. story,are worth getting encour- justlikethat, Thatwas mostlybecause their de- aged about. he was left fensemadesomeserious strides. Anderson also left school in withnothing Anderson’s return, among other 2013, forpersonal reasons, after —otherthan additions,has onlyheightened practicing thatspring as adefen- the belief that the overall anticipationfor a siveback. But he returned as a he’dsomehow group thathas beenpicked to fin- walk-onand was converted to Anderson getitback. ish third in the American Confer- wide receiver. Even if he ence’s EastDivision. “I feel likeanold headnow,” might have beenthe onlybeliever. “Thegreatestthing about Rob- Anderson said. “I’m 22. Some of “I can’t really put it into bie is his competiveness,” said these guysare just coming out of words,” he saidthe other day. third-year coachMattRhule.“He highschool. Iwant to be amen- “It’s really adream come true. onlyknows one speed, whichis tor ...Believe it or not, it made “I nevergave up.” what you’relookingfor in afoot- me look at lifecompletely differ- Anderson is at Temple,playing ballplayer. He’s alwayshad great ent. Ididn’t takemyeducation se- footballagain, after missinglast ballskills, he’sobviouslyfast and riously.Itook those thingsfor seasonfor academic reasons. The he’sworked hardthissummerto granted. Now, Itakeevery little as- Fort Lauderdale, Fla., native geteligible. He bringssuchadif- pect of what we do daybyday.I spentthe year away getting an as- ferent attitudetothatposition, put myself in thatsituation. I sociate’s degree from Valencia whichisprobably the deepeston couldn’t be madatanybody but Community College in Orlando. the teamnow.” myself. From there it appeared he was It doesn’t hurt thatSouth Jer- “I’m not adumb person. This headed to Division II Florida sey’s Adonis Jennings, whotrans- summer Iearned three A’s. I Tech,but the courses he needed ferred in forfamily reasons after could have been doing thatthe to getintothatschoolenabled playing sparingly in his one sea- whole time.Iwas in disbelief him to re-enroll on North Broad. son at Pitt, has been cleared to when [I hadtoleave]. It was terri- And after completingthe neces- playimmediately. ble.Football is my favorite thing to sary classwork in the first and sec- “It means alot [to have Ander- do.Coach Rhule’s not one of those ond summersemesters, he’san son],” said quarterback P. J. Walk- guyswho’s like, ‘Hedid this.’ So Owloncemore. Aredshirtsenior, er,who struggled last fall coming there’s no redcarpet. I’m not that there’s an outside chancehe off apromising freshman season type of person [either]. He gave could even be granted another in large partdue to the lack of com- me the blueprint, said the sky’s year of eligibility from the NCAA. plementary weapons. “He’s a the limit if IdowhatIhave to do. But right nowthat’s hardly the deep-threatguy,but he’s not just “[In2013] Iwas just getting my priority.Just being hereiswhat’s adeep threat. He gets aball at 5 feet wet,” Anderson conceded. “I relevant. yards and goes 30. He’s versatile. felt likesome of thathappened by “It was kindofdevastating, a He’s able to makedefenses back accident. When Ilook back and very big letdown,”saidAnder- up.That’s what we need. watch some film, I’ll be like, ‘Man, son,who had44receptions for791 “Hejust helps youget the ball Icould have done this or that.’ yards and ninetouchdowns in out of your hands, when youneed That’s added fuel to my fire. I’m a justthe lastnine games in 2013. “I somebody to makeaplay. Yo u wiser player. Iwas moreastudent started to reachmypeak. ThenI need aguy to protect you. On of the game not playing last

Monday,August 10, 2015 PHILADELPHIA DAILYNEWS—Philly.comPage 59 SPORTS | COLLEGE FOOTBALL Owls’Young has grownintoleadership role

the time,”Youngsaid. “When he said.“Itakecareofthe linebackers, treatpeoplewithrespect,and “When Ilet aguy talktothe BY TOMREIFSNYDER saidthattome, Ireally just Matt [Ioannidis] will takecareof howmuch yougivetofootball. team, it means Ithink guysinthe Daily News StaffWriter thought about it, like, Igot to step the [defensive]linemen, Will Hayes “AndIthink oncehegot that— back, the freshmen,there’s some- [email protected] up and justmature.” will takecareofthe safeties, and I’m justasking youtobeagood thing theyneed to hear,”Rhule The 5-10, 180-pound corner- Tavon’s gotthe corners. football player, man,I’m not ask- said. “He’s aguy,like, we go to the AVON YOUNG still remem- back was one of onlyfour true “It’s sortofbeen one of those ing youall thisother stuff —he movieslast night, he’sthe guy bershis days as afreshman freshmen to earnastarting role thingswherethose guyslook up boughtinand he has run withit.” whispering in [their] ear,like, TwithTemple football, when in Addazio’s final year at Temple, to us, so it’s our job to getthem go- Lastweek,Youngstoodupand ‘Let’smakesureweleave this he often let his fiery passionfor along withlinebacker Tyler ing in the right direction, get addressed his teammates during a place betterthanwefoundit,’ winning devolveintounhealthy Matakevich,who playedinevery themdoing their job.” meeting; aprivilege Rhule doesn’t and it happens. outbursts thatearnedhim early game and became the first fresh- Lastseason, Young tookthe pro- givetojust anyone.And Sunday “It’s acredit to himand hisfami- exits from practice. man in schoolhistorytorecord verbial next stepthatRhule and night, he flashed his newfound lead- ly,but he’sreally developed.” ¢ After playingin10gamesand 100 tackles in aseason(101). Matakevich knewhecould,lead- ershipagain when the entireteam starting twoofthemduringhis Bothcame intothe schoolas ing the Owls withacareer-high went to see newly released first seasonin2012 under then- young,talented players with four interceptions as the team’s “Straight Outta Compton.” " @tom_reifsnyder coachSteve Addazio, the corner- greatpotential, but Matakevich premier defensiveback. He also back satdownwithnewly ap- was muchquickerinadopting a ranked first in the American Ath- pointedcoach Matt Rhule to dis- leadershiprole at an early stage letic Conferencewith153 inter- cusshis futurewiththe program. in his career. ceptionreturn yards and third in “Thefirst spring coachRhule He knewYoungneeded onlya passes defended (13). was here, we hadend-of-the-year littlebit of proddingtoget him to He willput those credentialson meetings, and he toldmebasical- takehis role to the next level. the linethisseason, as well,for ly coachAddazio saidI’m aguy “I just satdownand told him, like, the Owls,who arepredicted to fin- thattalks back to coaches some- ‘Bro, we gottoget this thinggoing ish third in the AAC’s EastDivi- times or aguy thatdidn’tlisten all in the right direction,’”Matakevich sion. Theyopen their season Sept. 5when theyhostPenn State at Lincoln Financial Field. The Oxon Hill, Md.,product was awarded the honor of wear- ing the No.1jersey—given to the toughestplayeronthe team— forOpening Day2014atVander- bilt, and he responded withhis bestgame as an Owl, intercept- ing twopasses in a37-7win. Yo ung donnedthe No.1jersey forseven of Temple’s first eight games last year beforethe team de- cided he deserved to wear it forthe rest of the season,whichresulted in abowl-eligible record of 6-6. Over the spanoftwo years, Yo ung has gone from aplayer whocouldhardly control his own emotions to one of the mostre- spectedplayers on his team. And Rhule’scoaching philoso- phyhas beencrucialinthe senior captain’s transformation. “I just think at some point he re- alized,‘Icouldbereally good. All I have to do is listen,’ ”Rhule said. “Like Itellthe guys: Idon’t care what music youlisten to,Idon’t carewho youdate, Idon’t care ASSOCIATED PRESS howyou wear your hair, Idon’t TavonYoung has become one of Te mple’s most respected players. carewhatkindofsneakersyou wear.Icareifyou go to class,

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WEDNESDAY DADAILYILY SEPT. 2,2015 NEWSNEWS SPORTS THE BEST IN TOWN

IT’D BE A HOOT UPSET OF PENN STATE WOULD BE HUGE, BUT OWLS HAVE TOMORROW HIGH SCHOOL BIGGER GAME NEXT WEEK FOOTBALL PREVIEW PAGES 54-52 ALEJANDRO A. ALVAREZ / STAFF PHOTOGRAPHER

Temple coach Matt Rhule: Snapping PSU’s 74-year streak isn’t primary goal for season. THURSDAY 7:00 PM #FLYEAGLESFLY SPORTS S SPORTS RHULE of THUMB Owls coachstresses keeping game against Lions in perspective

BY MIKE KERN or naturallyyou’ll put lesssignifi- cance on another. Daily News StaffWriter “They knowwhatit’sliketo [email protected] playagreat teamlikePenn State. FTEMPLE beats Penn My thing is, understand what it State on Saturdayafter- means to playareally good team. noonatLincoln Financial It’snot to playPenn State.It’s not I the nameonthe jersey. None of Field, it would be national news.Because it’ssomething thatmatters onceyou kickoff. thatlast happened74yearsago. That’s what we try to sellour (OK,there was atie in 1950.) guysonfor every game.” Ye tregardless of whatever goes Theyteams have met eight down, the season’snot going to times in the lastnine seasons. end.Nextweek,the Owls will The Owls made it agame in 2010, ALEJANDROA.ALVAREZ /STAFF PHOTOGRAPHER playmaybe their mostimportant ’11 and ’12.Theylost lastNovem- Templecoach MattRhule wantsplayers to take thingsgame-by-game. game,atAmerican Athletic Con- ber by 17 in Happy Valley, where ferencefavorite Cincinnati. theyturned it over fivetimes. But That’s the reality. Mostfans,how- it was tiedmidway throughthe to Alabama in the Sugar Bowl, was alittle bit misleading.They me.Ithink they’rebeyond that, ever,won’tsee thingsthatway. third quarter. won10-7. Three yearsearlier, the had258 yards rushing.Not any- and we’ll be readytogo. Which is understandable,given Thisisthe first timethe teams NittanyLions opened herewitha one felt likeweplayedvery well. “Wewanttobeproud of how the historyand the geography. have playedinanopener since 26-25 win,atFranklin Field. No one’s real proud of that. It’s we play.” That’s howitiswithwhite 2003. Thatwas up there. APenn Times have changed. But not not like, ‘Oh,itgot away from us.’ The Owls went 6-6 lastyear, whales. State teamthatwouldgo3-9 won the story line, whichisnow up to “I’vehad one chancetobea whichwas four morewinsthan “Our guysneed to understand by 13 over the Owls,whoselone 0-38-1. Another losswouldmake headcoach against Penn State, theyhad in 2013. Nowthey’ve thatreally good teams arethe win thatseasoncame amonthlat- it 32 straight, whichwouldtie for and I’m 0-1. This team we have beenpicked to finish third in the same, week in and week out,” said er at MiddleTennessee State. the third-longest streak between right nowhasn’thad achanceto AACEast, and figuretogoto third-year Owls coachMatt The lasttimethese programs FBS opponents. playthem yet. Ijust really want their first bowl since 2011. Rhule,who playedlinebacker for opened in Philly was 1978atVeter- “We’d love to saywewereclose them to playwell. Idon’t want The Lions were pickedthird in Penn State in the mid-1990s. “You an Stadium. Penn State,which [last year], but we really weren’t,” the momenttobetoo big for the Big TenEast, behindOhio can’t put too muchonone [game], would go unbeaten beforelosing Rhule said. “I think [thescore] them. That’s the biggest thing for State and Michigan State.Last season, theywent bowling forthe first timesince2011, and wonone (31-30overBoston Collegeinthe Pinstripe Bowl at Yankee Stadi- um) forthe first timesince2009.

See TEMPLE Page 53

Page 54 PHILADELPHIA DAILYNEWS—Philly.comWednesday, September 2, 2015 TEMPLE AT AGLANCE Coach: Matt Rhule (8-16 in twoseasons). Last season: 6-6,4-4 AAC. Pivotal dates: Saturdayvs. Penn State, Sept.12atCincinnati, Oct. 17 vs.Central Florida, Oct. 31 vs.NotreDame and Nov. 21 vs.Memphis. ALEJANDROA.ALVAREZ / STAFF PHOTOGRAPHER Returning Starters: 17 (7 on offense, 10 defense). Temple Prognosis: The Owls wonsix timeslast quarterback year,afour-game improvement from P. J. Walker at a 2013.Now mostpeopleare lookingfor recent practice. them to take anotherstep. Twoyears ago, the offensegot going in the second half of the season when true freshman P. J. Walk- er became the quarterback. Ayearago it wasthe defensethat made significant strides. If theycan getboth sidesclicking at the same time,who knows howhigh is up? The return of wide receiver Robbie Anderson, who wasWalker’sbiggest weap- on in 2013,following ayearaway due to ac- ademic troubleshas to be amajor posi- tive. Walker’ssophomore struggleswere by no means all his owndoing.The line didn’tproducenearly enough,and in some waysstill remains awork in progress. The running game has to get back to what it wastoo.And the kicking game has to be moreconsistent in all phas- es.There’snoreasontobelieve the de- fensewon’tonceagain be astrength, al- though there’sroom forcontinued growth thereaswell. Theywerepicked to finish TEMPLE newedtheir serieswithPittfor four years thirdinthe AACEast, and getabreakin SCHEDULE the schedule sincetheydon’thavetoplay Continued from Page 54 Saturday, Sept. 5PENN ST...3...... :30 starting next fall. And West Virginia and Saturday,Sept. 12 *@Cincinnati.8...... :00 either HoustonorNavyfromthe West. Saturday, Sept. 19 @UMass .3...... :00 Virginia Tech aredownfor home-and- And almost all of the tougher assignments Theyreturn aserious defense, and,injun- Friday, Oct. 2@Charlotte .7...... :00 homes from 2020-25.Plus, the Big Tenis areathome.The first twogamescould tell Saturday, Oct. 10 *TULANE.T...... BA ior quarterbackChristian Hackenberg, Saturday, Oct. 17 *CENTRAL FLORIDA...... TBA going to nineconferencegames, which us alot.Theyhaven’tbeatenPenn Statein have aguy who’sbeingprojectedasabig- Thursday, Oct. 22 *@East Carolina..7...... :00 means one lessout-of-conferenceopportu- forever, but have had afew close calls in re- timeNFL draft pick. Maybe all he needs is Saturday, Oct. 31 NOTRE DAME .T...... BA nity. So whoknows when Penn State could cent tries. And Cincinnati is the favoriteto Friday, Nov. 6*@SMU .8...... :00 win the conference. Ye twhateverhappens aserious lineinfront of him. Saturday, Nov. 14 *@South Florida .T...... BA next be back in town? Saturday, Nov. 21 *MEMPHIS .T...... BA early,this teamfigurestobeprettygood The Linc will be filled, just as it will be Saturday, Nov. 28 *CONNECTICUT .T...... BA “It would meanalot to us, in terms of be- come the final month or so.The Owls when NotreDame visits on Halloween. Saturday, Dec. 5*Title (site TBD)..1...... 2:00 ing 1-0,” Rhule said. “You don’t wantitto should go to abowlfor the first time in four *AAC Game. Thatdoesn’t happen very often, either.It American Athletic Conference preseason poll be about whotheyare.Obviously, it would years, and maybe even contend forthe divi- doesn’t matter thathalf the crowdwill be Media voting/Compiled by the AAC be hugetoTemple fans and everybody sion title.Beating the teams they’re not East Division West Division supposedtobeatonpaper has been an is- dressed in blue.Penn State is favoredbya 1. Cincinnati 1, Memphis else. But insidethisbuilding,itwouldbe, sue.Sosomething around sevenoreight touchdown. So it probably wouldn’t even 2. Central Florida 2. Houston ‘Hey,you knowwhat, we wanttoplayreal- 3. Temple 3. Navy wins sounds about right.Atthe very least, be the biggest upset in collegefootball this 4. East Carolina 4. Tulane ly good against really good teams and find that would be one moremoveinthe prop- 5. South Florida 5. SMU weekend. But it obviously could feel that 6. Connecticut 6. Tulsa ways to win.’ er direction.And it is aprocess. way. “Ifwefoundawaytowin,itwouldmean —MikeKern It depends on your perspective. what we’redoing is right. We’reonthe “You can’t let the atmosphereget to fineyou as ateam. Personally, it’sjust right track. But big-scheme-wise, I you,” fifth-year senior widereceiver John Game1forus. wouldn’t evenallowour teamormyself to “Wewanttowin thisgame,too.Iwantto Christopher said. “I mean, Ienjoyit. That’s “Toalot of people,itwouldbebig,you think thatway.When you’reinaconfer- win everything we do.Iwanttowin gas- whyIliketoplay. We’relooking forward to know. Idon’t think anyone [on the team] is ence, youwanttowin it. At the end of the sers[in practice]. Everything.But you getting the season started. It’ll feel good to puttingany specialemphasis on it. Idon’t day, we’vegot to turnaroundand have a don’t ever wanttomaketoo muchout of face someoneotherthan ourselves. think theyshould. But to people in the com- conferencegame next week.That’s maybe one game.Because thenyou losechampi- “Itwouldbeabig win forus, but you munity, thisisPenn State.So... ” one of the problems we’vehad heresince I onships.” can’t lookattoo big apicture.” Indeed. And thatdoesn’t figuretoever cameinwithAl[Golden, as an assistant in But it’sbeen 74 years. So it might even be Added senior defensivetackle Matt Ioan- go away until the streak ends, even if thisis 2006]. No one gets super-excited about the the leadon“SportsCenter.”And thatcould nidis: “I think [last year’s game] is still kind really onlyarivalry to one sideofthe equa- conference. It’sthese games.But you’ve getsomeone’s attention in Cincinnati. ¢ of fresh.Ithink that’llhelpus. The first tion. The teams willmeet again next sea- gottowin the conference. As Isay to these game willalways be atestofhow hardyou son at BeaverStadium. After that, no kidsall the time, findachampionshiptro- worked [in the offseason]. But it doesn’t de- games arescheduled.The Nits have re- phyinthisbuilding.It’s not here. " @mikekerndn

Wednesday, September 2, 2015 PHILADELPHIA DAILYNEWS—Philly.comPage 53 SPORTS | COLLEGE FOOTBALL Owls’ ‘D’out to pick up whereitleftoff

AGENDA BY MIKE KERN What: Penn StateatTemple,opener Daily News StaffWriter forboth teams. [email protected] When: Tomorrow,3:30,Lincoln Finan- cial Field ID ANY DEFENSEmake TV: ESPN. Radio: The Fanatic agreater leaplast season (97. 5-FM) DthanTemple’s? History: Penn Stateleads,39-3-1. In 2013, the Owls hadthree inter- Last season: PSU, 30-13. ceptions. Three.Theygave up a About Penn State: The NittanyLions went 7-6lastyearinJamesFranklin’s 29-yardtouchdownpass with4 debut ... They’repicked to finishthird secondsleft to loseathometo in the Big Te nEast, behindOhio State Fordham. And a33-yardscoring and MichiganState ... QB Christian passat0:35 on afourth-and-10 to Hackenbergisconsidered by manyto loseatRutgers. Theycouldn’t hold be averyhigh NFL draft pick whenever a21-point second-quarterleadat he comesout ... The offensiveline was an issue lastyear... The defenseisone SMU in a59-49 loss. Theygaveup of the best in the country... The last 10 points in the lastminutetovisit- time theywerehere, in 2011, the final ing Central Florida(39-36). And a was14-10 ... This is their only road 21-0halftime advantagewasn’t game before Oct. 17 (at Ohio State) ... enoughagainstaConnecticut The kicker is freshman walk-on Joey teamthatcame intothe Linc0-9. Julius. About Temple: Owls were picked to Ayear later,the story linewas finishthirdinthe AACEast... This is muchdifferent. their only home game before Oct. 10 The Owls forced 30 turnovers. (Tulane)... Defenseisexpected to be Theyallowed17.5points agame, good, with most everyone back ... Of- whichranked fourth in FBS.And fensehas to getback to what it wasin 4.75 yards per play, whichwas 11th. 2013 ... The return of WR RobbyAnder- sonafter missing ayeardue to aca- Their seasonwasn’twithoutits demicshas to be abig plus ... KAustin hiccups. Against Navy’swishbone, Joneshas to be moreconsistent than theygave up morethan 500 yards. he wasinthe second half lastyear... And 31 points.Theyalsoallowed Owls turneditover5timesinlast 30 to 34 points in three other loss- year’sgame,couldn’t run the ball and gave up 258 yardsonthe ground ... es. But everyone’s back. So ... Next week they’re at AACfavoriteCin- “There’s alwaysthingswecan cinnati. improve,” saidseniorlinebacker —MikeKern Tyler Matakevich,whose355 tackles arethe mostfor anyac- tiveplayerinthe nationand 137 Happy Valley, it was atie game shyofthe schoolrecordheldby midwaythroughthe third quar- Steve Conjar (1978-81). “You have ter.But it ended up 30-13, as the to keep pushing. Ikeep instilling Nits rushedfor aseason-high254 thatinall these guys. Imean,you yards on 47 carries. Which meant can neverbecomfortable.We it didn’treally matterthatthe wanttopick up right wherewe Owls limited quarterbackChris- leftoff [they gave up 16 or fewer tianHackenbergto112 passing points in four of their lastfive yards (12-for-26, twopicks). Fun- games]. We hadsomanymis- takes out there today [atprac- See TEMPLE-PSU Page 52 tice] thatwe’vegot to fix.” Hopefully in timefor tomorrow afternoon’sgame against Penn State in SouthPhilly.The Nittany Lions, as mosteveryone is well awarebynow,haven’t lost to Tem- ple since 1941. LastNovember in

Friday,September 4, 2015 PHILADELPHIA DAILYNEWS—Philly.comPage 53 TEMPLE-PSU son],” said senior defensivetackle Matt Ioanni- Continued from Page 53 dis, whose 11 tackles forlosses led the Owls last season.“We really believe we’rethe most physi- ny howthatworks. cal team in the country.It’s neverabout who The Owls arecoming off a6-6 ride, whichwas we’replaying,whoeveritmay be.Ifwedoour four winsmoremorethantheyhad in Matt job,everything will fall into place. Rhule’sdebut season. And theymanagedthat “Last year we made somemistakes. Some we despitethe fact thatthe offense, whichhad pret- gotawaywith, somewedidn’t. We have to mini- ty muchcarried theminthe second halfin2013, mizethemevenmore. Theyhaveagood team. forany number of reasonscouldn’t getgoing Theyhaveagood quarterback. And theyplay again. hard. We have to hit theminthe face and see The stadiumwillbepacked, evenifatleast howthe chips fall. halfthe crowdwillbethere to root, root, root for “With aquarterback likethat, we have to get the visitors. Hackenberg, whosaved his best after him,makehim feel uncomforableinthe game lastseasonfor the 31-30 overtime win pocket, influencehim when he’sthrowing. I over Boston College in the Pinstripe Bowl, is think that’s hugewithany quarterbackyou’re back. As is an offensiveline thathad its issues playing. But he’sabig pocketpasser ... Ithink protecting him. we’reabetter front seven, forsure. We have to PSU neededalate touchdown to pullout a be.” 14-10win the lasttimeitplayedhere, in 2011. It’sobviouslybeen waytoo longfor one sidein “Wegave up waytoo muchonthe ground[last thisseries. Nevertheless,the Owls aredown- year],”Matakevich said. “Wetakealot of pride playingthe historical story line. But noneof in [rushing defense].We’revery frustrated with these guyshavelost to PSU morethanafew that. I’vewatched the filmofthatgame proba- times. And thatshould be morethanenoughto bly 100 times. We knowwhatwehavetodo. As gettheir properattention. longaseveryone’s on the samepage, we should “You alwayshearthe noise,peopletalking,” be OK. I’m one of the leaders. Ihavetoget them Matakevich acknowledged. “Tome, it’sjust an- to followme. The biggest thing youcan do is other opportunitytoput on the Temple jersey makesureyou focus on you. and go out there and hit someone.That’s the mindsetIhave. It’sotherpeoplewho makeit “Thingsaren’talways going to go the wayyou out to be somethingbiggerthanitis. It would be planned.That’s football. But onceaplay’s over, awesome to start the seasonoff 1-0.But we’ve it’s move on to the next one.You can’tthink about gotCincinnati after this, our first conference what just happened.That’s something we’ve game.Soit’sall Penn State right now.” done in previous years. In some of the games we “I think the first game will always be atest of won, we made moremistakesthanwedid in a howhardyou worked,” Ioannidis said. “Let’s see loss. The differencecan be so small.” what we’vedone sincelast season.” And when youhaven’t beaten the in-stateneme- The growth chart is about to begin anew. ¢ sis for74years, thosedetails tend to getmagni- fied. “I think we really gotafter it [in the offsea- " @mikekerndn

Page 52* PHILADELPHIA DAILYNEWS—Philly.comFriday,September 4, 2015 SPORTS | COLLEGE FOOTBALL Big step for Owl nation thisone thing,74years, that’s BY MIKE KERN talkedabout. Daily News StaffWriter “Now it’sgone,and we can talk [email protected] about everything elsewe’vedone. And it’ll neverbementioned TOBVIOUSLYhad histori- again.” cal significance. Ye teven It wasn’tjust thatthe Owls thoughTemple’sfootball won, but howithappened. They teamhadn’tbeaten Penn trailed 10-0afterone quarterbe- StateI since 1941, the Owls were fore dominatingthe rest of the onlyatouchdown underdog Sat- way. TheysackedChristian Hack- DAVID SWANSON /STAFF PHOTOGRAPHER urdayatthe sold-out Linc. So it enberg10times. Senior lineback- Tyler Matakevich collects one of Temple’s 10 sacks of Penn wasn’teventhe biggest upset in er Tyler Matakevich hadthree of State’s Christian Hackenbergin27-10win. college footballoverthe weekend. themtoget AACDefensivePlay- Perception-wise, though, that er of the Week.Junior JahadTho- have moreramifications. Right do withwinning achampion- hardly matters.The point is that mas rushedfor 135 yards and two now, though, that’s understand- ship?’That’s the message. That’s North BroadStreet doesn’thave touchdowns on acareer-high29 ablydifficultfor the outside to what we wanttodo. So we have to to dealwiththe dreaded streak carriestoearnthe offensive compute. move pastthis. It’snot even just anymore. award. “Thething Isaidtoour kidsis, about [Cincinnati].It’s going to “It definitelymeanssomething This, against anemesisthey’d ‘This can’t be the highlightofour takealot of conferencegames. different in herethanitdoes out losttolast November in Happy season,’” Rhule cautioned.“It We’renot there yet. there,”coach Matt Rhule said yes- Valley, 30-13. can be one of them. Lastyear,we “This was greatfor Temple. terday, after havingnearly 48 “Anditwasn’tthatclose,” beatanSEC team[37-7 in the But forour team, it really was just hours to digest his Owls’convinc- Rhule said. “They pushed us opener at Vanderbilt,which asteptowardbecoming areally ing,27-10 openingwin.“There’s around. Theystill pushed us would finish 3-9], and thatwas a good team.” nothing wrong withthat. Ithink aroundattimes. It wasn’tper- greataccomplishment. Iwantus How’s thatfor perspective? out there, the sense that’s been ex- fect.But it was betterthanit to getbetter,compete forthe con- Wayne Hardin,whoseteams pressed to me from formerplay- was.” ference, go to abowlgame. nearlybeatPenn State three ersand Temple people is thatit’s Yo uthink?Still, it’sone game. “I think thisone was probably times in afour-year spaninthe justamonkeyoff people’s back. ThisSaturday’s triptoCincinnati the mostimportantthing on peo- 1970s, emailed Rhule beforethe That’s not me sayingit. They (1-0),whichcouldultimatelyde- ple’s minds. Forus, Ijust wantto knowwe’veaccomplished all cidethe American Athletic Con- win achampionship.Iasked the See TEMPLE Page 55 these other things. But it’sbeen ferenceEastrace, in realitywill team, ‘Does thishaveanything to

Page 54* PHILADELPHIA DAILYNEWS—Philly.comTuesday, September 8, 2015 TEMPLE good program. To see themdevel- Continued from Page 54 op and grow.Theynever wa- vered. game.Ithas become aweekly ritu- “Now,we’vegot to keep doing al. Thistimehis wordswerepro- it.” found:“Thisisthe dayyou beat Becauseone morestep, no mat- Penn State.” Rhule sawhim again ter howmomentus,doesn’t make afterward, in the parking lot, aseason. Or aprogram. Even if wherehetoldthe HallofFame maybe it feels thatway,after wait- coachhewas going to givehim ing forsolong. one of the game balls. But as Rhule willremind his “For me,itwas really nicetosee guys, youdon’t getatrophyfor be- our formerplayers,all the Al ing recognized as the Football Golden[2006-10] guys, be there,” Writers AssociationofAmerica’s saidRhule,who alsoreceived a “Team of the Week”inearly Sep- nicetextfromPenn State coach justrelief morethananything. samekidsthatlost to Fordham tember. ¢ James Franklin the next day. “To Thiswas satisfying,and gratify- [in 2013, at home, on aHail Mary see the joyonsomanyfaces ... ing. pass]. To see howfar they’ve Sometimeswhen youwin,it’s “A lot of these kidswerethe come,that’s really the markofa " @mikekerndn

Tuesday, September 8, 2015 PHILADELPHIA DAILY NEWS —Philly.com Page55* SPORTS | COLLEGE FOOTBALL Owls focusing on Bearcats

there in front of us. That’s the BY MIKE KERN signofagood team.” Daily News StaffWriter The Bearcats, whoopened with [email protected] a52-10 win over FCS Alabama A&M,werepicked to win the O, WHAT’S next? AAC. Theyhavemost of their of- Well,ifyou’re Temple fenseback, led by junior quarter- Sand you’recoming off an back GunnerKiel.Last Novem- historically significant win over ber theywon 14-6 at the Linc. Penn State in the opener,it’sa Theywon 38-20 twoyearsbefore triptoCincinnatifor aSaturday thatatCincy,and 34-10 herein night matchup thatmight end up 2012. Withthe head-to-headtie- deciding the American Athletic breaker,the winnerwillhave ConferenceEastDivision race. what amountstoa1Ö-game lead. “Wewanted to beatPenn State The Bearcatsdofaceatougher [for the first timesince 1941],” schedule, as theyhavetogoto saidthird-year coachMattRhule, Memphisand Houston in cross- aformer Penn State linebacker. over games.The Owls getMem- “Butour focus has beenonthis phisathomelateand don’t play game.That’s beenarallyingpoint Houston. And within the division, forussince summer. Ourgoalis Central Florida and EastCaroli- to compete foraconference cham- na bothappear to be at least alit- pionship.Ifyou wanttodothat, tle down. DAVID MAIALETTI /STAFF PHOTOGRAPHER youhavetogodoit.” So forearly September,there Temple quarterback P.J.Walker prepares to run aplayduring practice yesterday. And thatreally startsnow. sureisanawfullot on the line. “Our goal is to win the [AAC],” Lastweek’s momentwasn’ttoo saidseniorlinebacker Tyler muchfor the Owls.Both teams re- “You’re going to have lulls,” son theybeatNo. 21 EastCarolina since they’resogood. Matakevich,the AACDefensive ceived votes in the Top25. Tem- Rhule said. “You don’t wantma- beforelosing by afieldgoalto “I wantthemtofeel satisfac- Playerofthe Week.“And [Penn ple goteight (whichwas good for jor lulls, or major highs. That’s re- Memphis. tion. Idon’t wantthemtofeel sat- State] really has no effect on that. 33rd), one morethanCincy. allythe keytobeingsuccessful. Maybe that’s the next step. isfied. That’s kindofwherewe’re We definitelyenjoyed Saturday, “What’s mostimportantisthey Notlookingatthe pastand not “Wetellour teamevery year at.” but onceitturned to Sunday, that acted liketheyknewhow to win a lookingahead. I’m not eventalk- thatthe greatestimprovement is It’sagood place.But theyknow was behindus. There was no big-time college footballgame ing about the game.I’m talking between Week 1and Week 2,” there’s still waymoreout there moretalkingaboutit. and finish in the fourthquarter,” about today’s practice, tonight’s Rhule said. “You gettoplaya forthem. “You can’t think about what Rhule said. “Theseniors have lost meeting.Ifyou have thatap- game and say, ‘OK,whatdoIneed “When youplaygood, good happenedbefore. Yo ujust can’t. to [Cincinnati] three yearsina proach, youhaveachance.That’s to do to getbetter?’ And do it. We thingsare going to happen,” said That’s easiersaidthandone,but row. Iknowtheydon’t wanttodo the onlychance we have against needtoget betterfast. Matakevich. “As long as we keep it shouldn’t be an issue.Look at that. We will be ready. I’m not wor- thisgood of ateam.” “[Penn State] was awesome. doing everythingright ... This is lastyear.Wecame out and beat riedaboutthat. Just is ready Forall the gains thathavebeen I’m suretheywent to aparty af- just another opportunitytoshow [Vanderbilt] and the next week good enough? They’reareally made since Al Golden(whom terward, or hungwiththeir fami- everybody what we can do.We’ve losttoNavy. Ithink someguys good team.” Rhuleworked under)began ly.Iwoke up Sunday, kissed my gotour hands full, but we’relook- were still thinking about thatpre- And maybe so is his.That’s the changing the culturenearly ade- wifeand cametowork.Ifyou live ing forwardtoit. vious week. unknown. On paper,the Owls cade ago, when was the lasttime thatway,it’ssomuch better. I “Thisisanotherteam we haven’t “You have to have ashort-term should be favoredintheir five Temple gotback-to-back wins don’t wantthattobethe high beaten ... Idon’tthinkwe’rebe- memory. We’vewon big games in games after this. And perhapsin thatmadefolksturntheir heads? point of their life. Idon’t want ing overlooked anymore.” the past, thenlaid an egg. It’shu- every game leftexcept forNotre In 2011, the Owls wonatMary- themtosay,‘If we’d onlydone Especially if theycan getto man nature. We’velearned some DameonHalloween at the Linc. land, 38-7. The followingweek, thisorthat.’ Ithink theyget that, 2-0. ¢ lessonssince we’vebeen here. We How’s thatfor projecting? Of theylost at hometoToledo,36-13. because we’vemadesomanymis- have amentalitythatwetruly be- course,that’s mostlyfor those on There was Navyonthe heels of takes in the past. It actuallyhelps lieve in. It’sall about what’s right the outside. Vandy ayear ago. Later in the sea- thatwe’replayingCincinnati, " @mikekerndn

Page54 PHILADELPHIA DAILY NEWS —Philly.com Wednesday,September9,2015 SPORTS | COLLEGE FOOTBALL Owls’ Walton better by degrees

him. tening. BY MIKE KERN “I kindofstruggled in school,” “Atsomepoint youstart realiz- Daily News StaffWriter recalledWalton, nowafifth-year ing thatyou can’t have one with- [email protected] seniordefensivelinemanatTem- out the other.Istartedgetting [re- ple.“The first timeIplayedfoot- cruiting]lettersand stuff like YTHE TIMEHershey ball, in seventhgrade,Iwas actu- that, but the first thing they Waltonwas in middle allyineligible. Ihad to getmy asked was,‘How’s your grades?’ I Bschool, alot of folks grades up.Iwas akid.Ididn’t knewtheyweren’tsogood.In thought he hadwhatittooktobe- knowany better. Everybody ma- highschoolIhadtostayafter come aprettygood footballplay- tures at different times. Iwasn’t schoolwithmyteachers to help er.But there weren’tmanywho maturebackthen. My parents me withmyschoolwork,soI missed alittle bit of practice. It felt theycouldsay the sameabout were alwaysonmeaboutmy was justamatterofgetting my- him as astudent.Maybe not even grades and stuff,but Iwasn’tlis- selfingear. “When you’re younger, there arealot of distractions. Iwasn’t alwaysthe type to do my home- work. Ihad to grow up.When peo- ple wouldask me whyIdidn’tjust do what Iwas supposed to do,I didn’treally have an answer.” He’s hardly the onlyathlete who’severbeen in thatpredica- ment. Obviously not all stories have happy endings, since these thingscan go either way. It’spret- ty muchuptothe person looking in the mirror. “It was scary,” Waltonsaid. “I come from Reading.Italmost seems likeacurse.Not alot of peo- ple whocome from there makeit thisfar.Sothatwas alwaysinthe back of my mind. I’m aReading guy.Iwanted to makemyfamily proud,and whereIcome from proud.Some people lookupto me.” Forall the right reasons. Wal- ton,who talks quietly but has an infectious smile,will not only

leave Temple withachanceto JOE LABOLITO /TEMPLE UNIVERSITY possibly continue playingatthe Temple’sHershey Walton has bachelor’sand master’sdegrees. next level. He’llalso go on with the rest of his lifewith abache- lor’s degreeinadvertising.Not to whohave[a] master’s. Idon’t cause he didn’tquitequalify aca- mentionhis master’s in tourism knowifI’m the first from my demically.Sofirst he hadto hospitality. neighborhoodthatdid it. Iget a spend asemester at Fork Union How’s thatfor makingsome- lot of complimentsonit. Ijust thing of yourself? (Va.) Military Academy. While he takeitin, stayhumbled.But Ido “Therewas atimewhen Inever was there,coach Al Golden leftto sawmyselfgetting adegree,or kindofpinch myselfsometimes.” takethe job at Miami. evengetting to Temple,” said Wal- Walton, whoplayedthree “It happened on my birthday, ton,who redshirted his first sea- sports at Reading High, couldn’t son.“Idon’t knowmanypeople come to Temple right away be- Continued on Next Page

Page52 PHILADELPHIA DAILY NEWS —Philly.com Thursday, September10, 2015 SPORTS | COLLEGE FOOTBALL

Continued from Preceding Page really didn’tknow.” from areally good family. He’s numerous volunteerwork and from you. Ijust lookatmyself as a The four months he spent at just ahigh-energyguy.The big- speaks to groupsofyoungsters. regular guy,tobehonest. Iguess Dec.7,” saidWalton, whostarted Fork Union was the doseofreali- gest thing is, he’sthe sameguy in He likes to cook, and hopes to it hasn’thit me.Who would have the lastthree seasons but is now ty thattruly began to openhis the classroom as he is on the foot- openasports bar if he doesn’tget thought thiswouldbeme? It’sa second on the depth chart at nose eyes and mind. ballfield. He’s justareally nice involved withthe events-manage- good question.Igetasked thata tackleafterbattling through “It was really strict,”saidWal- kid.And thingsweren’talways mentbusiness.He’s Temple’s lot. somelingering injuries during ton,who stands6-4 and weighs good forhim.But he’sput the nomineefor the American Foot- “I love football. Ihad to learn camp. “SoIreally didn’tknow 315.“No girls, youhad to salute work in, appliedhimself.And he’s ballCoachesAssociationGood thatwasn’tthe onlything.I what was going on. guys. It was tough,not an environ- playedalot of footballfor us. Works Team.And proscouts are wasn’tgood at takingtests. I ”[Current coach] Matt [Rhule, mentwhereIwanted to be at.You “It justgoes to showthatifyou payingattention to his potential. didn’tstudy. It’sshocking.I whorecruited him]was still here, learn what disciplineis. But it have highexpectations of your- Rhule eventhinks Waltoncould mean, I’m blessed. Ifeel good but Istarted to wonderwhatwas was good forme. It taughtmea self, youcan accomplish all these playonthe offensiveline.But for about that. There was thisneigh- my bestoption.Maybe Ishould lot.Itsaved me.IfIdidn’tgo things. He’s aperfect exampleof the timebeinghe’sjust tryingto borhoodkid thatcame up to me try to go somewhereelse. Iwas there, Iprobably would have end- what we’retryingtodohere. Find helpthe Owls —who opened with after practiceand said, ‘I don’t surprisedtheystill wanted me.I ed up at junior college or acom- really good kidsand givethem an historic win over Penn State wantyour autograph. Iwantyour justwanted to makethe right de- munitycollege. Yo uneverknow the resources, givethemthe and nowplayatCincinnati Satur- phone number.’ He justwanted to cision. Iwanted to makesure howthatmight have worked out.” structure thattheyneed.Then daynight in agame thatcouldde- talk. He wanted to be likeme. He plays the sameposition. That what Iwas getting myselfinto. Temple didn’tbecome interest- theyget it. He definitelygot it cided the American Conference kindofstuckwithme. It meant a Then[new] coach[Steve]Add- ed in Waltonuntil theywerere- soonerthanmost.That’s whyyou Eastrace—become the bestthey lot. azioand [assistant] coach[Ed] Fo- cruiting one of his teammates see the success.He’s developed can be too. “I’m nothing special. I’m just do- leycame to my house.IknewFlor- and he dunkedafootballintoa as astudent,afootballplayerand “I was neversatisfied,” Walton ing what I’m supposed to do.” ida [whereAddazio camefrom] basketinfront of Golden. It hap- aman.” said. “I’mjust happy whereIam It’salready taken him waybe- hadwon anational champion- pens. In thisscenario,apparently Waltonisamiddle child. His old- now. College is different.You’re yond the early ceiling. ¢ ship. Thatkindofmademefeel forthe better. er sister Lucayagraduated from on your own. Yo uhavetobere- confidentaboutcoming to Tem- “Hereally turned himself West Chester. His younger sister sponsible.Having adegree is ple.But there was atimewhen I around,” Rhule said. “Hecame Malei is at Millersville. He does somethingnobody can takeaway " @mikekerndn

Thursday, September10, 2015 PHILADELPHIA DAILY NEWS —Philly.com Page53 SPORTS | COLLEGE FOOTBALL

TEMPLE AGENDA Who: TempleatCincinnati East Division race ... The Owls When: 8p.m. tomorrow haven’t been 2-0 since 2011, when they finished 9-4 and won their Where: Nippert Stadium, Cincin- first bowl in 32 years ...Next week nati they’re at Massachusetts. TV: ESPNews About Cincinnati: The Bearcats Radio: ESPN (97.5 FM) beatFCS school Alabama A&M, 52-10 ... They have almost every- Records: Both teams 1-0 thing and everyone backonof- History: Temple leads, 9-7-1, but fense ...They gained 636 yards Cincy has won the last five.Last No- of offenselastweek ... Shaq vember,itwas 14-6 in Philly. Washington,who had seven catch- About Temple: The Owls beat es, needs 45 morereceptions to Penn State for first time since become the program’sall-time 1941, 27-10.They scoredthe last leader... Gunner Kielcompleted 27 points... They had 10 his final 10 passes, going 18-for-22 sacks ...Sophomorepunter Al- for the game... MikeBoone has ex Starzyk had abig day, averag- arushing touchdown in eight of his ing 46.9 yards on seven previous ninegames ...They punts ...Jahad Thomascarried werepickedasthe nearly unani- mousAAC favorite ...Nippert acareer-high 29 times for 135 Stadiumjustunderwent an $86 yards and two touch- millionrenovation. downs ...This game shouldgoa long way towarddeciding the American Athletic Conference —Mike Kern

PHILADELPHIA DAILY NEWS —Philly.com Friday,September11, 2015 first four since the 1974team SPORTS | COLLEGE FOOTBALL went 5-0. Cincy coachTommyTuberville called them“the nation’s darling runningbackand quarterback team.” forthe year.Saturday, theyneed- Sophomore widereceiver Bro- MIKE ed a40-yardtouchdown recep- drick Yancy sufferedaneckinju- KERN tionbyRomanCatholic’s Will ry early in the second quarterand [email protected] Fuller with12secondsleft to was taken off the field on a avoid being upset at Virginia. stretcher.Afterbeingtransport- Temple’stoughestremaining ed to ahospitalfor evaluation, he AACgame figures to be here returedhomewiththe teamand Owls now against defending champion was re-examined yesterdayby Memphis(2-0),whichisinthe Temple doctors. West,onNov.21. The inaugural AACEast conferencetitle game will be host- ed by the highest-ranked division- al champ on Dec.5. favorite Speakingofwhich, the Owls re- ceived 38 votes in the latestme- dia poll. Thatleft thematNo. 26, OR THE second timeintwo 10 points behindOklahomaState. weeks, Temple was atouch- The coaches have them32nd, down underdog.Inthe open- F sandwichedbetween Dukeand er,the Owls beatPenn State for Miami. Theyhaven’tbeen in the the first timein74years, by 17 Top25since the final pollof1979, points at home. Saturdaynight at when theyfinished 17.Itwas actu- Cincinnati, theybeatthe Ameri- allystill onlythe Top20back can Athletic Conferencefavorite, then. The polldidn’texpand until 34-26,afterleadingby22early in adecade later.For anyone keep- the fourthquarter. ing tabs, the Owls have been Aside from the obvious histori- ranked atotal of eight weeksin cal ramifications,this win was big- four years(the otherswere1934, ger: It makes the Owls the team ’41 and ’74). The highesttheyever to beatinthe EastDivision.And gotwas 13 in 1941, in the same on paper,Cincy (1-1) has the tough- month theylast beatPenn State. er AACschedule. These Owls gotatouchdown The Owls should be favoredin with32secondsleft in the second every game theyhave—at Massa- quartertotakea10-6 leadinto back as afreshman,has rushed ond of the game) off atip in the end chusetts(0-1) thisSaturday, at halftime.JahadThomas thenran for328 yards. He hadateam-best zone after Cincy haddriven 66 FBS newcomerCharlotte(2-0), the second-halfkickoff back 100 384 in 2014. yards to the Temple 5ineight plays vs.Tulane(0-2),vs. Central Flori- yards. Aminute-and-a-half later, P. J. Walker threw fortwo TDs following aThomas fumble. da (0-2) and at EastCarolina (1-1) followingan88-yardCincy TD and hadanother called back due to The Owls hadlost fivestraight —beforeNotreDame visits pass, Thomas ranfor a56-yard apenalty.The Owls intercepted to the Bearcatsgoingbackto South Philly on Halloween.And score. He would finish withaca- Gunner Kiel four times. The last 2002. They’re2-0 forthe first the Irish,itshould be dulynoted, reer-high193 yards on 26 carries. came with 13 seconds to go,byline- timesince 2011. Theystarted 3-0 have already losttheir starting The junior,who playeddefensive backer Tyler Matakevich (his sec- in 2010. Theyhaven’twon their

Page 58 PHILADELPHIA DAILYNEWS—Philly.comMonday, September 14, 2015 SPORTS | COLLEGE FOOTBALL Owls won’ttake UMass lightly

BY MIKE KERN our work cut out.We’renot hap- py withthe wayweplayedatCin- Daily News StaffWriter [email protected] cinnati. We have alot of work to do.” The Minutemen opened witha EMPLE’S FOOTBALL 48-14 lossatColoradoonSatur- Tteamwas atouchdown un- day. derdog in each of its first The Owls did giveup557 yards twogames. The Owls wonboth, against the Bearcats(and gained by 17 over Penn State and by eight only296),and almost let abig at American Athletic Conference leadslipawaylate. And they favoriteCincinnati(34-26). again gotoff to aslowstart offen- Looking at the rest of the pre- sively. NotreDame partofthe schedule, But theystill made another theywon’tbeanunderdog again statement. anytime soon. Thatrole reversal “For us, it was achance to go on startsSaturdayatMassachu- the road and playareally good setts (0-1). footballteam,”Rhule said. “We So howwilltheyhandle that? hadachancelast year,but really “Our job as coaches is to trust justpanickedinthe moment. We our players,trust the training,” didn’tplaythe waywewanted to coachMattRhule saidyester- play. We can onlycontrolour- day’s on the weekly conference selves. call. “They have to continuetoap- “Theway we play, Ithink any- CINCINNATI ENQUIRER proach thingsinthe right way. timewescore in the 28-to-35 Owls quarterback P. J. Walker hands offtorunning back Jahad Thomas during the first quarter of Sat- They’reaveteranteam. Ithink range, we can win alot of games. urday’swin over the Bearcats at Cincinnati. theyunderstand that. If they Some teams wanttowin,50-45. think they’regoingtobeat We don’t.” na (1-1) foraThursdaynighterbe- vy and vs. No.6Southern Cal. their first Philadelphiaappear- UMass justbyshowingup, then After UMass,the Owls areat fore hosting the Irish on Hallow- And forthose whohaven’tbeen anceinjust over twodecades. we’reout of our mind. FBS newcomerCharlotte(2-0 een. payingattention,they’realready So what do yousupposethe “Alltheyhavetodoisturnthe against Georgia State and Presby- The eighth-ranked Irish,bythe down to the second-string run- openingline might be? ¢ tapeon... to quickly realize terian) on aFriday,thenhostTu- way, have thispre-Halloween itin- ningbackand quarterback. But their passinggame can testyou. lane(1-1) and Central Florida erary:vs. No.14Georgia Tech,vs. they’llatleastget what could be a They’revery dangerous. We have (0-2) beforegoingtoEastCaroli- UMass,atNo. 11 Clemson,vs. Na- much-neededbye beforemaking " @mikekerndn

if theyare not among the four Yo ung. The first AACfinal is Dec. 5and BY MIKE KERN teams that makeitintothe actual We bring this up only because will be hosted by the division win- Daily News StaffWriter tournament. That team will be the ner with the better conference [email protected] —and obviously it’sstill wayearly one ranked highest in the final CFP —Temple (2-0) has already put it- record of the two. The Owls just poll. In 2014,itwas 11-2 Boise wonatAAC favoriteCincinnati and Can Owls OWHAT’Sthe differencebe- self in aposition at which it could State, which finished No.20. The —atleast on paper—have theeas- S tween atrip to the Fiestaor emerge as the AAC’sbest. Boise Broncos were the only team from (1-1)justlostatBYU,which helps ier remaining conferencesched- Peach Bowl, and goingto, say, aMi- ule.Theyalsohold what amounts ridewave ami Beach Bowl? one of those fiveaffiliated non- everyone else’schances.Hey,only Power5conferences to finish in to agame and ahalf lead in the Glad youasked, becauseayear saying. But justincase, the two the selection committee’stop 25. NewYear’spossibilitiesthis sea- East.Their hardest test lookstobe to major ago, it came down to maybe one againstMemphis —which plays in We’ll neverknowfor sure, but sonare the Peach, on Dec. 31 in At- loss. the West —onNov.21. Forthe sec- Aspart of the CollegeFootball AACchampion Memphis,which lanta,and the Fiesta, Jan.1in Phoe- nix. ond straight year,that matchup is bowl? Playoff agreement implemented went 9-3, might have been next in here. line.Boiseearned aberth in the Fi- lastseason, one team from the The only time the Owls werein On Saturday, the Owls areat esta,whereitupset No.12Arizo- American Athletic Conference, aNew Year’sgame wasJan. 1, Massachusetts(0-1). Mountain West,ConferenceUSA, na. Memphis instead ended up in 1935,the inaugural Sugar,against ¢ MACorSun Belt mustplayinone your inaugural Miami Beach game Tu lane.They’ve been to only four of the four other NewYear’sbowls on Dec. 22 againstBrigham bowls period, none since2011. " @mikekerndn

Page 42 PHILADELPHIA DAILYNEWS—Philly.comTuesday, September 15, 2015 the ball. Theygoway back, with SPORTS | COLLEGE FOOTBALL the twostarring together at Eliza- bethHighSchool as one of the bestquarterback-running back combinations in NewJersey. The duo led Elizabeth all the wayto Thomas has played the state title in 2012. Rhule saidThomas’transition to starring role forOwls offensewas moreabout positional needthanhis long-runningrela- tionshipwithWalker.But he ac- “Therewas justsomuch run- BY TOMREIFSNYDER knowledged Walker was especially ningthroughmymind at the persistent about the matter. Daily News StaffWriter time,”Thomas said. “I was justso [email protected] “Me and him talkedaboutitall hurt, so broken down ...Idon’t the time,”Thomas said, referring wanttobethe one to let my team AHADTHOMAS could see alsotoWalker.“It neverreally down when the momentis showeduntil lastyear,but he defi- the finish linejust afew called.” yards ahead of him. nitelysaidhethrew hints at the J Thomas hadeverything going coaches about tryingtoget me After his 7-yardrun tookTem- forhim,too. over to the offensiveside. ple to Cincinnati’s38-yardline, He absolutelytorchedPenn “They gave me ashot and Ijust headcoach Matt Rhule called up- State in front of acapacitycrowd CHARLESFOX /STAFF PHOTOGRAPHER tookitand ranwithit.” on Thomas to givethe Owls anew at Lincoln Financial Fieldon Jahad Thomason started his Temple career on defense, but itshis Lastyear,Thomas’ sophomore set of downs on second-and- Sept. 5, rushing 29 times for135 offensiveprowess thathas beenkey to Owls’success thisseason. campaign,herushed 84 times for short, as theyled, 34-26,withun- yards and twotouchdowns.And 384 yards in abackuprole behind der 3minutestoplay. he backed thatline up against Cin- would have beenevenmoredetri- alack of depthatthe position. seniorKennyHarper. Asimple, 3-yardgain was all cy,rushing foracareer-high193 mental if theywouldhavecome “Thefirst move youmakeisto The 5-10 Thomas saidthe big- the junior runningbackneeded yards on 26 carries—not to men- down and scored, but Iwasn’ttoo helpthe team, and second move gest improvement he made in the to pushthe Owls astepcloser to- tiona100-yardkick-return touch- worried about it. is to put youinyour bestposition, offseasonwas gaining 10 pounds wardanunlikely 2-0 start,after down. “I knewthe defensehad my so he helpedthe teamfirst and in anticipationoftakingona takingdownPenn State forthe Butthe follow-up to his break- back, man.” then he did this,” Rhule said of Th- muchbiggerloadasthe Owls’No. first timein74yearsaweek be- out performancewas in greatdan- Thomas might have beenthe omas. “I think it justspeaks about 1running back. fore. gerofbeingspoiled, withCincin- talkofNorthBroad Street the Jahad, the fact thathe’snever “It’s hardtobearunningbackat nati threateningtoscore on first- Thomas tookthe handoffand pasttwo weekends, but onlyafew onceasked, ‘CanIplaythis?’or, 177, but nowhe’s192,195,” Rhule cut to his right, whereheencoun- and-goalatTemple’s5-yardline. weeksago,hewas arelativeun- ‘WhyamIplayingthis?’ said. “Hejust wasn’tphysically tered Cincinnati’sEricWilson. If not foragame-sealing inter- known in terms of national rele- “I gotalot of guys, theywantto ready to do whathe’sdoing right As WilsonwrappedupThomas ceptionbyseniorlinebacker vance. knowwhy they’replayingthis, now. You’re alot different when and brought him down nearthe Tyler Matakevich on the ensuing Although the Elizabeth,N.J., their family wants to knowwhy you’re 18 thanwhen you’re 20, and first-down marker, the ball play, the Owls —and Thomas — product originally was recruited they’replayingthis, and Jahad, he he’sreally growninevery aspect. spilledonto the turffor the Bear- could have found themselves in to playrunning back forthe Owls, justsays, ‘Just put me out there.’” “He’s the guy right now.” ¢ cats to recover. deepwater. Rhule and his staff decidedto Thomas saidstarting quarter- Thomas couldn’t believe what “I was very excited, man,” Tho- stick Thomas at cornerbackdur- back P. J. Walker was pivotalinhis he haddone. mas said, withasighofrelief.“It ing his freshman year becauseof transition to the offensivesideof " @tom_reifsnyder

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Page 44 PHILADELPHIA DAILYNEWS—Philly.comWednesday, September 16, 2015 SPORTS | COLLEGE FOOTBALL Not too early to get on Owls’ bandwagon

TISEARLY,but Iamjumping on the Temple footballband- JOHN Iwagon. Over the next fewweeks, it will SMALLWOOD getcrowded and Iwanttomake [email protected] sureIhave my seatreserved for the final stop. Iamdreamingbig. teamCollege FootballPlayoffs. Perhaps if the starsalign and ev- The Bearcatswerethe prohibi- ery cardfallsright youpossi- tivepreseasonpick to win the bly/maybe/might put Temple and American Athletic Conference. College FootballPlayoff together SI said, “Cincinnatiplays ahome in the samesentence. game against Miami and has a Stopchoking on your scrapple. triptoBYU slated fornonconfer- Iconcede thatthere is morelike- enceplay, so the playoff commit- ly to be 5feet of snowinthe Or- tee could findthatBearcats’ re- angeBowlorCotton Bowl thana sumeimpressiveiftheywin out.” storm of Cherry and White on Well,guesswhichAAC teamal- NewYear’s Evefor the national readyburst the Bearcats’ bub- CHARLESFOX /STAFF PHOTOGRAPHER semifinals. ble? Templequarterback P. J. Walker calls out signals in practicethisweek. Still,think big foramoment. ThatwouldbeTemple. If youput stock in thingssuch If the thinking was thatCincin- opened the seasonwithawin at apotentialwin over the Fighting truefor Temple. as preseasonpredictions, Sports nati could creep intothe playoff homeoverBig Tenmember Penn Irish would holdasmuch weight, Illustrated listedCincinnati, conversationonthe basis of run- OK, nowbackalittlecloser to along withBoiseState,Brigham ningthe table,aperfect run by State,whichwouldequatetoCin- probably more, as if Cincinnati the realityofwherethis bandwag- Yo ung,Northern Illinoisand the Owls should garnerthe same cinnati beatingMiami at homeon were to win at Brigham Yo ung. on could takeus. Utah State as programs outside consideration. Oct.1. The point is, all the thingsthat If we takeout aplayoff bid,the of the PowerFiveconferences Temple’sand Cincinnati’s While Temple doesplayNotre made Cincinnatiadark-horse thatcould find away into the four- schedules aresimilar.The Owls DameatLincoln Financial Field, candidate foraplayoff spothold See SMALLWOOD Page 63

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Friday,September 18, 2015 PHILADELPHIA DAILYNEWS—Philly.comP SMALLWOOD Continued from Page 65

Cotton Bowl and OrangeBowl, whichare the semifinal games on Dec.31, let’s see wherewego. Lastseason, despitefinishing 6-6,Temple was not one of the 76 teams selected to playinabowl game. Thisseasonbrings in anothernew bowl —the Auto- NationCureBowlonDec.19inOrlando, Fla.Thisisim- portantfor Temple,because it willpair an AACteam against one from the Sun BeltConference. The AAChas spots guaranteed forseven bowl games —Cure, BocaRaton,Miami Beach, Hawaii, St. Peters- burg, Military and Birmingham. Thisyear,when the Owls gettheir first bid since win- ningthe NewMexicoBowlin2011,itwillcome down to apreferencefor money,prestigeofopponent or loca- tion. Everything considered, the bestoption is the Mili- taryBowlonDec.28inAnnapolis, Md. The opponent is ateamfromthe AtlanticCoast Conferenceorpossibly NotreDame,and the payout is $1 million.Cincinnati wonthe AACand playedinthisbowllast season. The Birmingham (Ala.)Bowlagainstateamfromthe Southeastern Conferencefor $900,000 wouldbenext, but the locationishorrible. The Cureoffersthe highestpayout,at$1.35million, and whodoesn’t love DisneyWorld? Still,anopponent n from the Sun Beltdoes not generate muchexcitement. The otherfour have do not have big payouts or ahigh- profile opponent,but youcannot go wrong withany of the locations. I, however, jumped on thisbandwagonthinking of a wilddream forTemple football. d Outside of the semifinal bids, the College Football Playoff systemleavesspots forfour at-large teams into twoofits other four connectedbowls —dubbedthe a “New Ye ar’s Six”, eventhoughthe Chick-fil-APeach Bowl is playedonNew Ye ar’s Eve. o The NY6 offersanopeningfor amid-majortostepup s y t and playwith the big dogs. The right teamwith the right record under the right circumstances can slipin. Thisseason, the NY6 bowls openfor the right mid- major arethe Peachand Fiesta, so Iambuying aband- wagontickettoeither Atlanta or Glendale, Ariz. e , WithPenn State and Cincinnatidown, the Owls couldbefavoredinall the rest of their games but one — NotreDame. If Temple handles its business, it would be ahome up- set over NotreDame and awin in the AACChampion- shipGame, whichitcouldalso host, away from a13-0 record. Even alosstoNotreDame couldallowthe Owls to wear the glassslipper. o Lastseason, Mountain West Conferencechampion Boise State,whichhad tworegular-seasonlosses and was ranked 20th, gotanat-large invitationtothe Fiesta Bowl. ThatcouldbeTemple thisseason, and Ialready claimedmyseatonthe bandwagon. ¢

Email: [email protected] Columns: ph.ly/Smallwood

Friday,September 18, 2015 PHILADELPHIA DAILYNEWS—Philly.comPage 63 SPORTS | COLLEGE FOOTBALL

Temple at UMass 3p.m. Saturday GilletteStadium Foxborough, Mass. Internet: ESPN3. Radio: ESPN (97. 5-FM) Records: Te mple 2-0,UMass0-1. History: First meeting, if youdon’t count hoops. About Temple: Owls areranked just outside the Top25, after beating Penn Stateathome and AACfavorite Cincin- nati on the road ...Jahad Thomasis among the nation’s leading rushers.He alsoran the second-half kickoffback 100yards lastweek ... Gave up nearly 600 yardsatCincy, much of it late, but did have fivetakeaways,including an end-zone interception off atip in final seconds to preserve eight-point lead ... They’re2-0 forfirst time since 2011. Last 3-0 start wasin2010...P. J. Walker has completed 70 percent of his passes ...Nextweek, theyhaveabye before playing at CharlotteonOct.2. About UMass: Minutemen opened with a48-14 loss at Colorado.Itwas 14-14early in the second quarter ... Coach Mark Whipple is in the second season of his second stint with pro- gram (1998-2003, wonanFCS ti- tle) ... Theywere3-9 lastseason, but fivelosseswerebysevenpointsor fewer. Theyhave19startersback, from ateamthat averaged 27 a game ... BlakeFrohnapfelthrew for 3,345 yardsayear go. —MikeKern

Page 60 PHILADELPHIA DAILYNEWS—Philly.comFriday,September 18, 2015 SPORTS | COLLEGE FOOTBALL Owls escape as favorites

ND SO Temple’spotential dream seasoncontinues MIKE Aon. Barely. The Owls were favoredfor the KERN first timethisseasonSaturdayat [email protected] Massachusetts,whichhad opened with a34-pointlossatCol- orado. One week after nearly BlakeFrohnapfel was 29-55 for blowinga22-point, fourth-quar- 393yards and three TDs forthe ter leadatCincinnati, theyfound Minutemen. 4 themselves trailing,for the first It was 17-allathalftime,after a time, by three withaminute,20 Temple gotthe first 14. secondstogoafterthe Minute- NotreDame alsomoved to 3-0 men scored on a16-yardpass. But witha30-22 homewin over Geor- Temple’sPraise Martin-Oguike gia Tech.The Irish willbein blocked the extra-pointtry and South Philly on Halloween.This WillHayesreturneditfor twothe week theyget UMass at home. other way. Whatwerethe chanc- The Owls are3-0 forthe first es?Itmeanttheynolonger need- timesince 2010. The lasttime ASSOCIATED PRESS ed atouchdown to win,just afield theywon their first four was 1974, Owls kicker Austin Jones,Tom goal. when theystarted 6-0. Bradway react to winningFG. Sometimes, dream seasons go After being ranked 26thinlast thatway. week’s poll, theyfell sevenspots The Owls,withthe helpofa and arenow tiedwithAuburn 15-yardpenalty on the kickoff, (2-1). Think about that. In the thendrove 50 yards in 10 plays, coaches’voting,they’retiedfor witha12-yardpassfromP.J.Walk- 36th. er to John Christoperfinally put- tingtheminpositionfor sopho- moreAustin Jones to kick the win- 3 ning32-yarder with7secondsleft to beatUMass,25-23. n It was the kindofgame the h h Owls often found away to losein the past. Didn’thappen. Jones,who missed at least once in each of the lastfivegamesa year ago, made three (also from 33 and 37) and is now7-for-7. The Owls have their onlybye thisweek beforetraveling to Charlotte(2-1), whichjust lostby 73-14atMiddleTennessee,for a Fridaynighter. Walker went 28-for-48 (with his first twointerceptions) for391 yards. Coming in, he was 28-for-40 for224. Christopher hadseven receptions.JahadTho- mas,who was among the nation’s leadingrushers, got66on25car- ries. He alsohad the fumble that set up UMass’go-aheadTDdrive. He haddonethe samethingat Cincy,but the Owls cameupwith an end-zoneinterception at the end to avoid posssibleovertime.

PHILADELPHIA DAILYNEWS—Philly.comMonday, September 21, 2015 SPORTS | COLLEGE FOOTBALL Luck on Temple’sside Owls’ momentum continues after miracle win

BELIEVEinkarma. Still,the bottomline is that The thing about success Temple is 3-0. in sports is thatbeinglucky JOHN Brigham Yo ung (2-1) is the only is sometimesbetter thanbe- SMALLWOOD teamoutside the PowerFivecon- I ferences ranked in the Top25. ing good. Another thing about [email protected] sports is thatsometimesateam The Cougars arerated 22ndin mustmakeits ownluck. the AssociatedPress poll. The Temple Universityfootball The Owls movedthe ball50 Temple received 20 votes in the bandwagon rolledout of Foxbor- yards in nineplays, thensopho- AP poll, puttingthe Owls behind ough, Mass., on Saturdaywitha morekickerAustin Jones won BYU, Toledo(36 votes)and Hous- tankofkarma, filled by the luck the game witha32-yardfieldgoal. ton (22)asfar as rankingsfor the Owls hadmadeintheir 25-23 “Gameslikethis, youhaveto teams outside the PowerFive. victoryoverMassachusetts. findaway to win,” saidTemple The Owls got15votesinthe It was not onlythatTemple coachMattRhule,whoseOwls coaches’poll, behindonly BYU snatched avictoryout of the jaws are3-0 forthe first timesince (74) in the teams outside the Pow- of abandwagon-stallingdefeat; it 2010. er Five. was the wayithappenedthat The pessimistsays, “Well,Tem- The champion of the highest- makes me moreconfident that ple neededamiracle to beata ranked “Group of Five,” which this road trip from North Philadel- teamfromthe Mid-American consistsofthe American Athletic phia is destined forafinal destina- Conference.” Conference, MAC, Conference tionineither Atlanta forthe The optimist,likethe folks al- USA,Mountain West and Sun PeachBowlorGlendale, Ariz.,for readywithmeonthe bandwagon, Belt, is guaranteed abid intothe the Fiesta Bowl. pointout that, historically,Tem- national semifinalsoranNY6 Bowl, which arethe PeachorFies- Iconcede,Ilostalittlefaith ple would have morelikely lostin ta Bowls thisseason. when UMass tookthat23-20lead thatmanner insteadofwinning. The AACalready has winsover with 1minute,20seconds remain- Northern Illinois, forthe MAC, PowerFiveteams Penn State, ing. The Minutemen were an ex- stood toe-to-toewithNo. 1Ohio Kansasand Louisville. Three trapoint away from making it a State beforelosing,20-13, on Sat- winsoverPower Five teams is the four-point advantage. urday. mostbyany of the midmajor uni- Alosstoateamfromthe Mid- versities. American Conferencewould Isaw the thingsthathappened have flattened the right front tire during the Sixers’ 2000-2001run on the bandwagon. to the NBA Finals, the Eagles’ Thenthe Cherry and White pix- journeytothe 2005SuperBowl, ie dustfell. the Flyers’ to the 2010Stanley Temple’sappropriatelynamed Cup Finaland the Phillies’ jour- PraiseMartin-Oguikeblocked neytothe 2008World Seriestitle. the extra-pointtry,and Stephaun There were odd things, pecu- Marshall pickedthe ballup. liarthingsand strangethings Those actions were enoughto thathappened. Theywerethings assurethatthe Owls would have thatlet youknowsomethingspe- achance to tie the scorewitha cialwas happening. field goal, but Marshall,just be- Iknowgood karma when Isee fore he was tackled,lateraledthe it. balltoWill Hayes, whoran the Temple’s “Miracle in Massachu- ballall the waybackfor atwo- setts” tells me what Ineed to point conversion thatpulledTem- know. The bandwagongets a pleto23-22. week off becauseofaTemplebye, AMassachusetts unsportsman- but the gastank has enoughgood likeconductpenalty movedthe karma to takeaNewYear’s road kickoff back 15 yards and,aftera triptoAtlanta or Glendale, Ariz. ¢ 9-yardkickoff return, Temple hadthe ballonits 35-yardline Email: [email protected] with1:16 remaining.

Tuesday,September 22, 2015 PHILADELPHIA DAILYNEWS—Philly.comPage 51 SPORTS | COLLEGE FOOTBALL Rhule praises Owls’ win e BY TOMREIFSNYDER HA Daily News StaffWriter e [email protected]

HE CONSENSUS in the days followingTemple e Tfootball’s nail-biting,25-23 victoryoverMassachusetts has beenthatthe “old” Temple foot- ballteamwouldn’t have pos- sessed the resolvetopull out a victoryunder suchdaunting cir- cumstances. Down three with1:20 to play, Temple’sWill Hayesreturned the failedPAT attempt fortwo n d e r points, and P. J. Walker masterful- p ly orchestrated a10-play, 50-yarddrive, ending withan Austin Jones’game-winning, 32-yardfieldgoal. The 3-0 Owls couldn’t have ASSOCIATED PRESS asked formuch moretogotheir Owls QB P. J. Walker had acareer dayagainstUMass. f way. Temple’soffensiveperfor- mance Saturdaywas surely 67 yards per game; that’s not lot of snaps, he’spicked up blitz- somethingnew,atleastfor this what we wanttodo.” es forus, he’sdone everything. year’s team, withWalker going Massachusetts’concentrated He’s beenareal leader forus.” 28-for-48 and throwingfor aca- effort to stopJahadThomas’ Temple is 3-0 forthe first time reer-high391 yards withone groundassault proved effective, since 2010, when the teamfin- touchdown and twointercep- as Temple’sjunior runningback ished 8-4, the lastyear under tions. The junior quarterback rushedfor aseason-low66yards coachAlGolden. was 28-for-40 with224 yards in on 25 carrieswithone touch- If the Owls keepsthe ballroll- . the first twogames. down. ing,theycouldfind themselves CoachMattRhule saidhewas Thomas’ numbersSaturday ranked in the Top25for the first proud of Walker forhanging were afar cry from his first two timesince 1979, when theyfin- .9 tough under the unusualcircum- outings, when he rushedfor ato- ished 10-2. stances, but he’drathersee tal of 328 yards and three touch- The possibilityaloneis, well, morebalanced offensivenum- downs in winsoverPenn State somethingnew. bersmoving forward,asthe and Cincinnati. “I’mreally proud of the guys,” teamlooksaheadtoaroad meet- Forthe second straight game, saidRhule,anassistant under ing withCharlotteonOct. 2after Thomas fumbledonsecond- Goldenin2010.“To be 3-0,that’s the upcoming bye week. and-3 withachancetoice the really an impressiveaccomplish- “I wanttobeable to run the game in the fourthquarter.How- mentfor themtothispoint. football, but I’m not going to be ever,Rhule saidhe’swilling to “Now we have to go playnine upset withP.J.for throwingfor lookpast Thomas’ recent strug- straight, and we have to getbet- 391yards,”Rhule said. “Ifteams gles withball securityinlight of ter throughthose nineand have aregoingtoput 10 guysinthe his overall play. the samefocusifnot betterto box, it’snicetoknowthatwe “Obviously,he’s hadsome fum- have achance to do something have thatmanyguyswho can bles at the end of the game special.” ¢ makeaplay. wherewehad achance to icethe “That being said, Iwanttobe game,but he’splayedreally abletorun the ballfor morethan well,” Rhule said. “He’s playeda " @tom_reifsnyder

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on Fridaywhen Memphis(4-0, Owls on Oct.22inthe Owls’last 1-0)beatAmerican Conference game beforeNotreDame comes MIKE preseasonfavoriteCincinnati to SouthPhilly,isalready 0-1in KERN (2-2, 0-2)athomeonalate TD, the conference. The Owls do host [email protected] 53-46. Cincy lostQBGunnerKiel defending champion Memphis, early withaneckinjury;hehas whichwon herebyalate field not beenruledout forthe Bear- goal lastseason, on Nov. 21. So cats’ next game.Thismeansthe barringsomethingunforeseen, it Owls have what amountstoa appearsthe Owls have avery 2Ö-game leadinthe EastDivi- good chanceofbeinginthe first s , s sion, and arelatively easysched- AACtitle game on Dec.5.It ule since theydon’t have to play seems to be mostlyamatterof a crossover games against either whether they’llbehomeoraway. HoustonorNavy(both 3-0;each Thatgame willbehosted by the Temple update beatTemple lastseason) from divisionwinnerwiththe bestcon- the West.And Central Florida, ferencerecord. ¢ The Owls arecoming off their whichwas pickedtofinish sec- onlybye of the season. But in ond in the East, is winless.East caseyou missed it, theystill won Carolina (2-2), whichhosts the " @mikekerndn

Page 58 PHILADELPHIA DAILYNEWS—Philly.comMonday, September 28, 2015 when theystarted 6-0 and fin- 2minutesalone. Thatchanges Those were unexpected, too. SPORTS | COLLEGE FOOTBALL ished 8-2.They’veneverbeen 7-0, the program. Doesn’tmatteranymore. The although the 1934 teamwas 7-0-2 “Whenever youget wokenup stakeshavegone wayup. The beforelosing in the Sugar Bowl to likethat, obviously,you’re alittle Owls don’t have agame leftthat Tulane. shocked at first. No team’sout theycan’twin. Thatincludes Temple and defending AAC there looking to getsmacked in Owls using UMass champion Memphisare the only the face.But if that’s what it NotreDame.But all it takes is one FBS conferenceteams withmulti- takes ...We’recompetitive. We badweek against evenaChar- ple road wins. The Tigerswillbe wanteveryone’s best(shot). lotte or Tulanetomesswith their escape as alesson hereonNov.21, in what could be a That’s the waycollegefootball’s dreams. previewofthe first AACtitle supposed to be played. Just adog- Welcome to the spotlight. But bilities. Or at least not nearlyas game.Imaginethat. fight.” BY MIKE KERN thisiswherethey’vewantedtobe loudly. But one stepatatime, right? As longasyou don’t end up get- forthe longest time. Daily News StaffWriter But avoiding becoming one of “Onenegative, Ithink, was our ting bit, particularly when realisit- [email protected] It shouldn’t be abad thing.Just those Michigan-Appalachian teamathalftime,” saidcoach cally youshouldn’t. State deals is sometimesall part Matt Rhule,referringtothe “It was kindofaneye-opener,” different. HEREARE 128 FBS foot- of the journey. Especially when UMass game.“Ourkidshad that saidseniorcenter Kyle Friend. “It “Weworked on ourselves,”said ballteams.Twenty-nine re- you’realready dreamingbig. looklike, ‘It shouldn’t be 17-17.’It’s makes the point thatwehaveto junior quarterbackP.J.Walker, Tmainunbeaten.Temple is If thisride eventuallyturns into going to be 17-17. It’sgoingtobe showupand compete at ahigh when asked about the off week. one of them, albeit barely.Still somethingreally special, what 31-7atsomepoint,and we’rego- level, every week.Not justcom- “That’s what we probably needed counts. It’sone of four from the happenedatUMass —returning ing to have to come back and win pete, but at ahighlevel. It’sonus to work on most.” ¢ American Athletic Conference, ablockedPAT fortwo points and it. That’s what it is. Yo u’vegot to now.” but the onlyone from the EastDi- kicking a32-yardfieldgoalinthe win the game. Openingwith winsoverPenn vision. final 1minute,20seconds—can “ButIthink it showedthatwe State and Cincinnatiwill do that. " @mikekerndn On paper,the Owls would seem onlykeep growinginmagnitude. didn’tpanic.Hopefully,our play- to have aprettygood shottostill That’s prettymuch up to them. ers, looking forward, willrealize be and-0 headingintotheir Hal- Theygot amulligan. It’swhatof- it’snot about whoyou’re playing. loween matchup in South Philly ten happens to good teams.How It’saboutwho we are, our stan- against sixth-ranked NotreDame good remainstoplayout. Their dard. Youhavetomakeone more (4-0), whichcouldbeattractive pre-NotreDame itinerary ap- playthatthe other teamdidn’t enoughtomaybe even warrant a pears to be doable: at 2-2 Char- maketowin the game.Wemade visit from ESPN’s“CollegeGame- lotte Fridaynight, followedbyTu- one moreplay. We talkalot about Day” show. Hey, younever know. lane (1-2)and Central Florida bodyblows and winning it in the But first theyhavetoget there. (0-4) herebeforeanOct. 22 Thurs- fourth (quarter).Wewon it in the And if theytookanything out of daynighteratEastCarolina (2-2), fourth. their two-pointwin at double-dig- whichjust beatVirginia Tech at “That’s not what happened in it underdog Massachusettsin home. the past.” their lastgame,it’sthatthe unex- The Owls hadaweek off,their If nothing else,it’s certainly bet- pected happens every weekend. onlybye,tothink about it. The ter thanlearningfromagame in There’s areason the Fraud Five Charlotteprogram is in its third whichyou didn’tget it done. Be- exists. year of existence, and thisisits cause as Rhule mentioned,the Some lessonsare costly. Fortu- first in FBS.The visitorsare fa- program’sobviouslybeen there. natelyfor the Owls,theysurvived voredby24. The lasttimethey And 3-0 alwaysbeats 2-1. one theyeasilycouldhavelost. playedthree straight on the road “That game was crucial forus,” One theyprobably would have was 2010, when theywent 1-2 saidseniordefensivelineman lostintoo manyyearsgone by. against Penn State,Armyand Matt Ioannidis. “Ifyou lookback And then we wouldn’t stillbetalk- Northern Illinois. The lasttime to the 2-10 season(in 2013), we ing about those PeachBowlpossi- theywon their first four was 1974, lostahandfulofgamesinthe last

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Temple at Charlotte To night, 7p.m., Richardson Stadium, Charlotte, N.C. TV: CBSSports. Radio: The Fanatic (97. 5-FM) Records: Te mple 3-0,Charlotte2-2. History: First meeting. About Temple: Owls arecoming off their only bye, following an improbable last-minutewin at Massachu- setts ... It’stheir thirdstraight road o game ... Haven’tbeen 4-0 since e 1974 ...P.J.Walker threw foracareer- best 391 yardsatUMass... Jahad Thomas leads the AACinrushing, with 394 yards... LB NateD.Smith has four sacks... Austin Joneshas made all sevenofhis field goals ... P AlexStarzyk (41.6-yard average) has made adifference... Next Saturday theyhostTulane. About Charlotte: The 49ers, athird- hof year program in their first season in FBS(ConferenceUSA), have lost their lasttwo to Middle Tennessee (73-14) and FloridaAtlantic(17-7). Theybeat Georgia State(23-20) and FCSPresby- terian (34-10)... TheyrotateQBs. Matt Johnson has completed 32 of 59 for401 yards, with 3TDs and 6picks. He’s11-for-15 on thirddown... Kalif Phillips has rushed for380 yardson71 carries... NT LarryOgunjobi has 7. 5 tacklesfor losses. —MikeKern

Friday,October2,2015 PHILADELPHIA DAILYNEWS—Philly.comPage 59 SPORTS | COLLEGE FOOTBALL

by Anderson thatwouldhaveput TEMPLE (4-0) After another short Charlotte the Owls up by twoscores. Char- Saturday, Sept. 5PENN ST...... W27-10 drive,Temple’sHaason Reddick Saturday, Sept. 12 *@Cincinnati.W ..... 34-26 lotte kickerBreweralso missed Saturday, Sept. 19 @UMass.W ...... 25-23 blocked the 49ers’punt, which Owls rock 49ers twofieldgoalattempts—one Friday,Oct. [email protected] ...... 37- 3 was pickedupand returned16 Saturday, Oct. 10 *TULANE .1...... 2:00 from just28yards. Saturday, Oct. 17 *CENTRAL FLORIDA...TBA yards by Nate Smith fora30-3 Thursday, Oct. 22 *@East Carolina.7 ...... :00 Temple lead. It cappeda21-0ad- Temple tookatwo-possession Saturday, Oct. 31 NOTRE DAME.T ...... BA leadmidway throughthe second Friday,Nov.6 *@SMU .8...... :00 vantage forTemple in the third, to improve to 4-0 Saturday, Nov. 14 *@South Florida.T ...... BA withthe Owls outgaining Char- quarterona1-yardrun from Tho- Saturday, Nov. 21 *MEMPHIS.T...... BA mas.The Owls’driveappeared to Saturday, Nov. 28 *CONNECTICUT.T ...... BA lotte 102-24. yards to the Charlotte19-yard Saturday, Dec. 5*Title (site TBD)...... 12:00 “I think our guysmadesome BY JOSH CARPENTER end after athird-downincomple- *AAC Game. line. However, the Owls’drive plays in the second half,”Temple Forthe Daily News tion deep down the left side to Jen- AMERICAN ATHLETIC CONFERENCE sputteredwhen quarterbackP.J. nings,but alatehit out of bounds CONFERENCE OVERALL coachMattRhule saidofhis Walker’sthird-downpassfor by CharlottedefensivebackNa- East Division WLPF PA WLPF PA team’ssecond-halfsurge. CHARLOTTE,N.C.—Temple Temple .1...... 0342640123 62 John Christopher fell incomplete rode astrong groundattack and jee Tuckercontinuedthe posses- UCF .0...... 000045093 “I think our kidsjust settled in the end zone. The Owls’Austin sionm and movedthe Owls into East Carolina.0 ...... 1214522108 124 big third quartertoeasilybeat *UConn .0...... 11828226669 down and kindofmadesome Jones thenmissed his first field ConferenceUSA opponent Char- 49ers territory.Eight plays later, South Florida.0 ...... 11724139996 plays.” goal try of the season, from 36 Cincinnati.0 ...... 2728732195 153 lotte,37-3, lastnight, moving Thomaspunched it in to put Tem- West Division Temple tacked on another yards. ple up,10-0,withjust morethan Navy .2...... 0733930121 49 scoreinthe fourthquarter when move to 4-0 forthe first time Memphis.2 ...... 0776350239 134 since 1974. After amissed 55-yardfield six minutesleft beforehalf. Tho- Houston.0 ...... 00030145 69 Walker found Anderson again goal attempt from Charlotte’s mas’fifthrushing touchdown of Tulsa.0...... 00021125 117 from 13 yards out to put the Owls Junior tailbackJahadThomas Tulane .0...... 0001255109 ran20times for109 yards and BlakeBrewer, Temple took advan- the seasoncapped a13-play, SMU .0...... 00013134 173 ahead,37-3. twotouchdowns forthe Owls, tage.Walker converted athird- 74-yarddrive. *Fridaynight's UConn at BYUgame not included Thomas led the wayfor the whoalso accomplishedtheir first and-5 screen passtoThomas Charlotte responded with asev- Owls with 157all-purpose yards, three-game road winning streak down the right sidefor 34 yards en-play, 56-yarddrive—highlight- another 1-yardplungefromTho- while Phillips pacedthe 49ers since 2009. to the 49ers’23-yardline.The ed by a39-yardrun from junior mas to stretchthe Owls’leadto (2-3)with 166 of his own. On de- Bothoffenses started slowly, Owls’drivestalled again when Kalif Phillips —culminatingwith 17-3. Temple’sdefensestiffened fense,linebacker Tyler hinderedbyhighwinds and peri- Walker’spassfell incomplete to a36-yardfieldgoalfromBrewer again on the 49ers’nextposses- Matakevich led Templewith eight ods of heavy rain, withTemple Adonis Jenningsonthird down, to makethe score10-3 at half- sion, forcing another three-and- tackles,whilesafetyBrandenDozi- holding a3-0 advantageafterthe but Jones was abletoconnect on time. out,and the Owls’offensere- er had13for the 49ers. first quarter. his next attempt,hittingfrom39 Temple tookcommandofthe sponded. After ashort 49ers Temple returns to Philadelphia Temple’soffensebegan the yards to put Temple up,3-0. The game in the third quarter. After punt, the Owls went six plays and on Oct.10for an American Athlet- game withathree-and-out,but wetconditionsled to anumber of holding Charlottetoathree-and- 39 yards, withWalker finding ic matchup withTulane —the gotthingsclicking on the ensuing unforcedmiscuesbyboth teams, out to openthe period,Temple Anderson on afaderouteinthe Owls’first contest at homesince possessionvia the groundgame including afirst-quarterdeep strung together anine-play, right cornerofthe end zonefor a beatingPenn State to openthe —running seventimes for47 balltoTemple widereceiver Rob- 47-yarddrive, culminatingwith 24-3lead. seasonSept.5. ¢

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Page 46 PHILADELPHIA DAILYNEWSWEEKEND —Philly.comSunday, October4,2015 SPORTS | COLLEGE FOOTBALL

10-3 win at Tulane thatmadethem bowl eli- No road gible, thoughtheywereone of the fewbowl- eligibleteams thatdidn’tgoanywhere. The Green Wave lostby30toDukeinits woes for seasonopener and by 55 at Georgia Tech. But it beatFCS Maine by 31 and is coming off a45-31win against UCF. It has dropped Temple 10 of its last11onthe road.But thatwin was lastNovember over aHoustonteamthat finished 8-5. BY MIKE KERN “Westillhaveateamthat’s justkindof Daily News StaffWriter nervous, youknow,”Rhule said. “They ha- [email protected] ven’thad the pressuretaken off themby losing,whichisagood thing.Pressureisa privilege. Ithink Billy Jean Kingorsome- EMPLE’S FOOTBALL teamhas one saidit, right?Because you’veearned playedonceathomethisseason. T it. The unbeaten Owls trailed in that one foralittleover38Öminutes. In their “Thepressureisinternal. Idon’t really three on the road,they’vebeen behindfor liveonthe outside.Wehavealot of guys atotal of justunder 7. whoput the weight of the worldontheir Nobodyeverproclaimedthisstuff has to shoulders.You can’t playbysaying,‘Boy, I really wanttowin.’ Or ‘Boy, Ireally wantto makeperfect sense. MITCHELL LEFF /GETTY IMAGES “I love being on the road,Idon’t know Owls fans, shown hereinthe standsatthe season opener,willbeback at the Lincto makeaplay.’It’s agame we’veplayedour why,”seniorlinebacker Tyler Matakevich cheer on their team on Saturday. wholelife. But it’skids. WhenIgrew up,if said. “Don’t getmewrong.Playinginthe youmessedupyou went homeand nobody Lincisgreat,but going to another team’s junior runningbackJahadThomas said. quarterbeforescoringthe final 14. saidanything.Now theyturntheir phones stadiumand havinganopportunityto “Either way, justgoout and playlikewe Rhule remembers. There’s agood on and everyone’s telling them, youdidn’t showthemhow good of ateamwe can. chancehe’ll makesurehis guysdo, too. do this, youdidn’tdothat. It’shard. are... Of course,tojust hop on the bus “Welovetosee our familyand friends, “Wewerereal sloppy(thatday),” he said. There’s so muchpressureingeneral. and go right down to the hotel to relaxand the supportwehavefromthe loyal fans “You’dalways rather be at home.But it pre- “Thething I’m trying to getacross to getready forthe next dayworks, too.” who’ve beenthere throughthe ups and sents different challenges. We’restill kind themisplayreally hardand have fun.And Whatever. They’re4-0 forthe first time downs of the pasttwo or three years. It’sa of working on whoweare and howwewin playtogether.That’s what’s mostimpor- since1974,having just put together athree- greatfeeling, knowingthey’rewaiting to as ateam, understanding exactlywhat tant. That’s howyou takepressureoff, game road winning streak forthe first time root youon.” Temple footballmeans. We’renot quite when youknowyou’re not in it alone and since 2011. On Saturday, they’llplayatLin- It’salso Homecoming.Not to mention there yet. other guysare on your side. We have to coln Financial Fieldfor the first timesince one week closer to hosting NotreDame on “You have to have amatureteam(when dealwiththemputtingexpectations on the Sept. 5opener against Penn State.Tu- Halloween. playing at home).The emotion can some- themelves. If youdon’t worry about win- lane(2-2, 1-0 American Athletic Confer- “They likebeingaround each other (on times be too much. Thatenergy, youhave ning, and justgoout and playwell,Ithink ence) is next on the schedule, followedby the road),” coachMattRhule said. “It’s a to channel it intohow youplay. If youjust you’llwin alot.” Central Florida (0-5, 0-1) hereaswell.The credittothe seniors,tothe camaradarie, playwithenergy, the next thing youknow, Here or there, it’sworkingsofar.They’ Owls have onlythree away games left, two to the waytheyconductthemselves. But you’redoing crazy things. ve hadabetter start on North Broadonly against opponents(SMU and South Flori- they’rereal excited to have all the Temple “Now their parentsare there; my par- fives times in the 116 seasonsthatcame be- da) withawin apiece. people come back to celebrateTemple.Ob- entsare there.Atthe end of the day, that fore this. Even the 1934 Sugar Bowl team Maybe the venuedoesn’t matter. But if viously,they’reexcitedaboutwinning four can helpyou in tight ballgames. It helps was 3-0-1.Sofeel free to keep dreaming theywin enough, the first AACtitle game games.” youinthe fourthquarter.Ithelped us big. ¢ could even be hereonDec.6.Then it might Lastseason’sHomecomingalso camein against Penn State,when we were down, meanmore. the fifth game,against1-4 Tulsa.The 3-1 10-0, (after8Öminutes).” “I don’t think thatplays intoanything,” Owls trailed by three early in the fourth The Owls closed out lastseasonwitha " @mikekerndn

Wednesday, October7,2015 PHILADELPHIA DAILYNEWS—Philly.comPage 43 SPORTS | COLLEGE FOOTBALL

solutely shocking. Idon’t think anyofusreally have anyidea Owlhas flood what thathorrormust have been like. Forhim to have come throughthatand be heretoday, withthatspirit ...I certainly of memories knowIdon’t have afeel forwhat he’sexperienced.” And no matterwherethe jour- neytakes Smith, thatwillremain an indelible slice of his DNA. BY MIKE KERN gotanewjob,has seenthe story from all sides. He goes back once “Nobody thought it was going Daily News StaffWriter ayear,duringthe Christmas holi- to be thatbad,” he saidofKatrina. [email protected] days, to see the lifeheleft behind. “I neverthink about the what-ifs. He still considers himself one of Itry to liveinthe moment.No- ATEL.SMITH them. And insistshealways will. bodytoldmeIwas lucky to get doesn’tliketolivein “That’s my home,”Smithsaid. out.I’m thankfulthatGod didn’t the past, eventhough N “It’s whereI’m from. Nothing can allow my partofthe citytoget hit. it’ssomuch apart of changethat. Iwas bornand Itry not to (think) about that. I whoand what he’sbecome.Sohe raisedthere. It’swheremyheart try not to gettoo emotional, be- willtellhis story,whenever some- lies. It’sinthe blood. But thiswas cause it hurts. But it’ll alwaysbe one bringsitupagain, since he afresh start. emotional. knows it’snevergoingaway. “Unless youwerethere,you That’s the wayitis, withthiskind “GrowingupinLouisiana, ev- can neverunderstand what really of story. ery person whoplays football happened, knowwhatI’m saying? Alittle morethan10yearsago, dreamsofbeing(an LSU)Tiger. It probably is worsethanthe pic- HurricaneKatrina changed New That’s what Iwanted.Now I’m an tures and stuff people read.Iwas Orleans forever. Smith, whowas Owl. And I’m grateful forthat.” young at the time, so Iprobably 12 at the time, lived there withhis Smith hadacoupleofbig plays didn’tunderstand the full(im- family. Beforethe storm hit,his lastFriday in the Owls’37-3win pact).Iknowthere was looting mothertookhim and his younger at Charlotte: He ranbacka and other thingsgoingon. They sister to staywithrelatives in Tex- blocked punt16yards foratouch- were justtryingtosurvive. Peo- as. Theywouldreturn aweek or down and returnedanintercep- ple were dealing withtragedy. so later,toadevastated city. For- tion74yards. “It’s justgetting back to where tunately, their neighborhoodon On Saturday, the Owls hostTu- it usedtobe. It’snot all the way the outskirts of town didn’tget lane(2-2, 1-0 American Athletic), back. But it’sbackenoughto

hit very hard. But manypeople whichisinNew Orleans. They BOBLEVERONE /TEMPLE UNIVERSITY wherepeople can say, ‘We’reon theyknewlost houses and/or closed out lastseason witha10-3 NateL.Smith runsback ablocked puntfor atouchdown. the rise.’They’rehappier,they’re lovedones.Itwas aworld turned win over the Green Wave down enjoying themselves more. But it upside down. there. But forSmith, it’ssimply takes time.” “I alwayslook at it as every- the next game. difference, on ateamthat’s 4-0 And it’sthatspirit thatimpress- Smith has made his adjust- thing happens forareason,” said “It’s not really abiggerdeal for (thesame record as LSU)for the es coachMattRhule. ment. There’s no lookingback, Smith, aredshirtjunior free safe- me,” saidSmith, acriminal-jus- first timesince1974. He hadseven “Anytime yougothroughsome- even thoughit’simpossible to for- ty forTemple’sundefeated foot- ticemajor. “Whoeveryou’re play- tackles (threesolo) and forced a thing really hard, it can leave you get. So he goes throughthe daily ballteam. “I wishitdidn’thap- ing,you’ve gottoplayball.Last fumble in the Owls’pivotalsec- bitterormakeyou better,”Rhule routine of tryingtomakethe best pen,but youhavetorise above it. year,(some teammates)were ond game,atCincinnati. said. “He’s not bitter.He’s certain- of everything he doeshave. Ithink it just helped shaped me in- kindofcuriousand stuff.SoItold But moretothe point, he feels ly better. And wiser,stronger. “As akid,Ialwaystoldmydad I to the man Iamtoday. themwhatIwent through, and likehebelongs. He’s one of our next leaders, if wanted to be afootball player,”he said. “Hepushed me to the fact “It made me wanttofocus, likeI what other people went through. “It was hard, comingtoanew youlook at the (2016)seniorclass. thatifthat’s what Iwanted to do, hadtodoeverything as if it’smy Nowtheyreally don’t ask me any- city,”Smith recalled. “I didn’t “He’s hadhis ups and downs, Ihad to work hardatit. So I’m do- lastplay. Becauseyou neverknow more.” knowanybody.Idon’t talkthe but he’smatured, grownup, be- ing what Isaid Iwas going to do when it’sgoingtoend.Itcan be Smithwent to George Washing- same. I’m alittle countryboy,try- come areally good footballplayer when Iwas younger. justlikethat. Astorm could come ton HighSchool beforeheended ing to findmyway around. After a and person.Ithink it justshows “We’reblessed to have this out of nowhere, in the blink of an up at Archbishop Wood, which while, youjust start adapting to it.” his resilience,how farhe’scome. start.We’vejust gottokeep grind- eye. WhatifIdidn’tpush extra wonthe PIAAstate Class AAA Withone exception. He’s arespected memberofthe ing.Practice by practice, game by hard, to do the thingsI’m sup- championship in 2011when he “I still can’t getusedtothe campus community,onhis wayto game.It’s anew week, anew oppo- posed to do?” was asenior. He originally com- cold,”heacknowledged. “I just getting adegree.That’s what nent. The onlything we can do is Some people recovered, others mitted to West Virginia, but on na- can’t. The cold’snogood.Ihate kindofcharacter he has ... focus on what’s in front of us.” movedon. And manyare still tional signingday changed his the snow.” “Wewent down (to NewOr- Blessed? Certainly somemore there, dealing witharebuilding mindand headed to North Broad. So what doeshedoinFebru- leans) and recruited acouple of thanothers. ¢ processthat’s ongoing. Smith, He redshirted as afreshman and ary? kidslast year.And we listened to whorelocated hereashewas en- didn’tplaymuch his second sea- “WhateverIhave to do,” he someofthose families tellstories tering highschoolafterhis dad son.But these days he’smaking a smiled. about what it was like. It’sjust ab- " @mikekerndn

Page 42 PHILADELPHIA DAILYNEWS—Philly.comThursday,October8,2015 SPORTS | COLLEGE FOOTBALL Owls,AAC getting noticed

SAPASSENGERonthe over Penn State still has moreto Temple Bandwagon, I JOHN give. A mustremind youitisnot It is not astretchtothink thatif yetthe timetobeconcerned with SMALLWOOD anyofthe undefeated AAC the minutiae of week-by-week [email protected] schools runsthe table,itwilllike- considerations. ly become thathighestranked The first ranking from the Col- champion from the Group of Five. legeFootball Selection Commit- 6, when the College FootballPlay- The CFP Selection Committee off semifinalsand other NY6 tee is not scheduled to be re- has saidstrength of schedule n gof leased until Nov. 3, so thingscan bowl bidsare announced. plays alarge role in its rankings changebeforethen. Realistically,ifTemple runsthe forthe semifinalsand the other table in its conferenceschedule Still,itisnever too early to NY6 bowls. e t draw attention,and there is no and winsthe AACChampionship The bestway in foraGroup of GameonDec.5,the Owls mustbe question thatthe Owls,undefeat- Five teamistoplayinthe stron- e d ed going intoSaturday’s Home- championstobeconsideredfor gest conferenceand beatPower 5 cominggame against Tulaneat the automatic bid. opponents. Lincoln Financial Field, have put AlossonHalloween at Lincoln Nowlet us wrap thisbackto themselves on the national radar. Financial Fieldtonon-conference whythingslook good forTemple. foeNotreDame is the onlyone The Owls wonatAAC preseason fa- In ESPN.com’s latest power . rankings, Temple (4-0) is tied at theycouldsuffer thatwouldnot vorite Cincinnati, which has not No.25withfellow American Athlet- eliminate themfromconsider- lived up to hype,but did just handi- ic Conferencemember Houston ationoverBoiseState,whichnow ly beatMiami, of the ACC. (which was 4-0 entering last has an established reputation. Templeplays in the AACEast. night’s game against SMU). The overall strength of the Houston, Memphis and Navyplay In the AssociatedPress poll, AAC, however, is aNY6 lifeline in the West, meaningonly one Temple is technically, 29th, hav- forTemple,aslong as it handles evenhas apossibility of finishing ing received 23 votes,whileHous- its business. the regular season undefeated. ton is 28th, with31votes. Boise State (4-1), of the Moun- Temple doesnot have Houston In the coaches’ poll,Temple is tainWest,isthe highest-ranked or Navyinthe regular season. The Owls playMemphis at home 31st, with 16 votes, while Houston is teamfromthe Group of Five. on Nov. 21, aweek after the Tigers 35th,with 11 votes. Right now, the WithwinsoverPac-12Washing- playatHoustonand twoweeksaf- coaches likeAAC member Mem- ton,and at ACCVirginia, the ter theyhostNavy. phis (5-0), which is ranked 25th. Broncos are24th in the coaches All thingsare in linefor Temple Whatprovides someextra polland 25thinthe AP poll. to hostthe inauguralAAC Cham- — boost to the Bandwagon as it Boise has onlyMountain West pionship Game. chugs along to its final destina- opponentsleft on its schedule, so If the Owls areundefeated, in- tion, —either the PeachBowlin it is unlikely to loseagain. cluding wins over Penn State and Atlanta or the Fiesta Bowl in Glen- Still the Mountain West lacks NotreDame,anundefeated Tole- dale, Ariz. —isthe number of overall quality, so,whileBoise, do,not BoiseState,would be the AACschools recognized. whichlost to Brigham Yo ung,will only Group of Five team thatcould Withteams havingplayedfour likely holdits Top25ranking,the be considered alongwith the Owls. or fivegames, the American has opportunitytorise significantly The Rockets (4-0) are24th in established itself as the best willnot be there. the AP polland have Power5 among the “Group of Five”confer- Thatdoesnot applytothe AAC’s winsatArkansas and over Iowa ences, the tierjust below the Pow- best teams: Temple, Houston, State.Thosewinswouldnot er Five in college football. Memphis and Navy,all of which en- equal Temple beatingPenn State tered Week 6undefeated. The The highestranked champion and NotreDame —plus the AAC AACalready has wins over Louis- from one of those conferences — is 3-0 against the Mid-American ville, Kansas, Miami, Penn State whichincludes the Mid-Ameri- Conference. and VirginiaTech, which is, can,ConferenceUSA,Mountain It is a784 miles from Philadel- amongthe Group of Five,the most West and Sun Belt—is guaran- phiatoAtlanta,asprint,com- wins over Power5schools. teedanat-large bid intoaCollege pared withthe 2,386-milemara- FootballPlayoffsNew Ye ar’s Six Those Power5schools willwin thontoGlendale. The Temple bowl game,either the PeachorFi- games during conferenceplay, Bandwagon is up foreither. ¢ esta this season. thusenhancingthe profilesofthe TheAAC’s status willbebig go- AACschools thatbeatthem. Email: [email protected] ing intoSelection SundayonDec. ForTemple,thatopening win Columns: ph.ly/Smallwood

Friday,October9,2015 PHILADELPHIA DAILYNEWS—Philly.comPage 63 Tulane at Temple Noon Saturday LincolnFinancial Field TV: ESPNU. Radio: The Fantatic (97.5-FM) Records: Tulane 2-2, 1-0 American Athletic; Temple 4-0, 1-0. History: Tied 1-1. Temple won last year’s finale in New Orleans, 10-3. Owls lost first Sugar Bowl in 1935. About Tulane: Green Wave has won two straight. Beatwinless Central Flor- ida last week, 45-31. Lost by acom- bined 102-17 to Duke and Georgia s Tech... TannerLee threw for career- high four TDs againstUCF ... Forced n five turnovers againstUCF ... In that game, long-snapperAaron Golub be- came first legallyblind player to ap- pear in aDivision Ifootball game ... Had seven sacks last week as UCF had minus-35 rushingyards ...LBNico Marley,who has team-high 35 tackles, is grandson of music legend Bob Mar- ley. About Temple: Owls are 4-0 for first a B time in 41 years ... First home game since opener ... Jahad Thomas is a fourth in nation in all-purpose yards (208 pg) ... Austin Jones has made 8of9field goals ... Leads AAC in pass-efficiency defense... Receiv- ing votes in both polls ... Next week they host UCF. —Mike Kern o

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PHILADELPHIA DAILYNEWS—Philly.comFriday,October9,2015 Page 50* SPORTS | COLLEGE FOOTBALL Owls continue to remain unbeaten

EMPLE HAS beenplayingfootball since 1894. Forthe seventhtime, the TOwls have wontheir first fivegames. MIKE TheybeatTulane (2-3, 1-1American Athletic) KERN SaturdayonHomecomingatLincoln Finan- [email protected] cialField, 49-10. The visitorsled 10-7early in the second quarter. The Owls were up by 11 at halftime and by 32 after 45 minutes. set. But the network can electtopick in asix- It was their first homegame in amonth. daywindow, which would delay the decisionun- Only three teams from North Broadhave til the following Sunday.That’s oftenthe sce- made it to 6-0. It last hap- nariowhen games areofhigher significance. pened in 1974. On Saturday the Owls (2-0 AAC) host win- lessCentral Florida, which just lost by 27 at home to Connecticut (3-3, 1-1). They’venever been7-0. They’llbeatEastCarolina (3-3, 1-1), whichjust lostby sevenatBrigham Yo ung (4-2), on Oct.22for a Matakevich Thursdaynighter. They’re26th in the Asso- ciatedPress (media)poll, with96votes. They haven’tbeen ranked in 36 years. The Owls have wontheir third quarters, 75-6. Forthe third timeand second straight week,theypostedasecond-halfshutout. Theyhaven’tallowedany points at homeaf- ter intermission. Running backs JahadThomas and promis- ing freshman Ryquell Armstead scored two touchdowns apiece. And P. J. Walker,who coachMattRhule saidafterwardhas been playingwithashoulder(he wouldn’t indicate which) thatwas separated in the opener against Penn State,was 11-for-15 for183 yards and twoscores. SophomoredefensivebackSean Chandler returnedaninterception 22 yards foraTD.Se- niorlinebacker Tyler Matakevich remains the onlyFBS playertoleadhis teamintackles in every game thisseason. The network forthe Halloween game here againstNo. 14 NotreDame (5-1) will be selected next Monday.And akickoff time should also be

Page 54 PHILADELPHIA DAILYNEWS—Philly.comMonday, October12, 2015 SPORTS | COLLEGE FOOTBALL Owls awareof 0-6 Knights

willbethe 400th of his career. BY MIKE KERN “It’s somethingwereally looked Daily News StaffWriter at in the offseason. Whatdid we [email protected] do wrong?It’s somethingwesaid we’d neverdoagain. N2013,Central Florida went “I still think about that(2013 12-1withawin over Baylorin UCF) game.Wewereright there, the Fiesta Bowl. Thatseason, I eventhoughour record wasn’t Temple was 2-10. In mid-Novem- good. It’s just thatsomething ber,the Owls hadthe 15th-ranked was missing.Iknowexactly what Knights beatatLincoln Financial they’regoing through. Youcan’t Field. Then, UCFscored10 takeanyone lightly,especially a points in the final minute and six team that’s hadsuccess.Infoot- secondsand wononalast-play ball, thingsdon’t always go the field goal. wayyou want them to.You have Nowthe Owls are5-0, awin to be readyfor anything. away from equallingthe program record forbest start and poised “I knowwhen Iwas younger I’d to crackthe Top25for the first lookatthe scheduleand think, timein36years. And UCFis0-6. ‘Oh,wecan beatthisteamorthat On Saturdaynight, they’llmeet team.’It’s along season. As crazy again in South Philly.The Owls as it sounds, the onlything I’m arefavored by three touchdowns. thinking about is UCF. People After this, theyhaveatriptoEast might not believe it, but it’strue. Carolina (3-3, 1-1American Athlet- We’veneverbeaten them. So ic) foraThursdaynighterfol- that’s frustrating.” lowedbyavisit from NotreDame In their third game,coming off winsoverPenn State and AACfa- on Halloween. DAVID MAIALETTI /STAFF PHOTOGRAPHER voriteCincinnati, the Owls went “I think maybe if it was some- Temple’sMattIoannidis, putting pressureonTulane QB Tanner Leelastweek,said of the Owls’5-0 to Massachusetts (1-4) and hadto body else (wewereplaying), prob- start,‘This is whatyou want,tobecome areally big-time collegeprogram.’ ably,”saidcoach Matt Rhule, scorefivepointsinthe closing when asked if he was concerned 1:20tosurvive.It’s aprocess,one wanttoend up likelast season.” what people aresaying.That wantthemtounderstand they about his guysgetting ahead of thatseniordefensivelineman Remember when getting bowl- doesn’thelpyou win.Itcan only have built it to what it is. Nowyou themselves. “Buttheyknowwho Matt Ioannidis didn’t “plan” on ex- eligiblewas abig deal? helpyou lose.” have to dealwithsomepres- UCFis. We have aproud group. periencing when he chose North “Ifwewereinit to getbowl-eligi- From2009-11, the Owls won26 sure... Broad. In their minds Ithink the only ble,itwouldbegreat,” Ioannidis times. None of theseplayers “Wewanttogotoabowl every record our kidscareaboutisthe “It’s suchagreatturnaround,” insisted. “We’renot in it for were apart of that. The seniors year and contend forthe confer- fact we’re0-2 against them.” he said. “I didn’tthink anyofthis (that). We’reinitfor aconference lost 17 of theirfirst 22 games. encechampionship.Thatdoesn’t LastOctober, it was 34-14 in Or- was really going to happen. I championship. At thatpoint obvi- Sincethen they’vegone 12-6.And meanbeingentitled.Right now, lando.Itwas 17-0 in the first quar- thought Iwas going to playfor ously we’d be bowl-eligible. maybe this is just the beginning. we’reinline forboth of those ter. (former coachSteve)Addazio for “Thesuccess of aprogram And with thatalso comes new goals.(Abowl) is one of the steps The Owls were 4-1ayear ago. four years. Ididn’texpect to be in sometimes(dependson) if you’re challenges. along the way. If we loseone,we Theylost fiveoftheir next six. thissituation, to have thismuch abowlteamornot. Notany more. “It’s good to knowwe’replaying loseone.Iwanttohavereally “Wecouldn’t finish out the sea- opportunityinone season. It’s Notfor us. Notatthispoint.” well enoughthatpeopleare pay- highexpectations. Hopefully son,” saidseniorlinebacker Tyler great. Thisiswhatyou want, to Towardthatend theyall count, ing attention,” Rhule cautioned. eventuallyyou risetothem.” become areally big-time college Matakevitch, whosenexttackle even if somecarryatleastalittle “From(the players’) perspective, By takingcareofbusiness, program. Icouldn’t be in abetter moresignificance. It’swhy you all thisisnew.Sothere’s anega- whether it’ssomebody youha- spotasasenior. have to block out the growing tivepart to that. Everyone ven’t beaten in 74 yearsorwhatev- “Westarted fast lastyear,were noise from the outside. aroundexpected badthingsto er partofthe food chain happens on top of the world. We couldn’t “It’s UCFweek right now,”Ioan- happen (before). We wanttobea to be next up. sustain it. Ithink our teamhas al- nidis went on. “Allthose other program thatsuffers from high ways doneagood job of respond- guysare down the road.Weknow expectations. (These guys) did ing to our mistsakes. We don’t they’recoming.You can’t listento that. It’snot justa5-0 stretch. I " @mikekerndn

Page 40 PHILADELPHIA DAILYNEWS—Philly.comWednesday, October14, 2015 SPORTS | COLLEGE FOOTBALL

Central Florida at Temple Saturday,7:30, Lincoln Financial Field TV: CBSSports. Radio: The Fa- natic (97. 5-FM) Records: UCF0-6,0-2 Ameri- can; Temple 5-0,2-0. History: UCFleads,2-0.Knights rallied to win hereonalast-play field goal in 2013,won by 20 last year in Orlando. About UCF: Seven-game losing streak is longestsince 2005 ... Lost to Connecticut e last week, 40-13 ... QB Justin Holman returnedtostartingline- up after missing 3gameswith a n finger injury. He went 27-for-50 for255 yards, with 3 picks... 14 walk-ons or former walk-ons playedagainstUConn, while 46 percent of the players who’ve made an appearanceare newcomers. About Temple: Owls areranked 26th. Haven’tbeen in Top25 I since1979... Theyjustbeat Tu lane at home,49-10 ... First 5-0 start in 41 years. Have been 6-0 three times, not since 1974 ... Defenseranksstatisti- cally among nation’s eI best ... Senior LB Tyler Matakevich’snexttackle will be the 400th of his ca- reer ...They’ve dominated time of possession largely through their running game ... Next Thursday night, they’re at East Carolina. —MikeKern

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PHILADELPHIA DAILYNEWS—Philly.comPage 57 SPORTS | COLLEGE FOOTBALL Unbeaten Temple keeping dream alive

JOHN SMALLWOOD [email protected]

ID IDREAM thisbelief? Or did Ibelievethisdream? The bestthing about thisline D from an old songbyPeterGabri- el is that, depending on your perspective, the answertakes youtothe sameplace. Let’sbehonest, becauseTemple football being booed is nothing new.Whatwas in- teresting about the Owls gettingsome busi- nessonSaturdaynight at Lincoln Finan- cialFieldwas thatithappenedafterthey tookaslimleadintohalftime of their 30-16 victoryoverCentral Florida. Thatsomeinacrowdofmorethan 31,000 booed the Owls says wonders about the roll theyare on. “I said, ‘Look aroundatthe sky, the stadi- um, the crowd, thisisamazing,’”Temple coachMattRhule saidofhis halftime talk. “I said, ‘Guys,now waitaminute if you’re getting booed, that’s agood thing.Itmeans youare agood teamthat’s not playingwell. Thatmeanstheyare not feelingsorry for you. Enjoy that. Enjoy thatthe other team YONG KIM /STAFF PHOTOGRAPHER is losingbyapoint but runningintohalf- Temple’sJahad Thomas runspastUCF’sDricoJohnson in the fourth quarterofSaturday’s victory. timeexcited.’ have saidbefore; it’salongseasonand I’ll automatic bid contention by getting whilethe Mountain West,MAC,Sun Belt “I gotafterthemalittlebit, but thensaid be happier if we can finish the year ranked crushed by Mountain West rival Utah and ConferenceUSA areacombined9-73. we playfor four quarters so youbetter among the bestinthe country.” State,52-26. “Wewant to be consideredfor the (final start enjoying this.” The Owls arewheretheyneed to be.No The biggest boosts forTemple,however, four)playoff spot,” AACcommissioner Enjoy this. Thatwas the onlygoalwhen I one saidthe dream would be easy, justthat camefromvictories by fellow undefeated MikeArescosaid. “We’renot justcontent jumped on the Temple bandwagon after it is achievable. AACmembersHouston(6-0) and Mem- to be playingfor a‘Group of 5’ spotonNew the Owls woninCincinnatiintheir second There is no sidedoor intoamajorbowl phis(6-0).Memphis jumped in the coaches Ye ar’s Day.” game. forTemple.The Owls arenot aSoutheast- polltoNo. 17 and 18 in the AssociatedPress Iwill be contentwith that, fornow. Iput my belief in adream thatTemple ern,Big Ten, Big 12, AtlanticCoast or Pacif- pollbyupsetting previously13th-ranked Temple still has Memphisand Notre could makearun to a“NewYear’s Six” ic 12 powerthatcan shake off alossortwo Mississippi, 37-24,for its first victoryover Dameashigh-profile opponentsremain- bowl game by getting the automatic bid for and still playinamajor bowl on NewYear’s aranked opponent since 1996. ing on its schedule. In the end game,it being the highest-ranked champion from Day. The TigersbeatinganSEC schoolthat couldevenbetoTemple’sbenefitifHous- “TheGroup of Five”conferences. If Temple doesnot win the American defeated Alabama solidifies the American ton is ranked higher. At the midwaypoint of the season, Athletic Conferencechampionship game, Athletic as the bestofthe “Group of Five” If the Owls,having donetheir part, were dream shifts moretoreality. Temple is 6-0 finish as the highest-ranked champion and conferences to whichaPeachorFiesta bid to beatanundefeated and higher-ranked forjust the fourthtimeinschoolhistory getanautomatic bid into the PeachorFies- mustgo. Houstonteaminthe AACchampionship game the daybeforethe College Football and checks in at No.22inthe Associated ta Bowl, it willgotosomeminorAAC-affili- WithMemphis, Houston(22nd coaches, Playoff Selection Committee makes its Press writerspoll and No.24inthe coaches ated bowl. 21st AP)and Temple,the AAChas as many bowl pairings, it couldsealatriptothe Fi- poll—its first Top25ranking since 1979. Thatisnot bad, but muchmorecan be teams in the AP Poll as the ACCand PAC estaorPeach Bowl. ¢ “I’mreally proud of our players and it’sa achieved. 12. Toledo (20th, 19th) of the Mid-Ameri- tribute to themthatpeoplehavenoticed Starting withtheir win over UCF, the can is the onlyother “Group of Five”team Email: [email protected] howtheyhaveplayedtothispoint,” Rhule Owls hadagreatweekend.BoiseState thatisranked. Columns: ph.ly/Smallwood saidofthe rankings. “ButI’ll repeat what I (5-2) dropped out of the Top25and out of The AACis7-11againstthe “Power 5” Blog: ph.ly/DNL

Monday,October19, 2015 PHILADELPHIA DAILYNEWS—Philly.comPage 57 SPORTS | COLLEGE FOOTBALL NATIONAL ATTENTION FOR 6-0 OWLS

MIKE KERN [email protected]

N1979, a10-2 Temple team thatdefeated California in the IGarden State Bowl finished the seasonranked 17th. Nowthe Owls arebackinthe pollfor the first timesince then. Back then, it was still onlya Top20, not 25. Theybeatwinless CentralFlori- da on Saturdaynight at Lincoln Fi- nancialField,30-16. Thatmade them 6-0 (3-0 American Athletic) forthe fourth time in program his- tory,and first in 41 years. So they will be at East Carolina(4-3, 2-1) on Thursdaynight trying to become the first team from North Broad to ever getto7-0. And theywill go thereasthe country’sNo. 22 team in the Associated Press poll (24thin the coaches’ vote). The other yearstheywere ranked were 1974(one week), 1941 (two)and 1936 (also two). The ’79 team, the onlyone to be in afinal poll, was ranked atotal of three weeks. Noteventhe 1934 team (7-1-2) thatwent to the inaugural Sugar Bowl made it. “It’s nicethatthere’s some na- tional recognition, and people are respecting howwe’veplayed,” said coachMattRhule,who was 4 in 1979. “Wehave to makeitmean something by being in the Top25 at the end of the year. “Ifyou have success,the pres- suredoes build. It’s easy to play when youhavenothing to lose.If the Big 12 (Baylor, TCU,Oklaho- goals.Wewanttoberecognized can look back and (put our accom- SeanChandler. people think we’regood, there’ll ma State) and Big Ten(Ohio as agood team. Iwantthemto plishments)intoperspective.” Thomas finished with199 yards be pressure. If youplaybecause State,MichiganState and Iowa) have highexpectations. Ithink Historicaland otherwise. rushing on 31 carries. Senior line- youlove... finding away to win, —also have three of the remain- we can playalot better. Against UCF(0-7, 0-3), the backer Tyler Matakevich gothis then it’ll be apositivething forus.” ing 14 unbeatens. “We’veplayedhalfthe year.AsI Owls trailed by twoafter45min- 400th career tackle. The Owls areone of three un- Yo,the fact thatthey’realready toldthem, ‘Hey,great job.’ (But) utes. But JahadThomas scored The Owls hadfour turnovers,in- beaten AACteams in the Top25. bowl-eligibleisanafterthought. in my mindI’m kindoflikewiping on a22-yardrun early in the cludinganinterceptionthat Memphis(6-0, 2-0), whichjust Think about that. the slate clean.Wehaveanother fourth quarter, and again on a cameback82yards foraTD. beatMississippi at home, is 18th. “I think our guysknowthe tar- halfaseason. It’show youfinish. 21-yarder with4:54 to go.They The defensehas allowed one And Houston (6-0, 2-0)is21st. get’sthere,”Rhule said. “Ifwe “Hopefully we’llcontinue to converted atwo-pointerafter TD in the lastthree games,atotal Bothplayinthe West Division. justget out of our ownway,we’ll have moregreat memories this each touchdown. The first was Onlytwo other conferences — be fine. We don’t talkmuch about year.Probably after the year,we set up by a65-yardpunt return by See KERN Page 53

Page 56 PHILADELPHIA DAILYNEWS—Philly.comMonday, October19, 2015 SPORTS | COLLEGE FOOTBALL

KERN Continued from Page 56 of 40 drives. Opponentshavecon- verted justoncethisseasonon40 3 third downs of 10-plusyards. In the lastthree games,the Owls have converted 50 percent (22-for-44) of their third downs. And,ofcourse,NotreDame in South Philly on Halloween is final- ly nearingthe horizon. on

t

Monday,October19, 2015 PHILADELPHIA DAILYNEWS—Philly.comPage 53 SPORTS | COLLEGE FOOTBALL Finally-ranked Owls underdogsagainstECU

No.22team (6-0, 3-0 American) to be ranked at the end of the BY MIKE KERN willbeatEastCarolina (4-3, 2-1) in year.EastCarolina’s adangerous “I alwaystry to deal with reality. Daily News StaffWriter an EastDivision matchup.And team. Idid talk(to them) about [email protected] My point (tothe players)verysim- the Pirates areslight favorites. (being ranked),only because I ply has been that rankingscome So what’s changed in 36 years? knowthey’rehearing it. Idon’t and go.Our focus should be to be HE LASTTIMETemple “That’s arole we’vedonefor a wanttoput my headinthe sand. playedagame as aranked long time,” coachMatt Rhulereadi- I’m tryingtoset the propertone ranked at the end of the year.East Tteam, it was as an under- ly acknowledged on Monday’s on howweshould lookatit.” Carolina’sadangerous team. Idid dog,againstunranked Cal in the weeklyconferencecall.“Ithink Forthe fourthtimeinprogram talk (tothem) about (being 1979Garden State Bowl. The our kidsprobably relishthat. history, they’vewon their first ranked), only because Iknow Owls won, 28-17. “I alwaystry to dealwithreali- six.They’veneverstarted 7-0. they’re hearing it.Idon’twant to put my head in the Nowthey’rebackinthe Top25 ty.Mypoint (to the players)very The Owls were touchdown un- sand. I’m trying to setthe proper tone on howwe forthe first timesincethen. On simplyhas beenthatrankings derdogsintheir first twogames, should look at it.” Thursdaynight, the country’s new come and go.Our focus should be against Penn State at home and Cincinnati on the road.Theywon MATT RHULE those by 17 and eight, respectively. Temple has playedseven times when it’sbeen ranked. It’swon four.But thatwas along timeago. Thisismostly newground to NotreDame-Temple many. Especially forateamthat went 2-10 in Rhule’s2013 debut. aprime-time affair Thatseems likealong timeago too. It’salso the first timeanAmeri- “I mean, being 6-0 is waybetter BY MIKE KERN thanbeing0-5,” Rhule said. “I’ve can Athletic Conferenceteam Daily News StaffWriter has been selected to be the net- been0-5.That’s pressure. Six [email protected] and 0isjust anumber.Ireally work’s Saturdaynight game, justcareaboutthe wayweplay. I and the first prime-time full na- OT ANY plans forHallo- tional telecast forthe AAC. wasn’thappy withthe waywe ween night? played, in alot of ways, lastweek G The Owls areinthe Top25 Well,ifyou’re fortunate (30-16comeback win against 0-7 forthe first time since1979. enoughtohaveaticket, after Central Florida in South Philly). NotreDame—whose losswas youfinish trick or treatingyou We have alot to getcorrected. by twoatNo. 6Clemson (6-0) can watch 22nd-ranked Tem- “Wewon’twin (for) too longif on Oct. 3—hasn’t playedin ple (6-0) playNo. 11 Notre we (don’t).” Philadelphia since1993. That Dame(6-1) at Lincoln Finan- year it beatNavy58-27 at Vet- LastNovember,ECU came cialField. hereranked 21stand lostinthe erans Stadium. Kickoff,asanticipated,has rain to the 4-3 Owls by 10. It’s The Irish are14-1-1here. The beenset for8o’clock, withthe somethingboth teams figureto losswas to Navy(14-7)in1960 game to be televisedonABC. remember. at Municipal Stadium.The tie So if youdon’t have aseat, “I’mproud of what we’vedone,” came againstPenn (7-7)at there’s alwaysyour favorite Rhule said. “Butif(beingranked Franklin Field in 1952 in front sports bar or living-room nowis) the highlight, thenitwon’t of 74,000 when both were in loungechair. be the seasonwewanted.The fu- the Top12. They’vealso played tureistoday.We’reaprettyfo- “Welook forward to having Penn State (1928) and Army cused group.Sowe’renot really the rest of the country see (1957)here. enjoying too muchofanything Temple footballplayagainst Twogames were also on Oct. right now. That’s the challenge. an elite program ...onana- 31, both againstNavy(1964 and We’rekindofgoingatitfull bore, tional stage,” saidDr. Patrick ’70). Kraft,director of athletics. especially withashort week (to TempleisatEast Carolina “This is tremendousexpo- prepare).” (4-3)Thursdaynight. Notre sure... and well-deserved NotreDame awaits. Formany, Dame has abye this week. ¢ recognition.” thatcan’tget heresoonenough. It’s the first time Temple will Hencethe danger. ¢ be televised nationally by ABC. " @mikekerndn

" @mikekerndn

Page 42 PHILADELPHIA DAILYNEWS—Philly.comTuesday, October20, 2015 SPORTS | COLLEGE FOOTBALL Temple notlooking ahead

digit road losses.The Pirates won the other.Just getthroughit. BY MIKE KERN their previoustwo against ranked Each game is abig game forus. Daily News StaffWriter teams, both coming early last sea- We have to go playlikeit. We [email protected] son (atVirginia Tech and at home don’t wanttolose.” vs.NorthCarolina). Nowthey’ve Theyinsistthatnothinghas e AST CAROLINAisn’t beeninstalled as aslightfavorite changed within their facility, just NotreDame.But before by the folks whosupposedly because they’regoingtobeon ETemple’s22nd-ranked foot- knowaboutsuchstuff.The Owls prime-time national television ballteamcan finallystart talking were touchdown underdogs on Halloween.Why mess with about the Irish,itmust takecare against Penn State and Cincy,too. whatever’sgotten themtothis of the mostimportantgame on “It definitely just continues to point? the schedulesince Week 2atCin- leave thatchip on our shoulder,” “It’s the samefeelingwehad cinnati. Thatwas over amonth said junior JahadThomas, whose when we hadthe 2-10 season(in ago. 756rushing yards leadthe confer- Rhule’s2013 debut),” seniorline- The Owls are6-0 forthe fourth ence. “That, youknow, people still backer Tyler Matakevich said. timeever, and first since 1974. don’t respectusfor what we’ve “We’re6-0,but those games t They’reinthe polls forthe first done.I’m not saying we’vereally don’t meananything right now. timein36years. They achievedanything yet. They’reall behindus. Yo ucan’t have neverbeen 7-0. All It’s just extrafuel forus. lookbackatthem. of whichhas ... But we can’t be thinking “Nothing to do with “Weknow(ECU is) gunning outsidethe box. When forus. People arealways asking playing,”correctly cau- we’renot focused on if we’rethinking about Notre tioned coachMatt what we’redoing,we Dame. You’ve gottoshrug it off, Rhule,whoseclub will don’t playwell. in all seriousness.You hearsome be at EastCarolina (4-3, “Wecan’tbethinking of the youngguystalkingabouta 2-1American)onThurs- ahead.We’ll(think fewweeks(out)and stuff,and , daynight in amatchup about NotreDame) (thevets)are justyellingatthem thatcoulddecidethe Rhule next week.Thisisavery like, ‘Dude,wedon’t careabout EastDivision.“I’m not good teamright here. If that.’ Oncethisgame’s over,we’ll worried about us lookingahead. we’renot preparedtowin,it’sa see what’s next. Otherthan I’m worried about us puttingtoo game we could lose. We’vebeen that... ” muchemphasis on thisgame. an underdog forsolong here.” The message is apparent:It “I heard (players) sayingearly in So what would constitute nota- wouldmeanalotmoretobeplay- the week,‘Thisisfor the leadinthe ble accomplishments? ing NotreDame at 7-0than6-1. East.’Guys, thisisGame7.It’s not “A conferencechampionship, “It’s unchartedterritory,” foranything else, other thanthis an undefeated season, anational Rhule said. “I’mtryingtoteach game.Itry to be honestwiththem. championship,”Thomas dulynot- these kidshow to win.They’re Ithink when youtry to downplay ed. “Things of thatnature.” tryingtoteach me.We’rekindof thingsor(playup),you’re not be- Hey, if you’regoingtoswing, doing it together.Ihopenext ing real.Ifyou makethisgame might as well go forthe fences. Or year we’resittinginthissame n moreimportantthanany other, elsewhy even try? spotand we’llhave(thisexperi- thenyou’re not playingthe way a These Owls probably weren’t ence) to draw from. And theycan youcan. supposed to be in thisposition. say, ‘This is howyou handle suc- “ThePenn State game was a Ye theretheyare,ready or other- cess.’ We’ve(already) learned big thing foreverybody (else).For wise. Nowit’sonthemtomake howtohandle adversity. The waytodoboth is focusonwhat’s us, it was justagame.You have to the mostofthe photo op. take... what’s on the lineand next. The minute youlearnthat, “Ifittookthislong to getatar- the better it is. Ilearnedthatmy getrid of all thatand justplay. As getonour backs,itiswhatitis,” (Cubs manager) JoeMaddon first year.Ithought Iwas the said junior quarterback P. J. Walk- bestcoach ever,and we went says, if the pleasure outweighs er,who teamedwithThomas to the pressure, thenyou’re good. I 2-10.” win aNew Jersey state high The growth chart since then don’t wantthe pressuretobetoo schoolchampionship at Eliza- much.’’ has been, well,historic.Timeto beth. “We’renot really thinking start seeing justhow celebrated LastNovember,EastCarolina about anythinglikethat. (People) it can become. ¢ was ranked 21stwhen it lostin aregoingtotellyou alot of good South Philly by 10 to a4-3 team things(now). But youjust have to thatwas comingoff twodouble- let it go throughone ear and out " @mikekerndn

Wednesday, October21, 2015 PHILADELPHIA DAILYNEWS—Philly.comPage 45 SPORTS | COLLEGE FOOTBALL

AGENDA DeterminationfuelsOwls’ Sharga Temple at EastCarolina Thursday,7p.m., Dowdy-FicklenStadium, Greenville,N.C. Allentown, wherehewas alinebacker whonow carries240 pounds on a6-2 TV: ESPN2. Radio: The Fanatic (97. 5-FM) BY MIKE KERN and tight end.Itwas anon-contact inju- frame.“Like16months straight. Ithink Records: Te mple 6-0,3-0 American; ECU4-3,2-1 Daily News StaffWriter ry,whichonly made it harder to digest. Icounted.But Igot in the bestshape ev- History: ECUleads,8-4.Temple wonlastyearin [email protected] And justlikethat, his futureplans went South Philly, 20-10. er,gained alot of good weight. Every- About Temple: Beat Central Florida lastweek at home, on serious hold. thing was up.Ijustneeded aplace to LL NICKSHARGA wanted to do 30-16,scoring last16points... Is 6-0 forfourth time, “I’dbeen talkingtosomeschools,” he go.” first since1974. Neverbeen 7-0... was playDivision Ifootball.Then said. “I hadagood junior year,Ithought. So he put himself on the National Col- Ranked forfirst time in 36 years... Defenseranks life’s hardknocks gotinthe way. among nation’sbest... Fumblesand penaltieshave A Ithink Iwouldhaveended up some- legiate Scouting Associationwebsite, to So he was forced to takeadetour. And been arecent issue ... Jahad Thomas leads AACin where. Nothing official,but there were see what wouldhappen.And he ended even he didn’tknowhow it would play some(FCS programs)inthere. The old rushing ... Senior LB Tyler Matakevich justgot his up at Division II West VirginaWesley- 400th career tackle ...Nextweek theyhostNo. 11 out.But forhim,there really wasn’tan (Temple) coachingstaff cametoschool an, the only program to offer him aschol- NotreDame. option. to introducethemselves. As youcan arship. He playedthere forone season, About East Carolina: Pirates beat Tulsaathome, Notifhewanted to followhis dream. imagine, thatall stopped.Iwas out for 30-17.Havewon three of lastfour,is3-0 at “That was my goal, so Iwas deter- the wholeseason. Wrestlingseasontoo forateamthatwent 5-5 forafirst-year home ... Lost by aTDatFlorida and BYU, beat mined,”Sharga recalled. “Butthere (he was aDistrictXIchampion).” coach. He spent the spring semester Virginia Tech ... Uses twoQBs.BlakeKemp has was apoint whereeverything kindof So Shargamadeadecision.Hetook “shoppingaround” forahigher-level thrownfor 1,556 yardsand 10 TDs.Chris Hairston has home. As it turned out,his next stop rushedfor 460 yardsand six scores ...Has wonlast went downhill. And really,Ihadnoidea the next year off as well,since he didn’t 26 when leading at half and 13 of last14AAC home what Iwas going to do.” think he’dbeready to come back in time was NorthBroad Street,whereTemple games... Isaiah Joneshas 51 catches... Starting The untimely event,ashereferstoit, anyway. Just trained in alocalgym, re- coachMattRhule was willing to give LBsare the three leading tacklers... CB Josh was tearing an anterior cruciateliga- habbingtoget the strength back in his him achance as awalk-on. Hawkins had a100-yard INT return lastweek. mentinthe first game of his seniorsea- knee. —MikeKern son at NorthamptonHighSchool near “It was along process,” saidSharga, See TEMPLE Page 44

Page 46 PHILADELPHIA DAILYNEWS—Philly.comThursday,October22, 2015 SPORTS | COLLEGE FOOTBALL

TEMPLE so manythings. And does every- Continued from Page 46 thing right. He’s just so physical. But he’s aman of fewwords. Thatmeantthatalthough he When Itold him (about the num- was permitted to practicelast sea- ber), he just said thank you. For- son as atransfer,hehad to sit out getabout being awalk-on. He’d games.Italso meant payingfor neverstepped on the field (in a his tutition. But his familywas game). Iwould have voted forhim. “happy” forhim. JOE LABOLITO/ “Not onlyishecontributing, “I did think about (themoney),” TEMPLE UNIVERSITY he’splayingatahigh, highlevel. Shargareasoned. “They know Nick He’s enabledJahadtorun the the dream.The dream was alittle Sharga’s wayhehas.Hegets every play higher (consideration), Iguess.” toughness started forhim.Hewearsonpeo- His familyincludes 10 siblings, earned him ple.You might defend him fora mostlygirls, ranging in agefrom the distinction couple of plays, but after awhile 27 to 12. His twooldest sistershad of wearing you’re goingtoget tired of having gone to Pittafterspending some No.4. to hit him ...He’s beenascru- timeincommunitycollege, apath cialtoour success as anybody. othersfromhis house alsohave Whenyou’re on ateamand play- taken. His dadwas alongtimeair- ing next to aguy who’splaying traffic controller.His mom stayed thathard, youhavetoplayhard. hometoraiseall the children be- “Hegoes back and forth in prac- fore findingajob at abank. tice(between offenseand de- “Wewerekindofinthe middle fense).Not manypeoplecan do (financially),”Sharga said. “We linebacker.He’s alsogetting time single-digit jerseys thatgoto “I guess it’sonthe tougher side that. We’llgivehim the ballat made due withwhatwehad.I at fullback blocking in front of Ja- their toughestplayers.Ashonors to do.It’s greattoknowyou’ve somepoint.Wegave him the shot, don’t think we really noticed. hadThomas, the leadingrusher go, it doesn’tget anyhigher.He earnedthatkindofrespect.And but what youdowithyour oppor- Some people thought it mustbe in the American Conference. was given No.4. nowthere’s even moreexpecta- tunityisuptoyou. Ithink his role crazy,but youget kindofusedto Rhule,whoseunbeaten,22nd- “I justwanted to work as hard tions. I’m finewith that. And to be next year willjust continueto it after awhile. Iloved havingall ranked teamwill be at EastCaroli- as Icould, catch someone’s eye doing it on ateamthat’s doing so grow.He’s aspecialkid.” those siblingsaround.” na (4-3, 2-1) Thursdaynight in a and takeitfromthere,” saidShar- well onlymakes it better.” That’s whyit’scalled adream. Now, he’sthe one getting no- game thatcoulddecidethe East ga,akinesiologymajorwho Former Owloffensivelineman Still,itdidn’thavetoend up this ticed. At least by those whomat- Division champion,callsSharga wants to be aphysical therapist. CodyBooth, whoalso walked-on, way. Or maybe it couldn’t have ter most. He spent lastyear being an “unsunghero.”And during “Oneday,Iwanttostart.First, I has beeninseveral NFL training ended anyotherway. partofthe scout teaminpractice. preseasoncamp,his teammates wanted to be aplayer. Everyone camps the lasttwo years. So Tem- “Growingup, Iplayedfullback Thisyear he’sabackup middle voted forhim to wear one of the wants to stick out.Iwas unaware ple has ahistorywith longshots. up until middle school,” Sharga of the (single-digit)traditionbe- Rhule saiditdidn’ttakelong for said. “It’s not aposition most fore Igot here. (Offensive) line- Shargatomakeanimpression. teams evenhaveanymore. Kind men can’t getit, because they’d “Wewould have playedhim last of likealostart. Iblockedalittle be ineligible. Some of those guys year,that’s howgood he was,” bit as atight end (atNorthamp- probably would. Rhule acknowleded. “Hecan do ton). It’sactually interesting. Lastyear on the scout teamfor Navyweek theyhad me playing guard.Imusthavehad some good blocks.That’s whereitkind of started. Whentheyasked me about tryingsome fullback Isaid sure. Whereverweneed help. I think the linemenalmost think of me as one of them. Every timeI come in they’rehigh-fiving me. Feelsgreat ... “I justtakepride in anything I’m asked to do.Same withwear- ing 4. If people ask me about it, I’ll tellthem. If theydon’t,Idon’t say too much. At thispoint, theykind of knowwhatitmeans.” In his world, onlyprettymuch everything. ¢

" @mikekerndn

Page 44 PHILADELPHIA DAILYNEWS—Philly.comThursday,October22, 2015 SPORTS S SPORTS OWLMIGHTY Temple runs unbeaten streak to seveninprimer forNotreDame

BY MIKE KERN Daily News StaffWriter [email protected]

GREENVILLE,N.C.—Thurs- daynight at Dowdy-Ficklen Stadi- um, homeofPiratenation, Tem- ple’s footballteamplayedagame as aranked teamfor the first time since 1979, when coachMatt Rhule was 4yearsold. Notthat anyone’sbeen counting. Forthe fourthtimeinprogram historyand first in justoverfour decades, the Owls hadwon their first six.With thatHalloween night homedateagainstNo. 11 NotreDame on ABC directly on the horizon,theyweretryingto getto7-0 forthe first timeever. And they’vebeen playingfor 121 years. Theyalso hadanopportu- nitytoall but wrap up the Ameri- can Athletic’s EastDivision, whiletakinganother steptoward hosting the conference’s inaugu- ralchampionship game in early December. Otherthanthat, there wasn’ta wholebunchonthe line. Almost all anyone on the out- sidehad beentalkingaboutsince theyupset Cincinnationthe road ASSOCIATED PRESS in Week 2was NotreDame.But af- Temple’sJahad Thomas is brought down by East Carolina’sFredPresley(left) and Montese Overton (center)infirst half. ter amonthofhandling teams theyweresupposed to beat, they hadtodeal withslightlyfavored was in fullblackout mode, even tersnow:No. 22 Temple 24, ECU in play. The Owls have beenafourth- East Carolina beforetheycould fi- thoughitnumbered ashade un- 14.TimetobringonNotreDame “I toldthe kidsit’sthe bestwin quarterteam. Theywereagain. nally start talkingaboutthe Irish, der 40,000,the first timethat’s (6-1) in prime time. Doesitget any I’veeverbeen partofasacoach,” Theyhad to be.It’s their third too.Atleastfor public consump- happenedin14homegames? Or biggerfor North Broad? Maybe Rhule said. “Inmanyways, they win as an underdog. tion. thatECU hadn’tlost aconference it’sevenenoughtoget ESPN’s outplayedus. We justfounda And the Owls,incase youfor- game hereinOctober since “CollegeGameDay”crewtoshow way. Yo uhaveto, in agame like P. J. Walker hit RobbieAnder- got, hadknocked off aranked 2006? up.And whofiguredthe Owls this.” son over the middle on athird- ECU team11months agoinSouth So muchfor covering mostof wouldown the betterrecord It was hardly pretty. No rule and-5 forthe go-ahead23-yard Philly when theywere4-3. your pertinentstory lines. when the contract was signed? says it needs to be.Ask the NFC Did we mentionthatthe crowd Here’s the onlything thatmat- The dreamsremain very much East. See TEMPLE Page 65

Page 66 PHILADELPHIA DAILYNEWS—Philly.comFriday,October23, 2015 the Pirates went 80 yards in 14 SPORTS | COLLEGE FOOTBALL plays,converting afourth-and-3 from the Temple 27.Three plays later,Chris Hairston ranitin TEMPLE from ayardout, the first TD al- Continued from Page 66 lowedbyTemple’sdefensein eight quarters. touchdown with3:31 showing. It The Owls thenanswered witha cappeda71-yarddriveinwhich 75-yardmarch of their own. A the keyplaywas a51-yardpass, al- pass-interferencecall in the end so down the seamand alsoto zoneput themonthe 2, and from Anderson (eightreceptions,126 there Thomas tookinaround yards). right end with2:59 leftbeforein- The Owls thenforcedapunt termission. thatwas blocked by Sharif Finch, But the Pirates cameright whomissed lastweek withaleg back, going 75 yards themselves. injury.And on their second play, Thistime, theyhad afourth- JahadThomas ranitthe end zone and-10atthe Owls’37, but Blake from 14 yards away at 2:18. “Welooked aroundateachoth- Kemp —the passinghalfoftheir er and we weren’tworriedabout two-quarterbackrotation— it,”Walker said. “It’s along game. found tight end Bryce Williams If we kept playing, we were going for21. After aspike and acomple- to win.” tiontothe 7, Kemp hookedup Added Anderson:“We didn’t withQuayJohnsononacrossing getrattled. We didn’tgiveup. We route foraTD,the first of his ca- beatagreatteam, in thisatmo- reer. sphere. And we were pickedto At thatpoint,the teams hadal- lose.” readycombinedfor 134 yards in The Owls didn’tget their first flags.And the Owls were throw- second-halffirst down until the fi- ing deepalot against asecondary nal playofthe third period.That thathad someinjury issues. But doesn’tmatteranymore, either. theynarrowly missed on what ap- Austin Jones hadmissed a ASSOCIATED PRESS pearedtobeseveral decent big- 37-yardfieldgoaltothe right with Temple’sFrank Nutile can’tmakecatch as playisbrokenupbyEastCarolina’sTravonSimmons. playchances. 7:24 to go,afterafumble recovery Now, nobody willremember. by JacobMartinatthe Owls’45. They’lljust be thinking ahead to ECU (4-4, 2-1) hadalmost 400 cluded an early 24-yarder. And we knewwhatwas going to three-and-out.Starting nearmid- ND. yards, whichwas waymorethan ECU was up,14-10, at the half. happen. That's the mentalitywe field,the Owls reached the ECU “I’msoproud of themfor not Temple hadallowedinits lasttwo The Pirates hadwon 26 straight have. 11 beforegetting a28-yardFG lookingahead, or lookingbe- games total. when leadingafter30minutes. “Thebest partaboutthisteam some5Öminutesin. hind,”Rhule said. “I don’t wantto Thomas, the AAC’s leading The Pirates didn’tget inside is we'rejust havingfun out there. Late in the first quarter, Davis diminish thisbytalkingabout rusher, didn’tstart becauseofun- the Temple 34 in the second half. The environment was nuts. But Plowmanwas wideleft on a what’s ahead.This is an accom- specified “academic” reasons. “Weknowwhattype of teamwe we justplayedfootball.Wewere 40-yarder at the other end,which plishment. Nowwe’reexcited Since he was in by the third snap, can be,” linebacker Tyler saying, ‘Relax, it’sgoingtobe ended astreak of 19 straight Pi- about what’s next.” ¢ the infraction probably wasn’t Matakevich said. “Thewhole fine.’” rates trips intothe redzone that overly flagrant.Hefinished with week,weknewitwas going to Temple scored on its opening hadresulted in points. 66 yards on 20 carries, whichin- come down to the fourthquarter. drive after comingupwitha The next timetheygot the ball, " @mikekerndn

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