The Temple Owls made the full journey to the top of their conference last season. Now, what do they do for an encore without the man who taught them how to compete at a higher level? Temple is riding high amid one of the most successful points in its football history, and yet the future is now more uncertain than it was the previous few seasons. This is an endlessly intriguing period for the Owls and their fans.
How Did They End 2016
Temple started the 2016 season in a sluggish manner, getting outplayed at home by Army and failing to play with a level of consistency on offense which marked the 2015 team. However, once the Owls escaped UCF with a late fourth-quarter comeback, the team seemed to recognize who and what it was. The Owls played the way they did for most of 2015 and rebuilt their season. Temple’s offense came to life against main AAC East Division rival and competitor South Florida. The Owls won the one game they had to win in order to claim a division championship for the second straight season. When Temple did get back to the AAC Championship Game, it took advantage of its opportunity, something it did not do in 2015 against Houston. The 2016 AAC title game against Navy was dominated by Temple from start to finish. The Owls controlled the line of scrimmage against Navy and were the more physical team from start to finish. They also converted big third and fourth downs while stuffing Navy when the Midshipmen tried to answer. Temple won its first AAC title and produced the best season of football this century.
Offseason Changes
Matt Rhule is the coach who taught Temple how to win, but he became so wildly successful that a jump to a Big 12 team was impossible to resist. Rhule went to Baylor to take over for the Bears in the midst of their extensive transitions. Temple had to find a new coach, and Geoff Collins – who had been on Jim McElwain’s staff at Florida – stepped up to answer the call. Rhule was such a highly influential figure for Temple football, so Collins is stepping into some very big shoes.
Team X-Factor
The Owls rely on their defense and their running game, but in the midst of everything else they have to tend to, it remains that Logan Marchi is replacing quarterback P.J. Walker (or at least is very likely to do so). Having stability at quarterback can make so many other parts of the Rhule-to-Collins transition flow seamlessly and without much disruption. That is vital to a big 2017 season for Temple.
What To Expect From The Owls This Year
Temple put all the pieces together last season under a coach who knew exactly what to get from each and every player on his roster. Collins might be good enough to do the same, but right now, that is unknown. It is very hard to imagine how Temple will match its 2016 record. The Owls will almost surely fall by at least one game, if not two.
Record Last 5 Seasons
2016: 9-4
2015: 13-1
2014: 8-5
2013: 8-5
2012: 5-7
Schedule & Outlook
Temple has a relatively tough start to the schedule. They’ll start the year with a visit to Notre Dame and after a couple of cupcake games against Villanova and UMass, they’ll go to South Florida. It’s hard to see them anything better than 2-2 after that stretch. That means they’ll have to get five more wins in their final eight games to go over the number. That’s cutting it close but it should be makeable.
To start, Temple will still have four home games the rest of the way. They are good enough to beat Houston, UConn, Navy and Central Florida at home. Whether they sweep those or not is another story. From there, they just need to find one road win.
South Florida is the favorite in the AAC East. The Bulls will host Temple this year, and that seems like a game the Owls aren’t likely to win. Temple would do well to go 8-4 this season. A better prediction might be 7-5.
Regular Season Win Total Prediction: Over 6.5
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