October 28, 2015
PHILADELPHIA – Remember the Big East football conference?
Remember when the “U’’ was winning national championships, when West Virginia, Syracuse and Virginia Tech were winning conference titles? Remember when the traditional East included Boston College, Pitt and Rutgers in the same conference?
And Temple.
The conference was born in 1991 and died from self-inflicted wounds just a couple of years ago.
Temple was long gone, of course, having been unceremoniously shown the door in 2004. The Owls just didn’t have what it took to strut with the big boys. They didn’t win enough, they didn’t compete enough, they didn’t bring in crowds, and, let's be honest, nobody cared.
They care now.
Guess who has the highest national ranking of any of the former Big East schools?
“Just focus on what’s next, on playing well,’’ Rhule said. "I learned that my first year. I thought I’d be a great head coach and we’re 2-10. But I thought eventually we’d have a pretty good team. I think our effort has been consistent, and we play really, really hard, and really physical; special teams and defense."
It’s not Miami, which just fired its coach after a 58-0 loss to Clemson. It’s not West Virginia, a .500 team that gift-wrapped 62 points to Baylor. And it’s sure isn’t that team up Route 95 that is coming off a 49-7 car wreck to Ohio State.
And it’s sure not 3-3 Syracuse, 3-5 Boston College or 3-5 Virginia Tech; and not even 6-1 Pitt.
You know the answer. It’s the Owls, No. 21 in this week’s Associated Press poll. The unbeaten Owls. The Cherry and White who will host No. 9 Notre Dame Saturday night in front of a sellout crowd at Lincoln Financial Field.
Temple-Notre Dame: Nationally televised Game of the Week.
Who knew?
Just two seasons ago the Owls were 2-10, a too familiar record that over the past 30 years has also included records of 2-9, 2-9, 2-9, 2-9 and 2-9; 1-11, 1-11, 1-10, 1-10, 1-10, 1-10 and 1-10; 0-11 and 0-11.
Even last year’s 6-6 record came with disrespect, as the bowl-eligible Owls were passed over for a postseason spot.
So the question begs: How did these Owls finally squeeze through a cracked window in the barn, break free and not stopped flying since?
Homeless after the Big East, they were initially an independent, were adopted two years later by the Mid-American Conference, and when the Big East splintered back into a non-football conference, became part of what is now the American Athletic Conference.
So here they are, unbeaten in seven games for the first time ever, with a win over Penn State for the first time since 1941, a win over Cincinnati for the first time in their last six meetings, and comeback wins against UMass, Central Florida and East Carolina (which lost to Florida by just a touchdown earlier in the season).
Depth, experience and good coaching hasn’t hurt.
“After we went 2-10 we knew we had something special. We knew it was a matter of time until we started clicking,’’ senior linebacker Tyler Matakevich said after a practice at the Edberg Olson Hall football complex. “And now we’re clicking.’’
They are outscoring teams by an average of 14 points. They have forced 15 fumbles and have 12 interceptions, 23 sacks, and like all good teams, are limiting teams to fewer than 100 rushing yards per game.
“We’re an older team,’’ senior d-back Tavon Young offered. “We’ve been through a lot, so we’ve grown together as a team. We knew this was going to be our year. We knew we could make it happen. We can do big things.’’
Big things like knocking off the Fighting Irish. Big things like beating Memphis in four weeks, a team that recently stunned Ole Miss.
“Honestly it’s a good feeling, knowing our fate is in our own hands’’ Smith said. “We just have to stay humble.’’
That’s unlikely to be a problem.
“We’ve got guys who compete for jobs, and competition makes you play better. We have a tough bunch of guys,’’ senior center Kyle Friend said. “Before coach took over we were a little bit of a wreck. I think the offensive line is playing better than ever, P.J. (Walker) is doing a great job at quarterback and Jahad (Thomas) is running really well, too. Guys are taking ownership for doing their job.’’
Among those are defensive tackle Matt Ioannidis and linebacker Nate Smith. Both are from close by, New Jersey, part of a roster that lists 78 players from either Pennsylvania or Jersey.
None of them were recruited by the Hollywood programs, including Friend, who said he wanted a shot at, “Big-time football,’’ but wound up with one D-1 offer.
Though Smith’s brother L.J. played at Rutgers and in the NFL with the Eagles, he remained loyal to Temple after he attended prep school. Ioannidis figures he was too small for Rutgers – though he’s now 6-4, 290.
Matakevich, from Connecticut, didn’t even get a sniff from UConn, saying, “It was the only offer I had, so I actually had no choice.’’
He is the team’s top defensive player, in on 65 tackles, with four sacks and four interceptions.
Walker and Thomas were teammates at Elizabeth High School in New Jersey, and they continue to provide a dual threat to the opposition.
And then there’s head coach Matt Rhule, in his third year in charge and a former assistant for six. A linebacker at Penn State, he knows about toughness – and he has a Master’s in Educational Psychology.
The 40-year-old is not concerned with rankings, calling the attention, “A distraction, but a worthwhile distraction.
“Just focus on what’s next, on playing well,’’ he said. “I learned that my first year. I thought I’d be a great head coach and we’re 2-10. But I thought eventually we’d have a pretty good team. I think our effort has been consistent, and we play really, really hard, and really physical; special teams and defense.
““It’s a great opportunity for us to see what we can do,’’ Ruhle said. “I’m glad it’s here. Everything we feel good about our team will be tested.’’
This is their chance for a real statement. The Penn State win was nice, but Penn State isn’t back to what it once was.
Everyone knows Notre Dame is still Notre Dame. Yet despite what’s happening, not everyone’s exactly sure what to make of Temple.
