By Mike Kern
The Associated Press
PHILADELPHIA —
“Unfinished business.”
That’s what it said on the cover of the Temple football media guide. Or at least the one that got distributed on national signing day — in 2008.
Still, those words could just as easily apply to a season, Al Golden’s fifth, that will begin Friday at Lincoln Financial Field against defending FCS champion Villanova in the second Mayor’s Cup.
The Owls accomplished plenty a year ago. They had a winning record for the first time in two decades. They won more games (nine, consecutively) than any Temple team since the 1979 edition went 10-2. Which also was the last time North Broad Street had been represented in a bowl.
Still, as Golden is the first to point out ...
The Owls (9-4) didn’t win the Mayor’s Cup. They didn’t beat Penn State, again. They didn’t play in the Mid-American Conference championship game. And they didn’t beat UCLA in the EagleBank Bowl.
So even for a program that finally saw the light, there remains no shortage of targets left to pursue.
Moving forward, maybe that’s not such a bad thing.
“The hardest thing to teach is how to win,” Golden said. “Last year, we experienced a lot of things for the first time. I think we learned. That’s the biggest thing.
“We have a lot of guys now that know what it takes. Not to try and turn a program around, but what is a winning behavior. We had experience going into last season. We just didn’t have winning experience.
“I think that’s where we’re different.”
Fortunately, where they’re mostly the same is on the depth chart. Golden didn’t lose very much at all, led by running back Bernard Pierce, who did all kinds of noteworthy stuff as a freshman. At least when he wasn’t hurt.
Just in case, fellow sophomore Matt Brown, who’s seven inches shorter and some 50 pounds lighter, has shown he’s highly capable himself. So much so, in fact, that he’s actually No. 1 on the two-deep list at the moment.
Last season’s MVP award, though, actually went to the offensive line. And it could once again. So it might not really matter much who’s carrying the ball.
The Owls’ most glaring weakness, especially against the better opponents, was their inconsistency when throwing it. Junior Chester Stewart, who has experience, will be the starter.
“He’s the leader of our offense,” Golden said. “His problem was realizing that talent wasn’t enough. You have to have, you know, those other things. Right now, his work ethic is really unrivaled on our team, over the last five, six months.
“Hopefully we’ll have more answers offensively.”
Defensively, the front seven seems to be well stocked. Traditionally, the soft spot has been the secondary. Yet that area has gradually improved. Ditto the kicking game, another area that used to always have issues, especially with soph Brandon McManus handling your placements.
So it should come as no great shock that the Owls have been picked not only to win the MAC East, but the title game (over Northern Illinois, which they’ll also get on the road on Oct. 9) as well. As one MAC coach predicted a few years ago, “Once they get it going, there’ll be no stopping them.” At the very least, it sure appears that they’re on their way.
If nothing else, the Owls have proven they can handle the beatable teams. Of Golden’s 19 wins (18 in the last three years), only one has come over a team that ended up with a winning record (another finished .500). That was at Navy (10-4), last Halloween. Obviously, to get to the next level that has to change. And it figures to. It’s now pretty much a matter of what month.
This is sort of what was supposed to take place, when the Owls were forced to leave a BCS conference. No, the MAC isn’t the Big East. Or even the WAC. That shouldn’t be Golden’s concern. His charge was to give Temple something it could be proud of. He’s taken care of that. It’s time to ramp it up a notch.
No reason to think this group can’t. Or won’t.
“For us, it’s one game at a time,” Golden stressed. “Hopefully we learned a lot from (last) season. We played meaningful games, significant games. Two or three years ago, we couldn’t say that.
“We just didn’t finish. I think our kids understand.”
Someone must have had an inkling, even 31 months ago.
