Temple back to first bowl since 1979

by Joseph Birmingham

Saturday December 19, 2009 

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The Temple Owls conclude their 2nd best season in recent history at the Eaglebank bowl in Washington DC on 12-29 at 4:30.  After going 9-3 overall and 7-1 in the MAC, the Owls drew a really tough draw for their bowl game, facing the UCLA Bruins.  They lost to Ohio 35-17 in their last game, keeping them out of the conference championship game, so this bowl game represents thier chance to make a statement to the country.

Even though UCLA was only .500 this year and barely qualified for a bowl appearance, they play in a much tougher conference coming from the PAC-10 and are an overwhelming favorite to beat the Owls when they play in ten days time.

Temple has a few things going for them.  The game is being played less than 150 miles away from their home turf whereas the Bruins are having to travel 3000 miles cross country for the meeting, the closest thing to a home field advantage you could hope for.  They also have a good defense to help control the Bruins ability to move the ball and a top 24 rushing offense.

Another thing going for Temple is coach Al Golden on their side, a coach UCLA passed over in favor of Rick Neuhiesel two years ago.   Golden orchestrated a near total turnaround at Temple and is taking the Owls to their first bowl game in 30 years for the first ever meeting between these two teams.  1979 was the last time Temple was this good, when they went 10-2 and beat California 28-17 in the Garden State Bowl.

Golden inherited a winless 0-11 team when he arrived in Philadelphia in 2006, so the rapid improvement to a bowl game has begun getting him noticed and made him top choice for several teams seeking a new coach.  Golden insists he plans on remaining in Philadelphia as head coach at Temple.  For now !

Expect big games from Bernard Pierce, the MAC freshman of the year, who missed the game against Ohio; sidelined with a left shoulder injury.  He led the conference with 1308 rushing yards and was second with 15 touchdowns; and Matt Brown, another freshman who has really turned it on through the past six games.  Temple is ranked 23rd nationally in rushing with nearly 200 yards per game.

Also watch for sophomore Adrian Robinson, who with 12 sacks was named defensive player of the conference this year; one of a record 8 Owls to be named to the all MAC first team, to have a big day against the inconsistant UCLA offensive line.

The oddsmakers have given the Bruins 4 points early, and that number should rise, but I feel the Owls have as good a chance as any team to play spoiler in a bowl game this year by getting the win.

The Bruins have been held under 20 points six times with Kevin Prince completing 56.7 percent of his passes for 1,829 yards and six TDs and getting picked off seven times.   Temple has had their quarterbacking duties shared by Charlton and Stewart, both of whom met with mixed success.  But Temple holds the edge in defense.   If Temple gets off to a strong start running the ball, and Robinson gets a good push at Prince, he can keep the freshman QB throwing off his back foot and the put the odds in favor of the Temple squad getting their 10th win of the year for the second time in the last 30 years.

I am calling this a 24-21 Temple victory.  Villanova already came from nowhere to win a championship game, it is time for Temple to win a bowl game since they let the conference contest slip out of their grasp.  Good times for Philadelphia college football, a city known more for it’s success in college basketball and the big 5.  I hope to see Temple win the bowl game in front of a national TV audience so people out there see this town for what it is, a rapidly improving sports venue, both in college and the professional levels.

The last five years have actually seen major improvements in the stadium facilities and levels of talent being showcased.  If Golden is here to stay for a while, then we have 2 good college football teams, to add to five good or great final-four caliber college basketball teams, a good professional  football team, a champion baseball team and several other up and coming programs, all here in the City of Brotherly Love !

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