Owls looking to step in right direction

TEMPLE'S FOOTBALL team has been waiting to get going again for 9 months. Actually, many of the players have had 2 years to stew about all of the things that haven't gone right.

In 2011 the Owls went 8-4, got to a bowl game for the second time in three seasons and then won one for just the second time ever and first time in 32 years.

That seems like a long time ago.

Two years ago, they got back in the Big East for the first time since getting jettisoned in 2004 and went 4-7. Last season, the first for the American Conference, they were 2-10. Now, they've been picked to finish eighth in what's become an 11-team configuration that's lost Louisville and Rutgers while gaining East Carolina, Tulane and Tulsa and looks too much like what Conference USA used to.

Anyhow, the Owls - who still have only a handful of seniors on the roster - don't want to take it any more. Can you blame them? But it's one thing to want to change. And another to make the kind of statement that gets noticed.

"We have to step up to the plate and do it," said P.J. Walker, who took over as the quarterback midway through last season as a true freshman. "We have to do anything it takes to win games. That's the way it has to be.

"We have to show a lot of heart and character."

No one gets that more than second-year coach Matt Rhule, who was part of the staff under Al Golden and then Steve Addazio when the Owls were going 26-12 from 2009-11. He was also here when they won once in Golden's first season (2006), after going 3-31 in the 3 years before that. So he's been through a mentality makeover.

"We want them to have high expectations," said Rhule, whose team opens tonight at Vanderbilt, which has a new coach in former Stanford defensive coordinator Derek Mason but is coming off consecutive 9-4 seasons. "We don't put any limit on what we can do or any excuses on what we can't do. We're expecting oursleves to be bowl eligible. We're just going to compete.

"There's an energy and buzz in the building. We don't go recruit kids telling them we're going to fight to win five games. We're going to compete for championships. I don't want to wait. I want to start now. I hope they do too."

Last year they opened with a loss at Notre Dame, which was hardly shocking. That was followed by a close home loss to Houston, which was 7-1 at one point before finishing 8-5. Then came a home loss to FCS Fordham, on a Hail Mary pass, and another at Idaho, which would not win again. Walker got his chance two games later and things got better. But not nearly enough. And there would be two other losses on late, long passes, plus two more in games where they'd led by 21.

Obviously you can look at how it unfolded two ways. But bad stuff does tend to happen to, well, teams that aren't equipped to get it done yet.

"It was definitely frustrating," said junior linebacker Tyler Matakevich, one of the nation's leading tacklers his first two seasons. "We'd be more physical than teams, we'd outplay teams, and it would come down to the wire and we didn't finish. On the other hand, we have to look on the positives. That's been a motivation, the whole offseason.

"After a bunch of those kind of games, you never want to experience that feeling again. It's tough to swallow. You'd literally play 58 minutes hard, then just give it up in the last few. It gets to where some guys are like, 'Here we go again.' "

Vandy was picked to finish sixth in the SEC East. But it's still a two-touchdown favorite. And the next obstacle, Navy here, also won nine times a year ago and has won its last 10 at the Linc. Of course nine of those were against Army, which the Owls beat by 19 in South Philly last October. They have to go to Houston, Central Florida and Penn State. And deal with East Carolina and Cincinnati at home. Hey, nobody said this transformation process was supposed to be a gimme.

"You have to be ready, when the moment comes," Rhule insisted. "I think they have a lot of confidence. If you start winning, then you feel like you know how to win. They've known what it's like to have their hearts ripped out . . .

"That's what's been fun about this [offseason]. We're excited."

Good, because the first of many moments is finally upon them.

Who: Temple at Vanderbilt

Tonight, 9:15, Vanderbilt Stadium, Nashville, Tenn.

TV: SEC Network. Radio: The Fantatic (97.5-FM)

Records: This is the opener for both teams.

History: Series tied, 1-1. Vanderbilt won the last meeting, 43-13, in 2006 at home.

About Temple: The Owls were 2-10 last season, their first in the American Conference . . . They lost four games by three points or less, three on long passes at the end, and two others after leading by 21 . . . P.J. Walker was one of a handful of freshman quarterbacks to start at least half his team's games . . . The Owls had three interceptions and kicked three field goals. Two of the FGs came in the last game . . . They return one starter on the offensive line . . . Linebacker Tyler Matakevich has put up some big-time tackle numbers in his first two seasons . . . They host Navy next Saturday.

About Vanderbilt: The Commodores have a new coach, former Stanford defensive coordinator Derek Mason, with James Franklin having moved on to Penn State . . . They've won nine games each of the last two seasons, including back-to-back bowl victories. Both are program firsts . . . Redshirt sophomore Patton Robinette won the quarterback job after playing in 10 games in 2013 and starting three times . . . He threw for four touchdowns and five interceptions and is also a running threat . . . Their offensive line returns virtually intact . . . They were picked to finish sixth in the SEC East.