Temple aims to get on track against Stony Brook
When the schedule was announced, it did not appear as if Temple would have a season-defining game in Week 2 against a Football Championship Subdivision school.
When the schedule was announced, it did not appear as if Temple would have a season-defining game in Week 2 against a Football Championship Subdivision school.
Yet that could be the case when the Owls host Stony Brook in Saturday's 1 p.m. game at Lincoln Financial Field.
After coming off Friday's surprising 28-13 loss to visiting Army, in which many of the Temple players appeared shell-shocked, the Owls (0-1) need to regain their swagger against Stony Brook (1-0).
A win would point Temple in the right direction. But if the Owls lose to an FCS school, their confidence when visiting Penn State the following week could be fragile.
Of course, Temple coach Matt Rhule doesn't see it that way, and neither do the players.
"I don't think that way," Rhule said Monday. "I never think negatively. I think in reality."
He then went on to say his goal was to go 1-0 each week. Rhule repeated that during Tuesday's press conference, so he will be the last one to tell his team it is facing a season-defining game.
Rhule said he wants the Owls to hit stride when the American Athletic Conference games begin, the fifth week of the season, against SMU. Yet he's the first to say that he also wants to win them all before then.
Just like their coach, none of the players talked about having to win, but . . .
"As a team we have to pick it up as a group and go out there and play with a lot more passion and energy," quarterback Phillip Walker said. "We were kind of flat on Friday night."
How a team can be flat, especially with a home crowd of 34,005 in the opening game is a question Rhule and the players have been trying to answer. Rhule has been asked countless times since Friday if the Army game will serve as a wakeup call.
"It is only a wakeup call if we play great football the rest of the year," he said.
Notes
Rhule said that running back Jahad Thomas may play next week at Penn State. On Monday, Rhule said Thomas would miss his second game with a dislocated thumb. . . . The status of receiver Keith Kirkwood is unknown as he goes through the concussion protocol. . . . Freshman running back-receiver Isaiah Wright, who didn't play against Army, will see action on Saturday. "I wish we would have played him last game," Rhule said about Wright, who by all accounts had a strong training camp. . . . Receiver Ventell Bryant suffered an unspecified injury during practice, and Rhule said he didn't know if he would play this week. . . . Running back Jager Gardner, who had been hampered by a groin injury, is back healthy, according to Rhule. . . . As Rhule said Monday, he doesn't expect tight end Colin Thompson to play this week due to injury.
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