Temple quarterback situation still a week-to-week affair

There is an old saying that if you have three quarterbacks, you really have none. That isn't entirely true at Temple, where all three have had their moments but none have jumped off the charts.

Coach Geoff Collins said during his Tuesday news conference that if the game were to be played that day, redshirt sophomore Anthony Russo would get the bulk of the action. The game won't be till Saturday, when Temple (2-3, 1-0 American Athletic Conference) hosts a vastly improved East Carolina (2-2, 0-1) at noon.

Graduate student Frank Nutile started the first two games, and didn't play the way he did a year ago when he went 4-2 after earning the job following an injury to Logan Marchi. In season-opening losses to Villanova and Buffalo, Nutile completed 52.4 percent of his passes and threw four touchdown passes and four interceptions.

The next week, he was replaced because of an unspecified injury, believed to be to his knee.

Russo took over and Temple played its best game — not only this year, but also in a while — during a 35-14 win at Maryland. He wasn't as sharp in the Owls' 31-17 win over Tulsa, but on a two-game winning streak, the Owls weren't about to change up.

With Russo again the starter, the brief winning streak was snapped Saturday in a 45-35 loss at Boston College. The offense scored 28 of the 35 points but also committed three turnovers that led to 22 Boston College points.

Redshirt freshman Todd Centeio has been used in certain packages at quarterback, mostly to take advantage of his running ability. He does have one touchdown pass, which came on a fake punt against Maryland.

Russo has completed 46.8 percent of his passes for 619 yards with one touchdown and five interceptions.

While neither Nutile nor Russo has great statistics, what has hurt Temple's passing game the most has been a lack of consistency in catching the ball.

During Temple's 36-29 loss to Buffalo, when Nutile completed 15 of 31 passes for 216 yards with three touchdowns and two interceptions, Temple had seven dropped passes. Not surprisingly, in the Maryland win, there were no dropped passes. Then the following week in the win over Tulsa, the Owls dropped six passes.

Last week, the Owls dropped seven, including one that became an interception.

Nutile's knowledge of the offense and leadership are his biggest strengths. Russo's gun of an arm and increasing grasp of the offense are his strengths.

Collins went to great lengths in saying he has confidence in all of his quarterbacks. He hasn't declared that Russo is his starter the rest of the season, an indication that things might still be close. Or maybe he wants to keep the next opponent guessing.