October 10, 2015
On the game’s third play, Ryquell Armstead put the ball on the turf and the defense recovered. Fast-forward a couple of hours, and there the true freshman running back from Milville (insert obligatory Mike Trout reference here) was, running around left tackle from 16 yards out for his second touchdown of the game. Temple was up on Tulane 42-10 at that point, cruising on their way to a fifth win in five tries.
Armstead’s day was a microcosm of the Owls’ overall performance: Once the unforced errors were cleaned up, Temple (5-0-0, 2-0-0 AAC) pushed around Tulane on both sides of the ball. As soon as they got of their own way, it was full speed ahead.
“Everyone picked me up,” Armstead said. “Coach Rhule was the first one who came and talked to me. Negative plays are going to happen, and for them to pick me and give me an opportunity was lovely.”
At all levels of football, backs tend to find themselves on the bench for fumbling. In total, the Owls fumbled five times in the first 20 minutes. If Matt Rhule had taken such a strict approach on Saturday, Temple’s skill positions would have been almost entirely manned by second-teamers by the second quarter. Good thing he didn’t.
“Really disappointed with our play early,” Rhule said. “That goes on one person, me. If the team comes out and you’re going to put the ball on the ground five times in the first half, you can’t look around. You have to look at yourself.”
Besides that frustrating first quarter, Rhule sounded pretty pleased with how his kids performed. How couldn’t he? The 39-point difference (49-10) represented the largest margin of victory at home for Temple since 1989. Here, the home fans aren’t used to heading for the exits early because their team is putting it on a helpless opponent.
After a convincing victory, there was a lot of postgame chatter about the Owls cracking the Top-25 polls, as if seeing that little number next to your name makes all the difference in the world. Who knows, maybe it does? Regardless, the Owls entered the week ranked 29th and 31st in the AP and Coaches polls, respectively.
Whether they did enough to move up a few spots will be answered in a few days. Rhule says he’s too busy with his own team to compare it to the rest of the country. Even family members can’t bring up the subject of rankings in front of him.
“My son says it to me sometimes and I say, ‘Be quiet,’” Rhule said.
The announced attendance of 35,179 were pretty quiet early on, but they had a lot to cheer in the second and third quarters. On defense, Temple’s front seven took over the game, sacking Tulane quarterback Tanner Lee four times and forcing a couple of interceptions.
Star linebacker Tyler Matakevich, who shockingly led the Owls with seven tackles, felt both scheme adjustments (disguising blitzes in particular) and better execution helped the defense get better as the game went along. But really, it was all just a matter of time.
“The sacks come in fourth quarter,” Rhule said. “The sacks come when the offense wears down. If you believe that people can’t pass-protect you for four quarters, then you have the kind of second-half effort we did today.”
Times are good right now on Broad Street. Temple’s defense is flexing its muscles. Armstead and the electric Jahad Thomas have a little “Thunder and Lightning” thing going on. Junior quarterback P.J. Walker is playing efficient football after suffering a separated shoulder in the opener against Penn State. Even the special teams are chipping in with some important plays.
All coaches of winning teams say they can improve, even if that’s not really true. For Rhule, who will likely find himself very in-demand in a few months, the only pressing issue is the starts.
“Our guys just needed to calm down,” Rhule said. “It’s one of those deals where everyone starts looking at each other, yelling, screaming. You just have to take a moment.”
The combined score of Temple’s opening quarters this season is 20-13 in the Owls’ favor. When you find yourself nitpicking and grasping for problem areas, things are going pretty well.
Follow Rich on Twitter: @rich_hofmann
