Owls savor their winning record
November 3, 2009
After the Temple football team completed a 27-24 victory over Navy on Saturday in Annapolis, Md., calls and text messages came pouring in to the cell phone of Owls athletic director Bill Bradshaw.
Temple had run its record to 6-2 by winning a sixth straight game for the first time since 1974, and became bowl-eligible for the first time since the Owls enjoyed their last winning season in 1990."I'm hearing from people all over the country," Bradshaw said proudly as he stood near the Temple locker room. "Texas. Florida. California. A lot of people are taking notice of what this team is doing."
Temple's hot streak also attracted the attention of the Associated Press and USA Today polls. The Owls received one vote in each for the top 25.
Just four years ago, Temple was coming off an 0-11 finish and about to begin a massive rebuilding project under the direction of first-year coach Al Golden.
The Owls went from a 1-11 finish in 2006 to 4-8 the next year, and then to 5-7 last fall, when they dropped three games on the final play. Along the way, the Temple program had more than its share of doubters.
"There was so much adversity," Golden said. "This team is 8-2 in its last 10 games with these seniors, who started off 1-16 and lost every game by 30 points. Everybody said we stunk. Everybody said quit, get out of football, drop down [to Division I-AA]. Our kids just put their heads down and kept working.
"This team is different. This team has unity. I was here two years when guys were throwing helmets and yelling at things that didn't matter. Now, I see a team that has poise and that believes in the brand, and that has stuck with it."
At 4-0 in the Mid-American Conference East Division, Temple is in first place with league games remaining against visiting Miami (Ohio) on Thursday, at Akron, at home against Kent State, and at Ohio.
One by one, the Owls filed out of their locker room after defeating Navy on a 41-yard run by Bernard Pierce, who finished with 267 yards on the ground and two touchdowns to run his freshman record to 11. Temple had trailed the Midshipmen, 24-17, with 14 minutes, 55 seconds left to play.
"I'm really proud of these guys," quarterback Vaughn Charlton said. "This is exciting. We're feeding off each other."
"No matter what the situation is, we're going to play ball," linebacker Alex Joseph said.
Now, it's up to Golden to keep the Owls on track.
"My biggest job during the week is to make sure the media, loved ones, and people outside in the community aren't getting to the team," he said. "There are a lot of people patting our guys on the back. That's what concerns me. We have to finish the prescription. We haven't played ourselves out of the [postseason], and we have an opportunity."
