Temple running back Ryquell Armstead, a sophomore, has rushed 109 times for 674 yards and 11 TDs. Photo by Andy Lewis/contrastphotography.com

BY ROCK HOFFMAN

The Temple Owls are bowl eligible for the sixth time in eight seasons. After the run of success that the Owls ,have been on that started with Al Golden getting them to their first bowl game since 1979 in 2009, Steve Addazio leading them to their first bowl win since ’79 in 2011 and Matt Rhule guiding them to just their second-ever 10-win season last year (1979 was the other), bowl eligibility isn’t that big a deal to these Owls.

“That should be a goal every year,” quarterback Phillip Walker said when asked about the team getting its sixth win, “just because of how good a team we have, how talented we are. Overall, I think a conference championship is where our mindset was. When we lost to Army and Penn State, our goals were still right in front of us. Nothing was holding us back from still doing what we wanted to do. We see that now and we are just trying to play our best football.”

“We’ve been going hard since camp,” said linebacker Avery Williams, “so everybody is pretty much banged up but we understand every game from now on is a championship game. We’ve got to win every game so we can go to the championship.”

The key to Owls season through the first two months was the last second – literally – win over UCF. The Cherry and White trailed the whole game and needed a 70-yard drive with no timeouts and 32 seconds left to win the game and that’s exactly what they did. With one second left, Walker hit wide receiver Keith Kirkwood for an 8-yard touchdown pass and the Owls won 26-25.

“It helped our whole team,” said Walker about the win over the Knights. “The energy level we’ve been playing with is unbelievable. I think we’re doing a lot better as a team just trusting in one another, believing that that person is going to be at the right place at the right time.”

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Things turned around quickly for Penn State and head coach James Franklin, after four games they were 2-2 and had just absorbed a 49-10 loss to Michigan. There was talk that Franklin might not be the right guy, in his three plus seasons at Happy Valley, he was 0-7 against Michigan, Ohio State and Michigan State and lost those seven game by an average of 22 points. In other words, to be the best, you have to beat the best and the Nittany Lions were not even close but it all changed the following week against Minnesota. Penn State was down 13-3 at halftime but scored 17 in the third quarter to take the lead only to need a field goal with two seconds left to force overtime. After the defense held the Gophers to a field goal, Saquon Barkley scored a touchdown on the Nittany Lions first offense play in overtime to win it. Since then Penn State has rolled past Maryland and Purdue and shocked the world with a 24-21 upset of Ohio State.

“I don’t think it’s one moment or one thing or one game,” said Franklin when asked what spurred the change. “It’s just been kind of a process, sticking to our plan, believing in one another, building trust and relationships, and identity, which I think is really what we’ve created in year three is an identity. Maybe it’s different than what it’s been in the past.”

Part of Penn State’s identity in the past was national recognition and they’ve received some of that with their recent success. Following the win over Ohio State, they were ranked in the AP poll. When the first College Football Playoff rankings came out on November 1st, the Nittany Lions found themselves in the 12th spot and they’re poised to play in a major bowl game at the end of the season.

“I think externally it helps,” said Franklin about being nationally prominent again. “Internally, I don’t think it does. Externally I think it’s important because perception is important because perception is that person’s reality. As you guys know, the media has an impact on that. So externally it’s great, but internally we just want to control the things that we can control, that is our focus. It’s not going to change week in and week out.”

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The Penn Quakers enter the final month of the season with another Ivy League title on their minds, with three games left on the schedule, they were tied for first place and trying to extend a 10-game Ivy League winning streak. The defense was giving up 14 points a game on average in Ivy League contests while the high-power offense was scoring almost 34 a game. Quarterback Alek Torgersen was directing things but the main playmakers were running back Tre Solomon, who had rushed for 670 and seven touchdowns in seven games, and wide receiver Justin Watson, who had 807 yards and seven scores on 56 catches.

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Former West Chester University star cornerback Al-Hajj Shabazz, who was on the Pittsburgh Steelers practice squad, was elevated to the active roster for their game against the New York Jets. He played six snaps at cornerback, several more on special teams and made one tackle. After the game, he was resigned to the practice squad. Shabazz is the first former Golden Ram to play in the NFL since Lee Woodall played for the Denver Broncos in 2001.
“It’s great for us as a program,” Golden Rams head coach Bill Zwaan when asked by Football Stories about Shabazz, “to have his name out there and in the pros. Hajj is a really great kid and everybody likes him a lot so when that news came across it shot out like crazy with tweets and texts. It was really exciting for us on campus.”

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Prior to their game with Wesley on October 22, Rowan University held a memorial service for former head coach Richard Wackar, who passed away in August at the age of 88. The stadium on Rowan’s campus is named for Wackar, who taught at the school, when it was known as Glassboro State College, and also coached basketball, golf and cross country – winning NJAC championships in each sport. In football, he restarted the program for the 1964 season after the school had been without a team since 1950. In 17 seasons, he went 65-84-4 and won five NJAC titles (1972, 1974-77).

“He was just a tremendous individual,” said current Profs head coach Jay Accorsi. “To have somebody to talk to about coaching stuff, that understands, that’s been through it, you miss that when somebody like that’s not around.”

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At Widener University, for Homecoming on October 15, the Pride wore throwback uniforms that honored the 1981 National Championship team. Next season, they will don them again to mark the 40th anniversary of the 1977 title team.

“We did have one [jersey] taken by an old alum,” said Widener head coach Mike Kelly. “It wasn’t hard to figure out who wore that particular number in 1981 and give him a call. So, it’s getting Fedexed back from Florida.

“Our 1981 championship banner disappeared,” an amused Kelly continued, “out of the locker room and the alums have returned that. It’s funny, you’re 56, 58 years old and you get with all your old buddies and you’re 19 again.”

Email Rock Hoffman at rock@footballstories.com