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| | Sunday, September 3 Easier schedule gives Temple hope | |||||
| By Bill Doherty Special to ESPN.com Temple Owls 1999 record: 2-9 (2-5 Big East) Coach: Bobby Wallace Returning starters: 12 (5 Offense, 7 Defense) Outlook Dire. With Connecticut building a new stadium and moving up to the I-A ranks this fall, the Owls' days in the Big East could be numbered unless they put a more competitive product on the field and more fans in the seats. And don't think Temple's brain trust doesn't know it. The school has hired Pittsburgh-based sports marketing agent Mike Felici to implement a five-year plan to save Temple football (you see, UConn is poised to join the league in 2005). The higher-ups have started to help by easing up the Owls' non-conference schedules (replacing the Penny States, Kansas States and Marshalls that dotted recent schedules with Navy, Maryland, Bowling Green and Eastern Michigan this fall). Now, it's up to coach Bobby Wallace ( at Temple) to win some of those games to build some momentum and some fan interest. Keep an eye on ... Junior LB Taylor Sum an. When he took over at Temple, Wallace decided to put lots of freshmen on the field. The best of that lot has turned out to be the , Sum an, a tackling machine with a possible NFL future. Sum an notched 99 tackles as a true frost and was in on 129 stops as a sophomore. It's a good season if ... This sophomore and squad must get out the blocks quickly against its non-conference schedule. None of its non-league games are gimmees, but Temple must go at least 2-2 or 3-1 to make significant progress this fall. To get off to a decent start, sophomore tailback Tanardo Sharps (184 yards, 7.4 yards per carry) must inject some life into an Owls' ground game which was ranked dead last in the nation in rushing offense (59.7 ypg) in 1999. Bill Doherty covers Big East football for ESPN.com |
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