KS Archived Plays (as promised)

WHEN I TAIL YOU U LOSE, WHEN I DON'T U WIN 

I'LL KEEP TRYIN THOUGH, KEEP UP THE GOOD WORK!

Temple vs Wyoming

Temple running game: Temple’s Bernard Pierce and Matt Brown combined for 2,248 yards this season with 30 total touchdowns from the pair.  Pierce’s 25 touchdowns was second in the country.  One back is fast with cuts and the other runs down your throat with power.  HC Addazio expects Wyoming to load the box with an 8 man front; a defense he has seen many times in his time at Syracuse.

Wyoming vs. the run:  Wyoming was crushed by Utah St.(ranked 20^th in YPP) (63-19) by running the ball 69.7% of their offensive plays, and averaging 6.0 ypc., yet they beat Air Force (ranked 26^th in YPP) as AF ran the ball 92.6% of their offensive plays—attempting only 5 passes in the contest.  Nebraska also torched Wyoming (38-14) by balancing their attack slightly with 70% running plays.  NOTE: Colorado State beat Wyoming running 66.2% of their plays, TCU beat them running 66.1% of their plays, Boise State beat Wyoming by running only 53% of the time, but they also scored 7.2 less points than their average pts per game.  It is interesting to notate that Wyoming is weak against the run, yet the highest ranked running team they faced (AF)—they beat… Why? AF did not balance their attack, while the others did.  Vs. top 15 running teams, Wyoming is 1-2 with a combined score in those 3 games of 58 to 118 (and average loss of -20 pts).  In short, Wyoming cannot defend the run unless running is all a team does, but even then they only beat AF by 8 pts)  Temple has the 7^th ranked rushing attack in the nation, and they run the ball 74.7% of their Offensive plays. 

Strength of schedules:  In my opinion, Wyoming has had a slightly tougher schedule in 2011, and both teams are at 8-4.

Common opponents this season:  Both teams traveled to Bowling Green where the Cowboys won their match up 28-27, and the Owls lost theirs 10-13.

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Ok, now just a bit of these programs histories… no, I am not into the whole history lessons, but there is an emotional edge to be found here—I think the carrots being dangled favor Temple in this aspect…

 Temple Owl Football history: Temple Owls had won only one bowl game in their school’s history (32 years ago in 1979).   That 1979 season was the only season the Owls had a post season ranking (#17).  The Owls did not go to another bowl game until 2009 (EagleBank Bowl) where they lost to UCLA 30-21.   In 2010, the Owls started their season at 8-2 and then finished the season at 8-4,  and a month later their head coach (Al Golden) left the team for Miami (FLA).  I wonder how much Temple football was on Golden’s mind for their last 2 games of that season. 

Wyoming Cowboy History:   The Cowboy’s were in the NM Bowl 2 years ago, and they won it in double overtime vs Fresno State (35-28).  Wyoming will be playing in their schools 13^th bowl game on Saturday.

Motivational summary:  I just have to like the Owl’s motive to win this game.  These kids on this particular team have been beaten in a bowl game that their fan base was just happy to see them in.  Many of the kids on this team were recruited by Al Golden, saw success with Golden, and then were left by Golden.  Now they are back in this bowl game, and are excited to be there.  Many times teams feel let down playing in less visible bowl games and feel it is a consolation prize, but the Owl’s are estadic to be in the Bowl game that is kicking off the Bowl season on National TV.  As a side note in this summary, Temple was a member of the Big East Conference until 2004 when they were expelled for ‘Program Shortcomings’ (and attendance averages).  1^st  year head coach Steve Addazio already looks like a star in Temple, but if he can deliver only their 2^nd Bowl title in school history, and make a strong argument to get this program out of the MAC (as every Owl fan wants more than anything).  Boy, there is a lot of intangible motivation in this one for the Owls.

Final Summary:  this game is really simple as I see it.  Temple had a weaker schedule, so their 15^th ranked (in yards per game allowed) might be slightly over rated, but not too much.  Temple has one of the better running teams that Wyoming has faced this year (actually the best if you look at balance which is Wyoming’s weakness vs the run).  Wyoming has a pretty good freshman QB in Brett Smith (but a rookie in a bowl game?  The pressure could be a bit much for him).  Smith will be running an offense that likes to pass about 47% of their plays, and going against a solid defense such as Temple’s in a pressure situation might be cause for Wyoming to get out of character.  This game is really ALL about the Temple running game….can Wyoming stop or slow it down?  If they can’t they could easily lose this game be 15+ pts, if they can slow it down it could be close…personally, I don’t think they can slow it down.   I really love the motivational aspect of this game.  Personally, if I were a senior on this Temple team, I would be ready to sweat blood to leave it all on the field.  This Temple team is like the savior to their alumni/fan base.  In the last few years this team has come back from the dead,  but they have to win this bowl game to truly make a solid argument to step up in conferences, and to gain some actual respect in the upper echelon of college ball, and to allow these seniors the bragging rights of saying they were a part of the most important momentum this team has had in over 2 decades.

TEMPLE -7