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Temple - Central Michigan Writeup

By Blakejeff | View all Posts
Posted Wednesday, September 08, 2010 08:13 PM

42 comments

Record: 5-5
Temple Games: 1-0

Alright, time to hit the road for the MAC championship. First up is a game with Central Michigan who is the defending champion. Quite simply, we are the better team in this one. Sure the Owls showed some cracks in their game against Villanova but the Vilecats may be better then the Chippewas.

On the offensive side of the ball, two things bode very well for Temple this year. They have a quarterback finally who I have the confidence to move the team this season. Chester Stewart is 100x better then Vaughn Charlton ever could hope to be. Stewart throws a pretty deep ball and has shown the ability to escape the rush when needed. Pierce and Matt Brown looked like Pierce and Matt Brown against Villanova running behind a hugely improved offensive line. The team has also found a bunch of wide out options including Campbell, Shorter and Evan Rodriguez. Most will look at the score of the Nova game and say Temple didnt play well and should be 0-1. I look at it and say, they played good and can be even better.

Central Michigan defensively returns five starters from a group that was essentially a sieve. The Chips secondary can be thrown upon while the Owls also have a size advantage up front and should be able to open holes. We cant' really take much from the Hampton game.

Temple's defense picked up its intensity towards the end of the contest. Adrian Robinson and Muhammed Wilkerson didnt wake up until later. They won't have much of an issue getting to the quarterback as Hampton sacked CMU three times. Temple's linebackers should be able to contain Paris Cotton. The main issue with Temple this whole season will be the secondary where they've moved wideouts to help out. Jaiquwan Jarrett is a stud. They will have to mark Kito Poblah and follow him around the field because that's their number one threat. Ryan Ratcliff isn't as much of a threat to run as Mr. LeFevour.

Intangibles for this game.....Central is 3-17-1 in their road openers since 1989. Temple had their 2nd largest crowd last week in the history of the program. Optimism is high around Owls fans and I think there will be a nice crowd again.

PICK: I just can't see Temple losing this game. Now those of you who follow me for the Temple selections know that I have picked against them in their life and am more then willing to. Spread opened at 8 and is now down to 7 in some places. Based on talent/rosters alone, Temple is the better of the two teams. I'm very hesitant to lay the 7 points. Any sort of teaser you may do this weekend has to involve the Owls because they will win. In the end though, I think Temple pulls this out. The total is also coming down....I like the under. The Owls offense isn't explosive enough to score that much while the defense is good enough to hold the Chips down.

SCORE: Temple 24-14

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TRAIN69 says:

09/08/10 08:40PM

been waitin since monday to see what you thought....

CMo256 says:

09/08/10 09:12PM

222bad says:

09/08/10 09:59PM

As always, have been waiting for your thoughts on the game as I respect your Temple knowledge, but was leaning C Migh and the points. Villanova might be the defending "minor league" champ, but year in and out, Hampton takes the kids that can't get into the ACC schools, (VT recruits heavily in Hamptons high school programs, Vick and T Taylor for two) and puts a great product on the field. Saying that Vill. is better than C Migh is a disservice to the people on this site. Understand that's your opinion, just hope you didn't worded it like that to make Temple look like the play in this game. Not sure if Hampton made Div. whatever it is, play offs last year or not but seem to remember them always in the semis or finals at the end of the year. BOL on the total play and whatever teaser you lock Temple into and I'm not hating just trying to not look at the game from a one sided angle.

daprospecta says:

09/08/10 10:18PM

I agree

youlose2010 says:

09/08/10 10:23PM

c mich can beat a temple team becareful 8 is alot of points for a temple team

goscots56 says:

09/08/10 10:25PM

Yeah, you kinda lose some respect when you start the post off with "We."

Also, why post the Temple 1-0 record, when it was a total misread and a win on a prayer TD at the end of the game?

I'd be interested on your take of my "unbiased" opinion.

I know Villinova is FCS champions, but it was week 1 (where defense

should stop some offenses) and Nova did not punt until the 4th

quarter. Their first 6 drives were all 7 plays or more and they have 4

drives over 50 yards. What this tells me.....Temple's D can't get off

the field.

When you look at Central Michigan, their first 3

scores were gimmies (safety, 2 yards to score, and 12 yards to score)

But once their Soph QB and new weapons got in a grove, they put up over

400 yards of offense. They had 6 drives of 7 plays or more, and only

punted 3 times. I know it was Hampton (not the FCS champs) but they

did return 16 starters....and did field a team for the game.

There

has been talk of the Temple D line v. the CM's Oline....I actually

believe this is a strength for CM. They return 4 Ol starters, and have

2 bookend tackles (6-8 280 and 6-6 270) you can't coach a height

advantage!

CM does have a young d-line, but they are stacked

at linebacker starting with All Conference selection Nick Bellore. I

don't care how inexperienced a line is....anyone can eat double teams

and keep your LB's free and flying.

I believe Nova's QB started

of 100% on his first 9-12 passes. This may be because Temples

Secondary is garbage, and has two former offensive players starting at

corner!

I have about all the info you need on this game.....so

any other questions just ask, but at the end of the day. Temple's 324

pound oline only rushed for 3.3 yards per carry against Nova, and their

defense will not be able to get off the field on Thursday night. 7.5

points is just too much.

special__k says:

09/08/10 10:27PM

Our resident Temple man... glad to see you agree that the Owls are the play.

Temple

POISON66 says:

09/08/10 10:30PM

Maybe I'm wrong here, but on SBRodds.com it says that game has been postponed!! May check elsewhere to verify!!

youlose2010 says:

09/08/10 10:31PM

it is a schedule move, being played on fri not sat

WMB5613 says:

09/08/10 10:34PM

Yea Temple had 2nd biggest crowd in history, bc it was a in-city rival game, home game for Temple yes, but isnt Villanova in Philly too, so a sudo home game for them, so I bet almost half were Nova fans

goscots56 says:

09/08/10 10:38PM

I like the 3-17-1 road openers stat....but lets keep in mind this is a MAC team.....the last 6 that they have lost have been against BCS conference opponents (i.e. Michigan, Penn State, Michigan State, Kansas....etc).

Central Michigan is 5-0 in their last 5 MAC road openers!!!!!

WMB5613 says:

09/08/10 11:01PM

great point

Blakejeff says:

09/08/10 11:32PM

I didnt read the rest of your post after this. First off, ludawg uses we when he talks about ECU. Secondly, if you actually paid attention to my Villanova writeup, I said it would be a close game with Temple starting slow but paying them back and getting a 6 point win. Last time I checked, that happened and they won by 7. Soooooooo, thanks but no thanks.

Youlose2010 is right. It's a lot of points. My ultimate recommendation is tease it down and make it 3 or 4. I'd recommend the under more then the spread but I'm making the pick 24-14. Will I be wrong? It's happened before. I'm just trying to provide perspective on a team that most of the people on this board outside the good handicappers don't know much about.

And oh yeah one sided writeups don't usually point out problems in a team's secondary.

MrHenderson says:

09/09/10 02:48AM

Professional1 says:

09/09/10 03:00AM

Central lost their QB, 2 best wide receivers and rb. temple is the play!

Blakejeff says:

09/09/10 02:45PM

Thanks. It's going to be windy out there tonight. May help with Temple having the better running game.

Overall, Tease it first, like the under then the spread.

TRAIN69 says:

09/09/10 02:49PM

How about Temple -.5 U53.5 teaser??

Blakejeff says:

09/09/10 02:50PM

I like it. I like it a lot.

RJSizzle says:

09/09/10 02:54PM

This is a huge suckers line. Not a chance in hell I could place a CMU wager.

Ramathorn02 says:

09/09/10 02:58PM

Thanks.

TRAIN69 says:

09/09/10 03:00PM

Cool. I think I will play that and add Minnesota +15 in one and Saints +5 and make them 10 point teasers

KBrick84 says:

09/09/10 03:15PM

The thing I like when backing Temple is knowking that kicker can get me points at 50yds if needed. Thats comes in handy when a line looks far to close to being spot on.

Blakejeff says:

09/09/10 03:17PM

And that's new for Temple. This kid has been good so far. The wind may be a factor at the game so that could help the under and limit the CMU passing attack.

Onthereal says:

09/09/10 03:33PM

I think Temple hits the high 20's low 30's tonight.

mws says:

09/09/10 03:43PM

I have to agree with blakejeff on this one.

KBrick84 says:

09/09/10 03:46PM

I watched the Temple game in week 1. I was actually impressed with Nova's ability to control the Temple run game...but was even more disappointed that Temple's head coach continued to try and pound it when Nova was obviously loading the box and stopping them. When play after play they could hit a 8-10yd route with ease.

So the stubborn mindset of the Temple head coach has me a bit worried when needing to cover more than a TD. I think Nova will end up being a better team than CMU...but going into that game...I read everywhere that Temple should control the line...blah blah blah and they didnt come close.

tmpeus78 says:

09/09/10 03:46PM

ncie writeup! Temple

KBrick84 says:

09/09/10 03:47PM

I can't argue with your take on Temple, just as I cant with LuDawg on ECU.

Just trying to get some clarification on some of the concerns I have regarding the TD spread before I go one way or the other.

KBrick84 says:

09/09/10 04:20PM

Im sooo undecided on this game. I think I have to go with the +7 here...and hedge off at halftime if needed. A few things are pulling me this direction.

*The stubborn HC who will continue to pound the rock with success or not. Running game, means the clock is rolling making it more difficult to cover this number. As good as Temple's run game was supposed to be, Nova outrushed them.

*This game although involving 2 smaller schools reminds me of the MD/NVY game...Navy should have pounded the rock all day on Md's ass...and the clock ran...a few turnovers and it cost them all hope at covering more than a TD

Cooler999 says:

09/09/10 04:34PM

The only thing wrong with a teaser is: TWO things have to happen to win!

It's hard enough to get one thing to go your way. But when you win a teaser, it makes you want to play more of them. Your a bookies dream baby

. At the end of the season teasers always bring you down.

Professional1 says:

09/09/10 04:35PM

TRAIN69 says:

09/09/10 08:38PM

Ah, Captain Obvious...where have you been

My bookie isnt real happy right now I can tell you that much

TRAIN69 says:

09/09/10 11:37PM

Yep....I'm real dumb.....2-0 is stupid

KBrick84 says:

09/09/10 10:39PM

I cant trust Temple with the way their play calling is going right now...too often tonight they were accepting FG attempts...rather than taking chances down the field. I said he was stubborn before the game. He believe he has a power run game, and he's gonna use regardless if its getting stuffed or not. I haven't looked at the final number, but I have a good feeling CMU stayed relatively close in regards to rushing yards tonight.

KBrick84 says:

09/09/10 06:39PM

Ya, I wont start my weekend teaser till tomorrow...usually play straight on Thursday...and start my big teaser card Friday. I just like the +7 if Temple runs wild on me...and covers the TD spread running all over CMU then so be it. But I wasn't overly impressed with their defense and if CMU gets a couple big plays down field...I like where Im sitting. Hate to be against ya though bud

KBrick84 says:

09/09/10 06:41PM

I managed to wait wait wait, and get +7.5

j-walk says:

09/09/10 04:35PM

I watched that Temple/Nova game online last week and in all honesty you would've never known Villanova was a 1-AA school. I was very impressed.

Blakejeff says:

09/09/10 05:24PM

Kbrick, as I said...I feel more comfortable with Temple teased AND I also like the under more. Gun to my head, I take Temple -7.

Blakejeff says:

09/09/10 10:29PM

Alright retrospective. I won't take complete credit for the fact that I was real hesitant with the seven points and said to tease it for more comfort. I will take credit for the low scoring game.

Temple's offense needs work especially since Pierce can't stay healthy. Chester Stewart is going to be maddeningly inconsistent showing touch at time while whiffing completely elsewhere. The one thing I do know is this defense is for real.

Early look at UConn? Under Under Under Under Under

Blakejeff says:

09/09/10 08:27PM

Good 1st half...Temple moved the ball well. I like what i'm seeing from the defense. The Owls just have to eliminate the stupid penalties and stupid mistakes.

I'd almost take a flier on the 2nd half Under 21.5 but no play. The under looks great and the spread looks good too.

PGram13 says:

09/09/10 06:58PM

botk says:

09/09/10 07:02PM

i got temple -7

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Joined:	December 2005
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Team:	Philadelphia Eagles
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