Temple Owls
| Temple Owls | |
|---|---|
 | |
| First season | 2016 |
| Head coach | alienufo 6 season, 44–35 (.557) |
| Stadium | Lincoln Financial Field (Capacity: 68,532) |
| Year built | 1991 |
| Location | Philadelphia, PA |
| Division | East |
| All-time record | 54–39–0 (.581) |
| Bowl record | 4–2 (.667) |
| Playoff record | 0 |
| Conference titles | 1 |
| Division titles | 3 |
| Colors | Cherry and White |
| Fight song | "T For Temple U" |
| Mascot | Hooter T. Owl |
| Rivals | Penn State South Florida Bulls Connecticut Huskies Villanova |
The Temple Owls are a CFBHC team playing in the East division of the AAC, beginning for the 2016 season.
Contents
History
alienufo era (2016-Present)
2016 Season
Temple's inaugural season was a rough one. The roster consisted of mostly walk-ons, so coach alienufo had a huge challenge making the team competitive. After giving up 74 points to Penn State in their first ever game, alienufo switched to a wildcat oriented offense in order to best make use of the little talent on the roster. After starting 0-10, the Owls got their sole win at home over division rival ECU. Playing in a snow storm, redshirt freshman running back Ricky Lewis ran wild for 168 yards and two touchdowns. The following week they would get shut out by Connecticut to end their season, finishing 1-11.
2017 Season
2017 saw the debut of starting quarterback J.J. Robinson. In the opening game of the season, the Owls traveled to Raleigh to play the NC State Wolfpack. The game was notable in that it went to overtime with a score of 3-3, with Temple coming away with the victory in the first overtime. The Owls would carry that momentum forward to start an impressive 5-1 halfway through the season. In the second half, they would only manage one more win, but that was enough to earn their very first bowl game.
2018 Season
Coach alienufo recruited a lot more talent to the team in the previous two years, and it showed on the field in 2018. Ricky Lewis, now a junior, continued to dominate. The Owls would go on to finish with a 9-3 record, earning a bowl game against Akeel Morris and the Nevada Wolfpack. Going into the half, Nevada led 14-0, but Temple would rally back in the second half to tie the game at 21 with 8 minutes left. Unfortunately, the defense then gave up a touchdown with about 4 minutes left, which ended up being the deciding points.
2019 Season
2019 was by far the most successful season for the Owls to date. Temple was ranked for most of the year, but fell off the top 25 in the final weeks. They finished with a 9-3 overall record and 5-1 conference record, losing only to #16 Minnesota, #18 SMU, and #20 Oregon during the regular season. They played in the Boca Raton bowl against Southern Miss, and earned their first ever bowl victory in a very one sided affair. Ricky Lewis earned MVP in his final game before graduating to the NFL.
2020 Season
A down year for Temple, 2020 was a year of rebuilding. An unexpectedly strong AAC East caused the Owls to go 5-3 in conference, losing to Cincinnati, UCF, and USF. They also posted non-conference wins over Wyoming and Northwestern, but losing to Florida and Maryland. A 7-5 record had the Owls playing in the Miami Beach Bowl against Akron, who they defeated 13-9, bringing Temple's bowl record to 2-2.
2021 Season
Temple's 2021 season was one of the best to date. Coach alienufo's squad swept the AAC East, posting a 7-1 conference record, losing only to Navy. After winning the AAC West, the Owls had to play Navy again in the conference championship, but ultimately lost again to Navy's dynamic offense. Temple played Georgia Tech in the Military Bowl, which turned out to be one of the most exciting games of the entire bowl season. Temple won the game with a score of 52-49 in a spectacular shootout between two of the nation's top QBs, Jordan North and Josh Beckett. Temple also posted out of conference wins against Fresno State and Pittsburgh, and losing to Florida and Penn State.
2022 Season
Temple once again swept the AAC East in conference play, returning to the AAC championship game for the second straight year. An unexpected 10-2 season from Tulsa would propel them to the top of the AAC West, but the Owls would best them in the championship game 51-41, which was the highest scoring game of the entire season, the highest scoring conference championship game ever, and the 3rd highest scoring post-season game ever up until that point. Temple then faced off against the C-USA champions Rice in the Bahamas Bowl. Since Temple and Rice share a mascot, the game was dubbed the "Superb Owl" by the media and fans. Although Rice's Eric McLean put on a clinic in the passing game, tossing up 3 touchdowns, Rice could not stop Temple's ground game led by Julian Childs. Childs and Quarterback Eli Siegel combined for 201 rushing yards and 3 rushing touchdowns on route to a 38-35 victory. This was Temple's fourth straight bowl victory, and second straight to be won by a mere field goal. Temple's four losses of the season were against SMU, Memphis, Michigan State, and Texas Tech.
All-time record vs. AAC opponents
This is Temple Owls football record against current American Athletic Conference opponents through the 2022 season.
| School | Total Games | W | L | T | Pct. | PF | PA | First Year | Last Year | Streak |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Cincinnati | 6 | 4 | 2 | 0 | .667 | 167 | 109 | 2016 | 2022 | W2 |
| Connecticut | 7 | 5 | 2 | 0 | .714 | 192 | 175 | 2016 | 2022 | W5 |
| East Carolina | 7 | 6 | 1 | 0 | .857 | 168 | 138 | 2016 | 2022 | W4 |
| Houston | 3 | 3 | 0 | 0 | 1.000 | 64 | 26 | 2019 | 2022 | W3 |
| Memphis | 2 | 1 | 1 | 0 | .500 | 59 | 58 | 2018 | 2022 | L1 |
| Navy | 4 | 2 | 2 | 0 | .500 | 101 | 117 | 2018 | 2021 | L2 |
| SMU | 3 | 0 | 3 | 0 | .000 | 68 | 102 | 2019 | 2022 | L3 |
| Tulsa | 3 | 3 | 0 | 0 | 1.000 | 151 | 65 | 2020 | 2022 | W3 |
| UCF | 7 | 3 | 4 | 0 | .429 | 169 | 187 | 2016 | 2022 | W2 |
| USF | 6 | 4 | 2 | 0 | .667 | 142 | 148 | 2017 | 2022 | W2 |
| 11 Opponents | 48 | 31 | 21 | 0 | .596 | 1,281 | 1.125 | 7 Seasons |
Season-by-Season Records
| Coach(es) | Year | Conference | Overall Record | Conference Record | Bowl | Final CP Ranking | ||
| Wins | Losses | Wins | Losses | |||||
| Temple Owls | ||||||||
| alienufo | 2016 | AAC | 1 | 11 | 1 | 6 | - | - |
| 2017 | 6 | 7 | 3 | 4 | Lost Hawaii Bowl vs. Auburn (31-14) | - | ||
| 2018 | 9 | 4 | 5 | 2 | Lost Arizona Bowl vs. Nevada (28-21) | - | ||
| 2019 | 10 | 4 | 6 | 1 | Won Boca Raton Bowl vs. Southern Miss (36-6) | - | ||
| 2020 | 8 | 5 | 5 | 3 | Won Miami Beach Bowl vs. Akron (13-9) | - | ||
| 2021 | 10 | 4 | 7 | 2 | Won Armed Forces Bowl vs. Georgia Tech (52-49) | 23 | ||
| 2022 | 10 | 4 | 7 | 2 | Won Bahamas Bowl vs. Rice (38-35) | |||
| 2023 | 8 | 6 | 6 | 3 | Won Frisco Bowl vs. Western Michigan (20-17) | |||
| Total Games: 107 | 62 | 45 | 40 | 23 | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| National Champions | Conference Champions | Bowl game berth |
Bowl games
The Owls have appeared in 7 bowl games, posting a record of 5-2.
| Season | Bowl | Opponent | Result | ||
| 2017 | Hawaii Bowl | Auburn | L, 31–14 | ||
| 2018 | Weis Markets Bowl | Nevada | L, 28-21 | ||
| 2019 | Boca Raton Bowl | Southern Miss | W, 36-6 | ||
| 2020 | Miami Beach Bowl | Akron | W, 13-9 | ||
| 2021 | Armed Forces Bowl | Georgia Tech | W, 52-49 | ||
| 2022 | Bahamas Bowl | Rice | W, 38-35 | ||
| 2023 | Frisco Bowl | Western Michigan | W, 20-17 | ||
| Total | 7 Bowl Games | 5–2 | |||
Individual Award Winners
All-Americans
- 2023
- 2022
All-AAC Players
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