Gasparilla Bowl

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THE SKINNY: A year after finishing the regular season with a conference championship, the 2017 season was much different for the Temple Owls. First-year head coach Geoff Collins had some bumpy first tests after taking over the program, but the Owls seemed to find an offensive identity that could work in the final weeks of the season.

Junior quarterback Frank Nutile finished the season on a high note and made the case to keep the starting job in 2018 with 11 touchdowns in the final five games of the season. Nutile?s late surge in the offense provided some stability for the offense and helped to open up the game a bit for the Owls, but the running game remains the key to the Owls offense. Ryquell Armstead and David Hood have split the carries for share of the carries to a balanced effect, and that should continue against the Panthers.

Lost in the attention given to Lane Kiffin turning FAU around is the job done by Butch Davis at FIU. Perhaps even more impressive than the job done by Kiffin this season, Davis returned to the sideline and quickly built an eight-win team with FIU. The offense exploded in the final weeks of the season with 41 points against Western Kentucky and 63 against UMass. If FIU brings that type of firepower into the bowl matchup, Temple could have trouble keeping up the pace.

Davis is no stranger to coaching against Temple, although this is not the same Temple program Davis faced while coaching the Miami Hurricanes in the old Big East. The playing field is much more even now for Temple and Davis.

 

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Gasparilla Bowl gives Temple football seniors chance to go out on winning note


? The winningest class in Temple football history doesn?t want to go out with a losing record.


That is just one of the motivating factors for not only the seniors, but the entire team when Temple (6-6) meets Florida International University during Thursday?s Bad Boy Mowers Gasparilla Bowl at Tropicana Field in St. Petersburg.

Another factor is making up for the sour taste of the last two bowl games, when Temple came up short.

This is the seventh bowl game in Temple history, but the first time the Owls have earned trips in three consecutive years.


?It?s a huge difference being 7-6 instead of 6-7,? senior second-team all-conference defensive end Jacob Martin said before Tuesday?s practice at Boca Ciega High School. ?The senior legacy is sending these people out in a winning fashion.?

This senior class has won 32 games, more than any in Temple history.

While nobody would want to admit it, Temple, coming off consecutive 10-win seasons, appeared to take its bowl opponents lightly the last two seasons.

The Owls lost to Toledo, 32-15, in the 2015 Boca Raton Bowl. Last season, the Owls lost to Wake Forest, 34-26, in the Military Bowl.

A season ago Temple had to play under difficult circumstances. A few days after beating Navy, 34-10, in the American Athletic Conference title game, coach Matt Rhule left to take the Baylor job. Many of his assistants left with him, but they ended up coaching in the bowl game.

?It was definitely tough to deal with that going into the bowl season, so preparing wasn?t all there,? said senior safety Sean Chandler, who will be making his third consecutive start in a bowl game. ?We were focused on different things I feel like so this year I feel we will get it done.?

Redshirt junior quarterback Frank Nutile, who will be making his first bowl start, said Temple?s relative inexperience in bowl games, was a detriment the last two years.

?We weren?t really used to going to bowl games,? said Nutile, who is 3-2 as a starter. ?Now we have been to two bowls and know the importance of winning it.?

While the seniors have reinforced how important it is to win, first-year coach Geoff Collins has set the tone for this bowl.

Collins was named Temple?s head coach two weeks before last year?s bowl game, but he didn?t coach in it, opting to observe. Tight ends and special teams coach Ed Foley, who was named the interim head coach when Rhule departed, coached the team.

While the media hasn?t been able to view much of practice, word is that the players have been energetic, with Collins leading the way.

Collins says he and his staff haven?t shied away from mentioning the disappointing results of the last two bowl games. He feels that in practice, he feels the players seemed to have responded.

?I am pleased with how they prepared [and] handled their business on and off the field, so it has been a good week of preparation,? Collins said.

While the seniors? winning legacy is at stake, junior safety Delvon Randall says that the bowl should be a tone-setter for the future.

?We will have young guys step up and play this game, and we will see where they are at.? said Randall, Temple?s lone first-team all-AAC choice. ?[Going] 7-6 is a plus for next year.?

 

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Can the Owls finally win a bowl game?



Temple (6-6) will compete in a bowl game for the third consecutive year when the Owls meet Florida International University (8-4) in Thursday?s Bad Boy Mowers Gasparilla Bowl at Tropicana Field in St. Petersburg, Fla. Kickoff is set for just after 8 p.m.


It?s the first time the Owls have earned bowl berths in three consecutive years. Temple seems serious about snapping its two-game bowl losing streak. A key will be stopping four-year starting FIU quarterback Alex McGough, whom coach Butch Davis feels is a definite NFL prospect.

Temple has momentum, having won three of its final four games. FIU, which was 4-8 last season, was second in Conference USA. The Panthers ended the regular season with consecutive wins over Western Kentucky and Massachusetts



Head-to-head: This will be the first game between the two teams.

Coaches

Temple: Geoff Collins (first season, 6-6)
Florida International: Butch Davis (first year, 8-4; 87-47 overall)




Key players

Temple

? QB Frank Nutile, 6-4, 225, R-Jr.: 60.8 completion percentage for 1,346 yards, 11 TDs, 7 interceptions
? RB Ryquell Armstead, 5-11, 205, Jr.: 553 yards rushing, 3.9 avg., 4 TDs
? WR Isaiah Wright, 6-2, 212, So.: 41 receptions, 591 yards, 3 TDs; 13 KO returns, 24.9 avg., 1 TD
? DE Sharif Finch, 6-4 250 Sr.: 51 tackles, 14.5 tackles for loss 7.5 sacks)
? S Delvon Randall, 6-1, 220, Jr.: 76 tackles, 4 interceptions, 1st-team all-AAC)
? S Sean Chandler, 6-0, 195, Sr. (74 tackles, 2 INT).

Florida International

? RB Alex Gardner, 5-10, 195, Sr.: 765 yards rushing, 4.5 avg., 6 TDs
? QB Alex McGough, 6-3, 218, Sr.: 65.5 completion percentage, 2,791 yards, 17 TDs, 8 INT, 214 yards rushing, 2.8 avg., 5 TDs
? WR Thomas Owens, 6-1, 240, Sr.: 59 receptions, 887 yards, 6 TDs, 1st-team all-conference
? OG Joran Budwig, 6-4, 311, Sr.: 2nd-team all-conference
? DL Fermin Silva, 6-2, 235, Jr.: 45 tackles, 14 tackles for loss, 7 sacks
? LB Anthony Wint, 6-0, 230, Jr.: 81 tackles, 7.0 tackles for loss