Temple University Athletics
Owls Prepare To Take Flight For Kalamazoo To Battle The Broncos
9.18.06 | Football
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Temple, under the direction of first-year head coach Al Golden, travels to Kalamazoo to do battle with the Western Michigan Broncos, under the leadership of second-year head coach Bill Cubit, this Saturday at 7:00 p.m. (Eastern) at 30,200-seat Waldo Stadium. The game is the second of six contests this season for the Cherry & White against MAC foes and the second of three consecutive road games. The Owls employ a multiple offense and a 3-4 defense. Western Michigan utilizes a multiple offense and a 4-3 defense.
Temple has played 19 true freshmen thus far this season, the most in Division I-A. Through the first three games, 33 Owls have seen their first collegiate action, including five redshirt freshmen. In total, fifty-nine different players have competed. Of those 59, 41 have two or more additional seasons of eligibility remaining after the 2006 campaign. Saturday evening's game will not be televised. The radio broadcast will air on WPHT 1210 AM, with Harry Donahue handling the play-by-play and Steve Joachim serving as the analyst. Live video with home radio audio for the contest is available on the MAC web site, www.mac-sports.com, via All-MACcess! Live radio audio, via Yahoo Sports, and live Gametracker stats are available on the Temple Athletics web site, www.owlsports.com.
Temple (0-3) is coming off a 62-0 defeat at Minnesota (2-1) in the Metrodome last Saturday afternoon. Three true freshmen (LB Seth Amoah, LB Le'Ron Irwin, DE Dave Nwasike) played in their first collegiate game for TU. The Owls made just one trip into the red zone, advancing to the Gopher 20 early in the second quarter. A 36-yard field goal attempt by Danny Murphy missed wide left, however, and helped to enable the shutout. Minnesota scored on its first seven possessions, including touchdowns on its initial six, to open-up an insurmountable 45-0 halftime lead. The Gophers generated 448 yards of total offense, including 300 in the first half, and held the Owls to 157 total yards.
Western Michigan (2-1) is fresh from a cornerstone victory with a 17-10 win at Virginia last Saturday afternoon. It marked the first victory for a MAC-member school over an opponent from the ACC. Junior Mark Bonds ran for 118 yards and a TD and sophomore Desman Stephen returned an interception 34 yards for a score to help the Broncos to the victory despite being out-gained 258-179 in total offense. Western Michigan fueled its win with an opportunistic defense that generated 14 points off turnovers and made three sacks for 25 yards in losses. Redshirt senior linebacker Ameer Ismail made 11 total tackles and had 2.5 TFLs with 1.5 sacks.
After the third NCAA statistical report of the season, Western Michigan ranks tied for eighth in turnover margin (1.67), tied for 11th in sacks (3.67) and 20th in rushing defense (76.00).
Saturday night's game marks the fifth meeting between the Owls and Broncos with WMU holding a 4-0 advantage. The Broncos won last season's meeting, the first in Philadelphia, on a Nate Meyer 33-yard field goal as time expired to earn the 19-16 victory. Temple won the first meeting at Waldo Stadium in 1986, 49-17, but later forfeited due to the use of an ineligible player.
