Temple University Athletics
Photo by: Zamani Feelings
Temple to Play in 2018 Independence Bowl
12.2.18 | Football
PHILADELPHIA – The Walk-On's Independence Bowl announced today that Temple (8-4, 7-1 American) has been selected to play in its bowl against Duke (7-5, 3-5 ACC). The game will be played on Thursday, December 27, at 1:30 p.m. at Independence Stadium in Shreveport, Louisiana, and will be broadcast nationally on ESPN.
This is Temple's fourth straight bowl game and the eighth in school history. Temple has been bowl eligible for five consecutive seasons and eight times in the past 10 years. This is Temple's first time playing in the Independence Bowl.
"We are very excited to participate in the Independence Bowl and we are looking forward to spending time in Shreveport to see all it has to offer," said Temple head coach Geoff Collins. "Duke is a strong team and will represent the ACC well. Coach Cutcliffe will have them ready to play so we have to go down there, enjoy ourselves at the great events that the bowl committee puts on, and play our #TempleTUFF brand of football on gameday."
Season Review and Bowl Preview
The 2018 Temple Football team was led by a record-setting senior class. Collectively the group has become the winningest class in school history with 35 wins. They are the only senior class to play in four bowl games, which is half the amount that Temple has played in over the school's 120 football seasons.
Nineteen players will dress for their last game on December 27, the 2018 Independence Bowl. SAF Delvon Randall and DT Michael Dogbe will play in their 54th game in the Cherry & White, setting a school record. WR Ventell Bryant will look to close out his career with at least one catch in every game he has played (currently 47). He already holds the school record for receptions (169) and receiving yards (2,413). RB Ryquell Armstead will leave North Broad Street among the greatest running backs in school history (573-2,812-34TDs) and with a couple of significant American Athletic Conference records in tow – most career rushing touchdowns (34) and most rushing touchdowns in a game (6).
While those talented seniors close out their Temple careers, the team is in great hands for the future. Head coach Geoff Collins has collected 15 wins in two seasons, the best start of any coach in school history. He will enter his third year chasing Glen "Pop" Warner, who has the best three-year start of any Temple coach with 19 victories. When he takes the sidelines for the Independence Bowl, Collins will be the first to guide the Owls to multiple bowls.
As Collins says goodbye to the record-setting 2018 senior class, he knows that the Owls are poised for even better times. The defense – which ranked in the Top 10 in the country in touchdowns (7, 1st), takeaways (28, 3rd), fumble recoveries (13, 3rd), passing efficiency (103.06, 5th), yards per play (4.49, 7th), and passing yards per game (166.3, 8th) – will return one of the best linebacking corps in the country. That unit is led by first-team All-AAC MLB Shaun Bradley and also returns Chapelle Russell, Sam Franklin and Isaiah Graham-Mobley. Those four are ranked among the team's top six tacklers in 2018 and combined for 258 stops, 17 TFLs, 7.5 sacks, three interceptions and seven fumble recoveries.
The 2018 defense was anchored by first-team all-conference players at every level. It's no surprise that each one earned a respected single-digit. Dogbe led the line with 69 tackles, and team-highs in sacks (7.0) and TFLs (12.5). Bradley was second in tackles (72) while making two key interceptions. Randall led the team with 78 tackles and three picks. Rock Ya-Sin was the biggest surprise becoming a leader among the young cornerback group in his only year at Temple (he transferred from Presbyterian College).
The offense evolved in 2018 as redshirt sophomore Anthony Russo took command from under center. After taking over as starter, he led the team to a 7-2 record and hung an average of 36 points and 435.7 yards per game. He will benefit from the return of five offensive linemen who started games throughout the year. Jovahn Fair earned second-team All-AAC honors and will anchor the line along with Matt Hennessy and Vincent Picozzi. Adam Klein and Isaac Moore allowed Temple to claim being the only FBS team to start true freshmen at both left and right tackle.
Temple's special teams were truly that in 2018 and appear prepared to continue its productive ways. The Owls have been among the FBS leaders in blocked kicks for the past five seasons and added six scores from those units this year. Besides being aggressive, Temple also employs the most dynamic returner in the country. WR Isaiah Wright, the AAC Special Teams Player of the Year, became the first Temple player to return both a kickoff and punt for a touchdown in consecutive seasons.
While the 2018 season opener was not the team's best moment, it served as a catalyst for the entire 8-4 campaign. Temple started off slow and battled back, but could not overcome its own errors. That experience became a learning tool for Collins as he emphasized to the team that they needed to strike first and that the only team who could beat Temple, was Temple itself. While the Owls would go on to win eight of the remaining 11 games, its losses came at the hands of three teams –Buffalo (10-3), Boston College (7-5), and #7 UCF (11-0) – who were among the best in the country.
In the games that mattered most, Temple proved they were once again one of the best teams in the American posting a 7-1 conference record. It's the third time in four seasons that the Owls posted a 7-1 AAC record and their 25 conference wins since 2015 lead the American.
This is Temple's fourth straight bowl game and the eighth in school history. Temple has been bowl eligible for five consecutive seasons and eight times in the past 10 years. This is Temple's first time playing in the Independence Bowl.
"We are very excited to participate in the Independence Bowl and we are looking forward to spending time in Shreveport to see all it has to offer," said Temple head coach Geoff Collins. "Duke is a strong team and will represent the ACC well. Coach Cutcliffe will have them ready to play so we have to go down there, enjoy ourselves at the great events that the bowl committee puts on, and play our #TempleTUFF brand of football on gameday."
Season Review and Bowl Preview
The 2018 Temple Football team was led by a record-setting senior class. Collectively the group has become the winningest class in school history with 35 wins. They are the only senior class to play in four bowl games, which is half the amount that Temple has played in over the school's 120 football seasons.
Nineteen players will dress for their last game on December 27, the 2018 Independence Bowl. SAF Delvon Randall and DT Michael Dogbe will play in their 54th game in the Cherry & White, setting a school record. WR Ventell Bryant will look to close out his career with at least one catch in every game he has played (currently 47). He already holds the school record for receptions (169) and receiving yards (2,413). RB Ryquell Armstead will leave North Broad Street among the greatest running backs in school history (573-2,812-34TDs) and with a couple of significant American Athletic Conference records in tow – most career rushing touchdowns (34) and most rushing touchdowns in a game (6).
While those talented seniors close out their Temple careers, the team is in great hands for the future. Head coach Geoff Collins has collected 15 wins in two seasons, the best start of any coach in school history. He will enter his third year chasing Glen "Pop" Warner, who has the best three-year start of any Temple coach with 19 victories. When he takes the sidelines for the Independence Bowl, Collins will be the first to guide the Owls to multiple bowls.
As Collins says goodbye to the record-setting 2018 senior class, he knows that the Owls are poised for even better times. The defense – which ranked in the Top 10 in the country in touchdowns (7, 1st), takeaways (28, 3rd), fumble recoveries (13, 3rd), passing efficiency (103.06, 5th), yards per play (4.49, 7th), and passing yards per game (166.3, 8th) – will return one of the best linebacking corps in the country. That unit is led by first-team All-AAC MLB Shaun Bradley and also returns Chapelle Russell, Sam Franklin and Isaiah Graham-Mobley. Those four are ranked among the team's top six tacklers in 2018 and combined for 258 stops, 17 TFLs, 7.5 sacks, three interceptions and seven fumble recoveries.
The 2018 defense was anchored by first-team all-conference players at every level. It's no surprise that each one earned a respected single-digit. Dogbe led the line with 69 tackles, and team-highs in sacks (7.0) and TFLs (12.5). Bradley was second in tackles (72) while making two key interceptions. Randall led the team with 78 tackles and three picks. Rock Ya-Sin was the biggest surprise becoming a leader among the young cornerback group in his only year at Temple (he transferred from Presbyterian College).
The offense evolved in 2018 as redshirt sophomore Anthony Russo took command from under center. After taking over as starter, he led the team to a 7-2 record and hung an average of 36 points and 435.7 yards per game. He will benefit from the return of five offensive linemen who started games throughout the year. Jovahn Fair earned second-team All-AAC honors and will anchor the line along with Matt Hennessy and Vincent Picozzi. Adam Klein and Isaac Moore allowed Temple to claim being the only FBS team to start true freshmen at both left and right tackle.
Temple's special teams were truly that in 2018 and appear prepared to continue its productive ways. The Owls have been among the FBS leaders in blocked kicks for the past five seasons and added six scores from those units this year. Besides being aggressive, Temple also employs the most dynamic returner in the country. WR Isaiah Wright, the AAC Special Teams Player of the Year, became the first Temple player to return both a kickoff and punt for a touchdown in consecutive seasons.
While the 2018 season opener was not the team's best moment, it served as a catalyst for the entire 8-4 campaign. Temple started off slow and battled back, but could not overcome its own errors. That experience became a learning tool for Collins as he emphasized to the team that they needed to strike first and that the only team who could beat Temple, was Temple itself. While the Owls would go on to win eight of the remaining 11 games, its losses came at the hands of three teams –Buffalo (10-3), Boston College (7-5), and #7 UCF (11-0) – who were among the best in the country.
In the games that mattered most, Temple proved they were once again one of the best teams in the American posting a 7-1 conference record. It's the third time in four seasons that the Owls posted a 7-1 AAC record and their 25 conference wins since 2015 lead the American.
Players Mentioned
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