Football Opens 2018 Season Against Crosstown Foe

Football Opens 2018 Season Against Crosstown Foe

8.27.18 | Football

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THIS WEEK
After much anticipation, week one is finally here. The Owls will be hosting the Villanova Wildcats at Lincoln Financial Field Kickoff is set for Saturday, Sept. 1 at 12:00 p.m. EST and will air on ESPNews, 97.5 The Fanatic and WHIP Radio. In Geoff Collins' second season as the Temple head coach, the Owls look to take down the Wildcats for the second year in a row and the fourth time since 2010. The Philadelphia football squads first clashed at Lincoln Financial Field in 2003. Temple and Villanova played their first game against one another in 1908, it ended in a 12-0 Villanova victory. The two teams have played 34 times over the past 110 years. The series record is tied 16-16-2. The Owls have outscored the Wildcats 569-471 all-time. The largest margin of victory was a 41-3 Temple victory in 1975.

Temple's starting quarterback, Frank Nutile, will make his first career home opener start. The Owls return a solid starting receiving pair in graduate Ventell Bryant and junior Isaiah Wright. Wright is coming off a record setting season, when he scored in five different ways (receiving, rushing, passing, punt return, and kick return). He was also named to the 2018 Paul Hornung Award watch list, given to the most versatile college football player in the country. RB Ryquell Armstead returns as the starting running back for the Owls, he was named to the preseason Doak Walker watch list, an award given to the nation's top running back. Redshirt senior FB Rob Ritrovato, who walked on to the team as a freshman, was given the prestigious single-digit #4, will also look to make an impact in the ground game. Coming off an electric preseason camp, redshirt sophomore WR Brandon Mack will also be looking to contribute to the high powered Owls offense.

Defensively, the Owls will return a menacing defense that looks to improve on an impressive 2017 campaign. Temple added transfer cornerback Rock Ya-Sin last spring and he was awarded #6 over the summer. Senior DB Delvon Randall commands the defensive backfield for the second year in a row. Randall was named to the preseason Bronko Nagurski, Bednarik, and Jim Thorpe award watch lists. The Owls also return starting DL graduate Michael Dogbe. Dogbe looks to wreak havoc with the rest of the 'Wild Boyz.' Fellow defensive linemen Quincy Roche, Dan Archibong, and Freddie Booth-Lloyd are returning to the mix this season and look to continue Temple's success on defense.

LAST TIME v. VILLANOVA
September 9, 2017. Just one year ago the Owls home opener was also against the Wildcats. Temple took a 10-0 lead into the half and extended the lead to 13-0 on a 44 yard field goal by Aaron Boumerhi. Villanova proceeded to score 13 unanswered points to tie the game with 3:29 left to play. The Owls drove down the field 42 yards on seven plays before Boumerhi kicked a game winning 49 yard field goal to seal the game 16-13 with a minute to spare.

UP NEXT
After Villanova, the Owls will have another game at the Linc as non-conference opponent Buffalo comes to town. The Owls will then have their first away game as they head to Maryland to take on the Terrapins.

TEMPLE & THE NFF SALUTE PAUL PALMER
Temple University and The National Football Foundation & College Hall of Fame announced that they will jointly honor 2018 electee Paul Palmer with an NFF Hall of Fame On-Campus Salute, presented by Fidelity Investments.

The NFF Hall of Fame On-Campus Salute program, which began with the inaugural College Football Hall of Fame Class in 1951, has become a hallowed tradition, and to this day the singular events remain the first of numerous activities in each inductee's Hall of Fame experience.

Palmer was the runner-up for the 1986 Heisman Trophy and led the nation in rushing yards (1,866), rushing yards per game (169.6), all-purpose yards (2,633) and all-purpose yards per game (239.4) that season while earning unanimous First Team All-America honors.

Palmer also tied the NCAA record with 417 all-purpose yards against East Carolina in 1986, which still stands as a school single-game record, and his 349 rushing yards in the game were a Temple record until 2012.

Palmer set 23 school records during his career and remains Temple's all-time leading rusher with 4,895 yards, the sixth-best career mark in FBS history when his career ended. He also remains the Owls' career leader in all-purpose yards (6,613), rushing attempts (935), 100-yard rushing games (21) and 200-yard rushing games (6). The owner of the top two single-season rushing performances in school history, Palmer led Temple in rushing, scoring and all-purpose yards all four seasons of his career.

Including the 2018 class, only 997 players and 217 coaches have been inducted into the College Football Hall of Fame from the nearly 5.33 million people who have played or coached the game over the past 149 years. In other words, less than two one-hundredths of a percent (.02%) of those who have set foot on the gridiron have earned the distinction.

HOME OPENERS
Temple is 63-50-6 all-time in home openers. Of those 63 wins, Temple has four wins against the Villanova Wildcats - 9/3/10, 9/1/11, 8/31/12, and 9/9/17.

SCORING MACHINES
In the last four matchups, Temple has outscored Villanova 130-54.
9/3/10 - W, 31-24         9/1/11 - W, 42-7         8/31/12 - W, 41-10          9/9/17 - W, 16-13

FRIENDLY FOES
In the matchup this week, twelve different high schools are represented by at least one player from each team who played together during high school.

High School                            Temple                                    Villanova
Manalapan (NJ)                      LB L.J. Holder OL Matthew Mazza
Cherry Hill West (NJ)             DB Rodney Williams DL Lorenzo Hernandez
Archbishop Wood (PA)           QB Anthony Russo WR Jarrett McClenton
Imhotep (PA)     RB Tyliek Raynor LB Amin Black
                                       OL Aaron Ruff
Don Bosco Prep (NJ)            OL Matt Hennessy DL Anthony Malaguti
                                   QB Frank Nutile
Lakewood (NJ)                   DB Amir Tyler DL Datrell Reed
                                     LB Chapelle Russell
                                              OL Jean Paul Rodriguez
Mt. Saint Joseph (MD)           WR Jaden Blue OL Michael Corbi
Upper Merion (PA) WR Isaiah Graham-Mobley DB Isaiah Alicea
DePaul Catholic (NJ) DT Khris Banks DB Terrell Vassel
                                                                   QB Zach Bednarczyk
La Salle College (PA) LS Cole Lerch DL Garrett Zobel
Loyola Blakefield (MD) DE Evan Boozer DL Ben Evans
Cardinal Hayes (NY) DE Antonio Colclough RB Justin Covington