Gridiron Dynasty - Rockne DIA (BCS)

[joannes3000]

From: Timothy Patel

To: Coach joannes3000

Subject: Disappointing season

Sent: 3/12/08 3:03PM

Coach,

I know it was a tough season for you, so I wanted to let you know that we're still behind you. Both Loyd Poole and myself know that you are the right person for this program and you'll turn things around next year. How's the recruiting class looking?

Timothy Patel

Athletics Director

----------

As expected, the AD is already breathing down my neck after only two seasons at the helm. If we can sneak into a bowl game next season, I should maintain my job status at "secure".

[joannes3000]

After last season's monster class, this season's class of 10 players was a walk in the park and every recruit that was offered a scholarship accepted on signing day. I tried casting a broader net during recruiting since I had so few scholarships to fill and I also had a nice bankroll built up. The result was that we had a little more dead money than usual but I think we also got a nice mix of guys by being a little more venturesome.

---------------

Offense

QB John Byrd has excellent work ethic; above average athleticism; average elusiveness; and below average stamina, strength, and technique. Byrd projects to be an above average starter in our offensive scheme.

RB Terry Hart is one of our blue chip recruits this year. Hart has the skill to be an impact player now, and he projects to be a monster at RB. He has phenomenal speed and elusiveness; excellent work ethic; above average strength and hands; average athleticism and stamina; and below average technique. His average athleticism and stamina kept the big boys from recruiting him, but we battled nearly every other BCS school within 500 miles for him.

RB Mark Smith has phenomenal technique; excellent speed, work ethic, and strength; average elusiveness; and below average athleticism and stamina. Smith projects to be a receiving threat that lacks the top-notch elusiveness to be a threat as a runner. He will be dynamite in our offense, however.

TE James Mead has phenomenal strength; excellent speed and work ethic; above average blocking; average stamina and hands; and below average athleticism, game instinct, and technique. Mead fits the bill as a run-blocker and immediately becomes a starter in our running sets. He also projects to be a serviceable receiving threat.

OL Jason Thompson has phenomenal blocking and technique; average work ethic; and below average athleticism, stamina, strength, and game instinct. Thompson will be limited by his low strength, but he projects to be an outstanding OL once he bulks up.

OL Patrick Williamson has phenomenal athleticism; excellent strength; above average stamina, blocking, and technique; average work ethic and game instinct. Williamson is nearly the mirror opposite of Thompson. He's got the raw power for our running attack but needs a little refinement in terms of blocking and technique. He also projects to be an outstanding OL once he rounds out.

Defense

DL Mike Duncan is another blue chipper we hauled in. He has excellent work ethic, strength, tackling, and technique; average athleticism and game instinct; and below average stamina. His low stamina is the only thing preventing him from being a game-changer immediately, but he projects to be a monster on our DL.

DL Harry Moore is another stud we added on defense. He has excellent work ethic, strength, game instinct, and technique; above average tackling; average athleticism; and below average stamina. Much like Duncan, his low stamina will hold him back somewhat, but he also projects to be an excellent DL.

DB David Compton has phenomenal elusiveness; excellent work ethic and technique; above average athleticism and stamina; average hands and game instinct; and below average speed. Compton doesn't have the top-end speed of a premiere DB, but he projects to be an above average member of our secondary.

DB Anthony Durham has above average elusiveness and technique; average speed, work ethic, stamina, hands, and game instinct;

and below average athleticism. Durham will perform how he looks - average. He projects to be a solid starter for us in the future.

------------

Both recruiting services placed us within 5 points, with pittsky giving us the #34 class and bhazlewood giving us the #29 class. That shows steady improvement from last season's #50 rated class. We're heading in the right direction, but the going is definitely tougher because of the level of talent we have within our division. huskerbob had this much to say about our class in his Big East preview:

"Temple Owls B

Another jump in overall talent level for the Owls. RB Hart is a future 1,500 yard back. DL Moore and Duncan both project as 80-80-80 players down the road."

Here's how the recruit rankings fell for the conference using both the pittsky and bhazlewood recruiting services:

Syracuse - 26/15

Connecticut - 29/19

West Virginia - 50/36

Pittsburgh - 22/18

Rutgers (sim) - 115/102

Temple - 34/29

South Florida - 32/42

Marquette - 24/30

Cincinnati - 37/48

Colorado State (sim) - 91/89

Depaul (sim) - 94/101

Louisville (sim) - 90/95

[joannes3000]

Season three at Temple once again got off to a good start with our recruiting class. Those teams that beat us by one or two scores last season might not be so lucky this season. We loaded up on sim schools again for our OOC slate, although we also scheduled an overachieving Tulane team that went 13-2 last season. I have that game circled as a good gauge on how much we have accomplished so far in my 3 seasons at Temple.

We should be able to notch 4 wins during OOC play and we have 2 sim teams on our conference schedule also. That should give us a healthy shot at 6 wins, although I think we can get lucky against West Virginia this season and have more wins than losses, something that hasn't happened at Temple in 16 seasons.

-------------

3/29/08 at New Mexico State

3/30/08 at Arkansas State

3/31/08 Central Michigan

4/1/08 at Tulane

4/2/08 Louisiana Tech

[joannes3000]

We opened our season on the road against sim-coached New Mexico State. Apparently my players were still shaking the rust off because we turned in a lackluster performance against a sim squad. We ran for 438/5 and passed for 47/0/0, totaling 485 offensive yards while our defense allowed 183 yards.

36-3 W

Game two of our road trip had us in State University to play sim-coached Arkansas State. Our offense got the point after just going through the motions last game. We ran for 622/7 and didn't throw the ball once while our defense allowed 165 yards.

48-0 W

We came home to face a sim-coached Central Michigan team that were 33.5 point dogs. Not wanting to disappoint the betters, we took them behind the woodshed early and often. We ran for 560/9 and only threw the ball once (incomplete, naturally). Our defense remained stout against the inferior competition, allowing only 196 total yards.

7-63 W

Things get much more serious now, as we went down to New Orleans to face Tulane. They finished 13-2 last season and are now being coached by one of the better coaches in GD. We went into halftime trailing 17-3 but mounted an epic 2nd half comeback, highlighted by the game-tying FG with 2 seconds left in regulation. We played into the wee hours of the night, but came out victorious in 4 OTs after Tulane was unable to convert for 2 points. We ran for 288/5 and passed for 177/2/0, totaling 465 yards for our offense while our defense allowed 452. This was a huge win in terms of confidence going into conference play! The opposing coach even sent me a congratulatory message after the game.***

55-53 (4OT) W

We came home victorious to face Louisiana Tech, a human-coached team that we were favored against by 33.5 points. By halftime we were within half a point of covering the spread and we continued to throttle the team in the 2nd half. We ran for 728/8 and passed for 42/1/0, totaling 770 yards for our offense while our defense allowed 199. Our star runner Miguel Munoz had 297 yards and 4 TDs, while backup Herbert Fink ran for 270/3. Even 3rd stringer Scott Pierce had 116 yards!

14-61 W

------------

Fueled by our upset win against Tulane, 7 wins is nearly a lock since we will play 2 sim teams during conference play. And in looking at how we won our games so far, you don't have to look any further than our stud DL that we recruited this offseason. Duncan is my 3rd leading tackler with 14 from his DL spot and Moore has 9 tackles which ties him for 6th. As they continue to grow both physically and mentally they will only get better, and they give me hopes of pulling at least one upset during conference play.

Interdivisional play brings a mixed bag. We should beat sim-coached DePaul. We should lose against western division power Marquette. The road game against South Florida is the wildcard game, and one of the two games that I feel we have a chance in pulling an upset.

As things stand now, 7 wins probably won't get us bowl eligible because of what will probably be a weak SOS. If I can engineer an upset against either South Florida or West Virginia and get to 8 wins, however, we should be a lock for at least a level 1 bowl bid.

------------

4/3/08 at South Florida

4/4/08 #3 Marquette

4/5/08 DePaul

------------

***Here is the message I got from the coach at Tulane after our game:

From: bhouska

To: joannes3000

Received: 4/1/2008 6:59:00 PM

Subject: Temple vs. Tulane

Message: Good game. Great comeback by you. I didn't think I needed to make adjustments considering you had 3 points at the half.....well, I guess I did need to.

[AHF]

That game sounds like the epic Georgia/Auburn game from about 12 years ago. Nice win!

[joannes3000]

Conference play began with a trip down to Tampa Bay to face South Florida. We played up to expectations in the first half, going into halftime with a 16-14 lead. Unfortunately, my guys must have gone to the beach ahead of schedule because we sure as hell didn't show up in the 2nd half as we got outscored 28-7 and allowed a close game to turn into a blowout. We ran for 190/2 and passed for 114/0/0, totaling 304 offensive yards while our defense allowed 440 yards.

23-42 L

We didn't have time to feel sorry about a golden opportunity lost because #10 Marquette was coming to town. We staked ourselves to a 17-10 lead at the half and got the ball first in the 2nd half. We ended up punting on that ever-important first possession and Marquette tied things up going into the final frame. We took a 7 point lead with 10 minutes to go, only to watch that evaporate, giving up 10 unanswered points in 4 minutes.

But... With less than 2 minutes left in the game, we drove 80 yards and threw the game-winning TD pass with 23 seconds on the clock!

We ran for 282/2 and passed for 119/2/0, totaling 401 offensive yards while our defense allowed 346 yards.

27-31 W

Sim-coached DePaul made their way to our home field and didn't know what hit them A 27-3 halftime lead snowballed even further in the 2nd half. We ran for 559/6 and passed for 97/2/0, totaling 656 offensive yards while our defense allowed 255 yards.

3-55 W

-----------

I was ready to jump off a bridge after our unexplainable meltdown against South Florida. I've seen games get out of hand, but it's due mainly to depth issues that we don't really have. It literally seemed like we just didn't show up to play in the 2nd half of that game. Redemption was sweet against Marquette, however, because that win allowed us to get 7 wins before divisional play.

Divisional play looks as brutal as ever, with every human-coached team being ranked. Our final win will likely come against sim-coached Rutgers, and we might be able to pull an upset against West Virginia. A win against Rutgers will give us 8 for the year, which should lock us up for a bowl bid.

-----------

4/6/08 #12 Connecticut

4/7/08 at #25 West Virginia

4/8/08 Rutgers

4/9/08 at #24 Pittsburgh

4/10/08 at #4 Syracuse

----------

Here's the headline from the National news after our game against Marquette:

Fox Sports #10 Marquette can't close out the game against #38 Temple, 27-31 4/4/08 3:03 PM

[joannes3000]

We start divisional play at home against powerhouse UConn and I was happy to only lose by 15. We ran for 132/1 and passed for 139/2/0, totaling 271 offensive yards while our defense allowed 417 yards.

38-23 L

We then headed on the road to face a West Virginia team that we nearly beat last season. The game was tied at 21 going into the 4th, but West Virginia had a lead late in the game. We got the ball with 2 minutes to go and stormed down the field. With 3 seconds left, we lined up at their 5 yard line and came up short. We ran for 263/1 and passed for 159/2/0, totaling 422 offensive yards while our defense allowed 448 yards.

21-28 L

After the demoralizing loss against West Virginia, we came home to face sim-coached Rutgers. We played like we hadn't fully recovered from the last game, taking a 1 point lead into the half and not putting the game away until the 4th quarter. We ran for 343/4 and passed for 127/0/0, totaling 470 offensive yards while our defense allowed 389 yards.

17-30 W

Our lackluster performance against Rutgers didn't give me much hope as we went on the road against Pittsburgh. We kept the game close (30-21) until the 4th quarter when the wheels fell off. We ran for 108/0 and passed for 136/3/0, totaling 244 offensive yards while our defense allowed 515 yards.

21-50 L

As if we needed to face a tougher foe, Syracuse was fresh off their first loss of the season when we came rolling into town. The game was over in the first quarter. We ran for 178/0 and passed for 147/2/0, totaling 325 offensive yards while our defense allowed 634 yards.

17-66 L

------------

While we hit the 8 win mark, and while I expected to only contend for a possible 2 wins down the stretch, it still bothers me that we're literally backing into a bowl game. I would've felt better if we pulled out a win against West Virginia and gone 2-3 to end the season rather than going 1-4. Our team is better than that.

Enough with the doom and gloom. We still managed to end the regular season with an 8-5 record, flipping last season's 5-8 finish. And as I've been saying for quite some time now, our 8 wins alone should all but guarantee us a bowl bid. We also have a respectable SOS this season, managing a #45 WIS ranking even with our 5 losses, which will strengthen our case. At the very least we should get into a level 1 bowl game, but I think we have an outside shot at a level 2 bid due to our high SOS.

[AHF]

It looks like your second reclamation project is on its way up. Thanks for the continued updates.

[joannes3000]

Don't thank me, thank my obsessive-compulsiveness.

[joannes3000]

From: Timothy Patel

To: Coach joannes3000

Subject: Congratulations, Coach!

Sent: 4/11/08 2:59PM

I just got off the phone with the organizers of the Insight.com Bowl and I've accepted their invitation. Great job this year, Coach. I think the exposure we will get playing in this game will really help out the program, not to mention recruiting next season.

Keep up the good work!

Timothy Patel

Athletic Director

Temple University

-----------

Bowl bids were announced a short while ago and we made the cut! After the dust settled from the CC games, we were still ranked #45. That, coupled with our 8-5 record earned us a spot in the level 2 Insight.com Bowl. Our opponent is San Jose State and I'll have a tale-of-the-tape tonight.

[AHF]

Quote:

---

Don't thank me, thank my obsessive-compulsiveness.

Umm....thank you OCD.

[joannes3000]

Our 8-5 record nets us a matchup against WAC CC runner-up San Jose State. This is a team that can't be written off simply because they are from a non-BCS conference. Being in CA, they have access to a lot of recruits. They have also been human-coached for 11 consecutive seasons. They also aren't strangers to bowl games, having gotten a bid for 9 consecutive seasons; although they boast a 1-8 record in those games. The bottom line is that I expect this team to not only be as good as we are on paper, but they could very well be better.

Temple OL vs SJS DL - push. Our OL averages 81/84/71 with an average stamina of 56. SJS's DL averages 85/83/68 with an average stamina of 54. They run a rather unique 3-4 / 4-4 hybrid against the run and only have 6 active DL (one RS), so we could have an advantage there due to sheer numbers.

Temple passing offense vs SJS passing defense - advantage Temple. I see the SJS secondary as a weakness because their average Game Instinct is 59, which to me would be remarkably low for a DIAA team. They are fast, however (avg. speed 84), so maybe they're able to make up for the low GI.

Another thing to consider is that they will likely defend our passing game out of the 3-4 or 4-4 the majority of the time, meaning their LBs will factor into coverage also. Their average GI? 60.

As you know, our passing game is traditionally a complimentary part of our offense but when you see something like this, you might just want to open up the passing attack a bit.

Temple running offense vs SJS running defense - advantage Temple. Here's what we know:

[*]SJS plays a 3-4 / 4-4 defense and only has 6 active DL

[*]Their LBs average 62/63/77/80/60 (ATH/SPD/STR/TKL/GI) with an average stamina of 55.

[*]Our RBs average 63/85/77/87 (ATH/SPD/STR/ELU) with an average stamina of 57.

SJS can't productively play a 4-4 all game long with only 6 active DL. They probably couldn't play a 4-4 throughout a prolonged offensive drive. And while the OL/DL matchup is close in terms of talent, I think our running game can be in line to have a good day, especially if we can put together a long drive or two to start the game.

Temple DL vs SJS OL - advantage SJS. The SJS OL averages 86/86/67 with an average stamina of 66. Our DL averages 79/82/67 with an average stamina of 53. Unless we crank up the aggressiveness, we likely won't be applying much pressure into the backfield.

Temple passing defense vs SJS passing offense - push. The SJS passing game is triggered by an above average SR QB that has athletic but not so technically sound WRs. I think our DBs can hold their own, and hopefully we can put together a little bit of a pass-rush.

Temple running defense vs SJS running offense - advantage SJS. This is the biggest area of concern for me. SJS has a trio of great RBs, headlined by superstud Carl Carillo who boasts an 89/88/89 in SPD/STR/ELU. Coupled with his 69 stamina, that means we will see him as often as SJS wants us to. Their advantage up front on the line will only make things tougher for us.

------------

I think the key to the game will be who's defense puts together enough stops and/or turnovers. I think SJS will have an easier time executing on offense, putting the pressure on our defense to step up. And while our offense should also do well, there's pressure on them to execute as well. The best defense for us will clearly be to keep the SJS offense on the sideline.

[joannes3000]

We started off our bowl game about as bad as you could possibly do so. We got the ball first and advanced the ball to nearly midfield before being forced to punt. Our punt was unceremoniously returned for a TD, and we were in a deficit before we knew what happened. After crossing midfield we caught a huge break when SJS had one of the DL go down with an injury, which left them with 5 active players for the remainder of the game. We capitalized on the opportunity by scoring a game-tying TD. SJS showcased Carl Carillo during their next possession, as he was a part of 7 of their 10 plays en route to a TD and a 14-7 lead going into the 2nd quarter.

Our running attack started gaining momentum at the end of the 1st quarter and we quickly tied the game at 14 to start the 2nd. On the next SJS possession, we put a big hit on Carillo and forced a fumble at midfield that we recovered. After 4 straight runs we were knocking at the door on the 10 yard line, but a false start had us facing a 3rd and 7 from the 15. We lined up in the Pro set as usual and caught the defense napping, as WR got wide open in the endzone to take a 21-14 lead. We forced a punt on the next SJS possession, but were unable to capitalize as we were forced to punt as well. Then of course, our defense was caught napping as we allowed a 27 yard pass followed by a 51 yard bomb, and just like that the game was tied at 21. We crossed midfield with 1 minute to go and elected to go for it on 4th and 4, only to throw an incomplete pass. Our defense saved the day, however, by forcing a punt to end the half after SJS started with the ball at midfield with just under a minute to play.

SJS came out passing in the 2nd half, which was an adjustment from the 1st half, and it came back to bite them on their first possession. Facing a 3rd and 2, they elected to pass the ball and we forced an incomplete pass and a punt to open the 3rd quarter. Knowing the SJS DL was short on bodies, our offense knew what they needed to do. Our next possession featured 9 runs, with the only 2 pass attempts coming on 3rd down, on our way to a TD. The next SJS possession was cut short yet again by a forced fumble and our offense went right back to grinding away rushing yards on our way to another TD. The 3rd quarter closed with SJS driving into our redzone, but with us holding a comfortable 35-21 lead.

With SJS on our 24, our defense made sure to do all that it could to win the game by sacking the QB for a 6 yard loss on 3rd and 3. So rather than scoring a TD, or even a FG, we forced a punt. Almost as important as the forced punt was the fact that our offense was headed back onto the field. Starting at our 20, we ran the ball non-stop on our way to a back-breaking TD. By now the SJS defense was playing players out of position at DL, and I knew that didn't give them much of a chance. Our defense put the final nail in the coffin as they came up with another sack on a 3rd and 7. With 2 minutes to go, we ran the clock out and wrapped up the win.

41-21 W

-----------

We ran for 403/3 and passed for 117/3/0, totaling 520 offensive yards while our defense allowed 264 yards. Quite possibly the most telling stat was TOP, which we dominated - 40:27 to 19:33! Our game plan worked to perfection, as we pitched a shutout in the 2nd half, led by our ability to run the ball consistently and keep their offense from getting on the field before it was too late.

-----------

It was absolute bedlam in Philadelphia as we came home with a bowl win. It had been 16 seasons since Temple last had a winning season; 16 seasons since Temple got a bowl invitation; and 18 seasons since Temple had a bowl win. In one triumphant season, we put all of those streaks to an end!

37 joannes3000 9-5 3-5 5-1 3-4 45 Insight.com Bowl - Won

36 joannes3000 5-8 1-7 0-3 5-5 84 No bowl invitation.

35 joannes3000 1-12 1-7 0-6 1-6 108 No bowl invitation.

34 Sim AI 0-13 0-8 0-6 0-7 104 No bowl invitation.

33 Sim AI 2-11 1-7 2-4 0-7 92 No bowl invitation.

32 Sim AI 2-11 1-7 2-4 0-7 87 No bowl invitation.

31 Sim AI 3-10 2-9 3-4 0-6 91 No bowl invitation.

30 Sim AI 2-11 2-9 2-5 0-6 NR No bowl invitation.

29 Sim AI 1-12 1-10 0-7 1-5 NR No bowl invitation.

28 Sim AI 1-12 1-10 1-5 0-7 NR No bowl invitation.

27 Sim AI 4-9 4-7 2-5 2-4 NR No bowl invitation.

26 Sim AI 4-9 3-8 3-4 1-5 NR No bowl invitation.

25 Sim AI 2-11 2-9 1-6 1-5 NR No bowl invitation.

24 Sim AI 4-9 2-9 3-4 1-5 NR No bowl invitation.

23 Sim AI 5-8 5-6 2-4 3-4 NR No bowl invitation.

22 Sim AI 6-7 5-6 4-4 2-3 NR No bowl invitation.

21 98average 10-4 9-2 4-1 6-2 NR Sun Bowl - Lost

20 98average 10-4 8-3 7-0 3-3 NR Silicon Valley Bowl - Lost

19 98average 10-4 8-3 4-3 5-1 NR Holiday Bowl - Won

We still have quite a long way to go, however, in our attempt to turn around the Temple program, but things could be shaken up quite dramatically next season. There are rumblings from UConn that their coach may be retiring. The coach at Marquette has said the same thing, although he may be interested in moving to UConn if the job does open up. Either way, it makes recruiting a little easier for me, since the new coach won't have any carryover money.

[joannes3000]

Oh, this is getting old.

From: Timothy Patel

To: Coach joannes3000

Subject: Rebuilding?

Sent: 4/16/08 3:03PM

Coach,

I know it was a tough season for you, so I wanted to let you know that we're still behind you. Both Loyd Poole and myself know that you are the right person for this program and you'll turn things around next year. How's the recruiting class looking?

Timothy Patel

Athletics Director

----------

9 wins, including our bowl win, just isn't enough to satisfy the Temple AD. Maybe if I got 10 wins and doubled last season's win total... My job security has dropped for three consecutive seasons now, leaving me at "little to no jeopardy"; two steps from being fired. Going into season 4 and having a complete roster should help us start righting the ship as far as my job security goes, so I'm not terribly concerned.

-----------

And in other news, we've had not only one, but two huge changes in the Big East this offseason so far. The rumored retirement of coach brendadjod from UConn came true today, as he stepped away from an awesome team. Here's the breakdown during his tenure:

37 brendanjod 14-1 9-0 4-1 8-0 3 Conference Champion

Fiesta Bowl - Won

36 brendanjod 13-2 9-0 4-0 7-2 4 Conference Champion

Rose Bowl - Won

35 brendanjod 14-1 9-0 6-0 7-0 2 Conference Champion

WIS Championship Game - Lost

34 brendanjod 13-2 8-1 4-0 8-1 6 Conference Champion

Sugar Bowl - Lost

33 brendanjod 15-0 9-0 6-0 7-0 1 Conference Champion

WIS Championship Game - Won

National Champion

32 brendanjod 15-0 9-0 6-0 7-0 2 Conference Champion

WIS Championship Game - Won

National Champion

31 brendanjod 11-3 9-2 7-0 4-2 19 Cotton Bowl - Lost

30 brendanjod 12-2 10-1 6-0 6-1 11 Capital One Bowl - Lost

29 brendanjod 11-3 10-1 6-1 5-1 NR Cotton Bowl - Lost

28 brendanjod 11-3 9-2 6-1 5-1 NR Capital One Bowl - Lost

Not only that, but a completely unannounced move was also made today, with coach huskerbob stepping down from the Syracuse program! Here's his coaching history:

37 huskerbob 12-2 7-1 6-0 6-1 4 Rose Bowl - Lost

36 huskerbob 11-3 7-1 6-0 4-3 19 Music City Bowl - Won

35 huskerbob 11-3 7-1 5-1 6-1 21 Cotton Bowl - Lost

34 huskerbob 13-1 7-1 7-1 5-0 9 Sugar Bowl - Won

33 huskerbob 12-2 6-2 7-0 4-2 11 Humanitarian Bowl - Won

32 huskerbob 12-2 7-1 5-2 6-0 14 Outback Bowl - Won

And last, but not least, zarquon, the now former head coach at West Virginia, has also stepped down:

37 Zarquon 9-5 5-3 4-2 5-2 34 Emerald Bowl - Lost

36 Zarquon 9-5 5-3 3-3 5-2 47 Las Vegas Bowl - Won

35 Zarquon 8-6 4-4 3-4 5-1 43 Continental Tire Bowl - Lost

34 Zarquon 9-5 5-3 5-1 3-4 38 Houston Bowl - Won

33 Zarquon 9-5 6-2 4-3 4-2 34 Houston Bowl - Won

32 Zarquon 8-6 5-3 2-4 5-2 51 GMAC Bowl - Won

31 Zarquon 9-5 7-4 6-1 3-3 34 Sun Bowl - Lost

30 Zarquon 8-6 7-4 3-3 4-3 NR Hawaii Bowl - Won

29 Zarquon 11-3 8-3 6-1 4-2 NR Continental Tire Bowl - Won

28 Zarquon 13-1 10-1 8-0 4-1 13 Gator Bowl - Won

27 Zarquon 8-6 8-3 4-1 4-4 NR Houston Bowl - Lost

26 Zarquon 10-4 9-2 5-2 5-1 NR Sun Bowl - Lost

25 Zarquon 9-5 7-4 6-2 3-2 NR Las Vegas Bowl - Lost

That's two HUGE vacancies at the top of not only our division and conference, but also all of DIA. Both UConn and Syracuse went to BCS bowl games this past season, with Syracuse narrowly missing out on a NC bid by mere points in the final computer rankings. That should bode well for us somewhat during recruiting, since any new coach taking the position won't have any carryover money. With teams having that much prestige, however, it shouldn't make much of a noticeable difference. Chances are, those positions will be filled by some excellent coaches any how.

On a whim, however, I have applied for both the UConn and Syracuse job, in that order. I would highly doubt that my current track record at Temple will do me any favors when other coaches begin to apply. We'll see how things turn out, however, so stay tuned. I'll update things as the jobs get filled.

[AHF]

Quote:

---

Oh, this is getting old.

From: Timothy Patel

To: Coach joannes3000

Subject: Rebuilding?

Sent: 4/16/08 3:03PM

Coach,

I know it was a tough season for you, so I wanted to let you know that we're still behind you. Both Loyd Poole and myself know that you are the right person for this program and you'll turn things around next year. How's the recruiting class looking?

Timothy Patel

Athletics Director

This is a real problem with the software that they need to address if they want people to invest the time in turning around the dregs of the league.

[joannes3000]

Agreed. It won't be a major complaint of mine until I get within 1 step of getting fired, which is "in jeopardy". The common thought is that it's far better to abandon ship and start somewhere fresh rather than stick around and risk getting fired. Apparently getting fired kills your chances of getting a job on the current level you get fired from and often times the one below it.

For example, if I get fired from Temple (BCS), I'll won't sniff another BCS job and will likely have to settle for a non-BCS job at best. That's not exactly being stuck between a rock and a hard place, because I'd lateral to another school without feeling bad, but it defeats the purpose of trying to rebuild programs when there is little to no incentive to do so.

-------

Decent lead-in to the next topic at hand, which is the two applications I put in. I was promptly denied the Syracuse job at 5:30 PST and then was denied the UConn job at 8:30 PST - losing out both times to a coach with a better coaching history. The correlation is this - had I chosen to stay at Appalachian State to pad my resume, I could've landed a better initial DIA job. From there I could've padded my resume further and waited for a near-elite school (only missing the built-in recruiting advantage) like UConn or Syracuse to open up and likely made the jump with no problem. As it is, I chose to shorten my stays at DIAA and non-BCS DIA to take the reclamation project of Temple for personal satisfaction; which killed my competitive chance at landing either school when they opened up.

Am I bitter? I guess a little bit because I want to try my hand at a school that's better. Plus, you get no reprieve whatsoever even at the crappiest of schools to rebuild. In the end it was my choice to do so, and I think I'll be able to get Temple turned around before I get fired. But these types of situations (loss of job security, inability to move "up") make me almost reconsider my decision. Oh well. We've got work to do so we can win 10 games next season.

[joannes3000]

Season recap/recruiting needs

We only had 8 scholarships to fill for season 38, but half of them - yes, half - were LBs. Obviously, we will be looking to work on this ridiculous imbalance. It's never a good thing to have a mass exodus in any position, but I chose to balance out my DL classes before my LB classes because the DL is more critical in my defensive philosophy. Other than the zillion LBs we need, recruiting was pretty average this year as far as areas of need.

---------------

Offense

WR Robert Erickson is a blue chip receiver that we typically don't go after due to our offensive philosophy. He has excellent speed and hands; above average work ethic; average athleticism, elusiveness and technique; and below average stamina. He becomes an immediate starter with big play potential who is already our 2nd best receiver.

OL Mark Hull is an above average linemen that projects to be an excellent starter. He has phenomenal athleticism and work ethic; excellent strength and technique; above average stamina and blocking; and below average game instinct. He won't be an instant starter on a veteran OL, but he will be one of the top backups.

OL Richard Perez is Hull's bookend on the line and also projects to be an excellent starter. He has phenomenal work ethic, strength, and technique; average athleticism and game instinct; and below average stamina and blocking. He isn't a stud right now, but he projects to be a monster by next season when he will start.

Defense

DL Frederick Watkins is one of several blue chip recruits we landed on defense. In fact, one recruiting service has him ranked as the #3 DL prospect! He has phenomenal technique; excellent athleticism, work ethic, stamina, and tackling; above average strength; and below average game instinct. He immediately cracks the bottom of the starting rotation and projects to be a difference-maker on defense.

LB Joshua Baker is a nice addition to our LB unit. He has excellent tackling; above average speed, game instinct, and technique; average work ethic and strength; and below average athleticism and stamina. He projects to be an above average player.

LB Steven Fleming is another blue chip addition on defense that is ranked the 23rd best LB. He has excellent tackling, game instinct, and technique; average speed and work ethic; and below average athleticism, stamina, and strength. He'll take a season to round out the rough edges, but he projects to be a nice cornerstone.

LB Richard Pittman, the #24 LB, is the 2nd blue chip LB we landed and one of our top recruits overall. He has phenomenal strength and tackling; excellent stamina; average speed, work ethic, game instinct, and technique; and below average athleticism. He is already a tackling machine and should round out into a force when he gets a little faster.

LB Joseph Williams is a former DB that converts to the final blue chip recruit on our reloaded defense. He is ranked as high as #9 at LB. He has phenomenal speed; excellent work ethic and technique; above average athleticism; average stamina, tackling, and game instinct; and below average strength. He is going to be a ballhawk that steps in immediately as the #1 LB in our passing defense.

------------

Overall I think this was the best class we've landed at Temple by quite a margin. I thought that we'd have to settle on at least one LB, seeing as how we needed to recruit four of them. And while we lost some of the top recruits to Penn State and Boston College, you can see that we landed our fair share of difference makers at the position. We also landed a surprise stud DL and WR. I honestly can't name one bad recruit in this class of 8.

The pittsky recruit rankings aren't out yet, but here's how the recruit rankings fell for the bhazlewood recruiting services:

Syracuse - 30

Connecticut - 17

West Virginia - 45

Pittsburgh - 79 (coach was unfortunately absent during most of recruiting)

Rutgers (sim)- 91

Temple - 20

South Florida (sim)- 94

Marquette - 60

Cincinnati - 46

Colorado State (sim)- 99

Depaul (sim) - 89

Louisville (sim) - 105

[joannes3000]

More in-depth analysis provided to you by my GD Conference Previews:

Rockne Season 38

[joannes3000]

The pittsky recruit rankings were just released, so here's how the recruit rankings fell for them and the bhazlewood recruiting services:

Syracuse - 28/30

Connecticut - 14/17

West Virginia - 39/45

Pittsburgh - 78/79 (coach was unfortunately absent during most of recruiting)

Rutgers (sim)- 86/91

Temple - 15/20

South Florida (sim)- 116/94

Marquette - 66/60

Cincinnati - 53/46

Colorado State (sim)- 96/99

Depaul (sim) - 93/89

Louisville (sim) - 97/105

[joannes3000]

Even though we landed a consensus top 20 recruiting class, the effects won't be as dramatic since it was a small group of players coming in (8 recruits). Now that we have a roster full of our own players, it's time to put up or shut up. We bumped up our OOC schedule to include #1 USC and have no sim teams on tap. I'd like to think that we can go 4-1, but a more realistic goal would be 3-2.

With possibly 5 winnable games during conference play, we have a shot at matching last season's mark of 9 wins. With our increased SOS, it should be enough to get us to a level 3 bowl game this season and a chance to start regaining the job security I've lost over the past three seasons.

---------

5/3/08 Arizona

5/4/08 at Ohio

5/5/08 USC

5/6/08 at Ole Miss

5/7/08 at Hawaii