Ranking the Top 131 College Football Programs of the Last 40 Years: 104. Temple
Temple
20 years ago, Temple was so bad, they got kicked out of the Big East for being “out of compliance with Big East membership standards including competitiveness, attendance, and facilities.” Thanks to a very good 2010’s in which they went 72-55, they made it out of the bottom 25 on this list. Located in the heart of Philadelphia, this is a proud university which has had some very nice seasons over the last 40 years.
Best Seasons and Highlights
+------+--------+------+--------------+--------+
| rank | team | year | resume score | record |
+------+--------+------+--------------+--------+
| 36 | Temple | 2016 | 11.469 | 10-4 |
| 38 | Temple | 2015 | 9.187 | 10-4 |
| 39 | Temple | 2011 | 5.127 | 9-4 |
| 33 | Temple | 1986 | 3.808 | 6-5 |
| 43 | Temple | 2018 | 2.831 | 8-5 |
| 48 | Temple | 2009 | 2.454 | 9-4 |
| 47 | Temple | 2010 | 0.311 | 8-4 |
| 44 | Temple | 1990 | -0.642 | 7-4 |
| 50 | Temple | 1984 | -2.78 | 6-5 |
| 56 | Temple | 2019 | -6.123 | 8-5 |
| 63 | Temple | 2017 | -8.919 | 8-6 |
| 78 | Temple | 2014 | -13.966 | 6-6 |
| 71 | Temple | 1983 | -21.14 | 4-7 |
| 83 | Temple | 2008 | -21.642 | 5-7 |
| 73 | Temple | 1985 | -22.952 | 4-7 |
| 82 | Temple | 2000 | -25.579 | 4-7 |
| 86 | Temple | 2001 | -26.95 | 4-7 |
| 80 | Temple | 1988 | -28.158 | 4-7 |
| 82 | Temple | 2002 | -29.378 | 4-8 |
| 92 | Temple | 2012 | -31.236 | 4-7 |
| 91 | Temple | 1997 | -36.098 | 3-8 |
| 89 | Temple | 1987 | -36.145 | 3-8 |
| 100 | Temple | 2007 | -36.636 | 4-8 |
| 101 | Temple | 1999 | -40.113 | 2-9 |
| 106 | Temple | 2004 | -43.502 | 2-9 |
| 93 | Temple | 1991 | -43.517 | 2-9 |
| 120 | Temple | 2022 | -44.241 | 3-9 |
| 120 | Temple | 2020 | -44.329 | 1-6 |
| 101 | Temple | 1998 | -44.571 | 2-9 |
| 107 | Temple | 2013 | -44.728 | 2-10 |
| 97 | Temple | 1994 | -45.557 | 2-9 |
| 99 | Temple | 1995 | -48.902 | 1-10 |
| 103 | Temple | 1996 | -50.531 | 1-10 |
| 98 | Temple | 1989 | -54.182 | 1-10 |
| 126 | Temple | 2021 | -55.225 | 3-9 |
| 111 | Temple | 2003 | -55.334 | 1-11 |
| 105 | Temple | 1992 | -56.993 | 1-10 |
| 104 | Temple | 1993 | -65.381 | 1-10 |
| 118 | Temple | 2006 | -67.761 | 1-11 |
| 118 | Temple | 2005 | -71.021 | 0-11 |
+------+--------+------+--------------+--------+
Overall Score: 2530 (104th)164-299 record
1 conference title
2-5 bowl record
3 consensus All-Americans
42 NFL players drafted
Had it not been for a stellar run of coaches between Al Golden, (cough) Steve Addazio (cough), Matt Rhule, and Geoff Collins from 2006-18, Temple would be waaay down on this list. Because of them, they have a decade’s worth of “pretty solid” years sprinkled into two to three decades of futility. All things considered, Temple has a pretty good resume here. 164 wins is the 4th most on the list so far, 7 bowl appearances is the 5th most, 3 consensus All-Americans are tied for the most, and 42 NFL players drafted is the 2nd most. They’re not pumping nobodies into the league, either. Haason Reddick, Dion Dawkins, Muhammad Wilkerson, and Terrance Knighton have all been key contributors at the next level.
Top 5 Seasons
Worst Season: 2005 (0-11, Independent)
This team was…so, so bad. Worse than I thought. Ranked last in the nation with just 9.7 PPG on offense, ranked last in the nation giving up 45.3 PPG on defense! They never scored more than 17 points, and only allowed less than 34 points once. Losses included 16-63 to Arizona State, 0-65 to Wisconsin, 7-70 to Bowling Green, 14-41 to Miami (OH), and 3-51 to Virginia. QB Mike McGann completed 49% of passes for 1469 yards 3 TD 13 INT. Temple gets credit for playing 6 Power 5 teams, but when you lose by an average of 42 points to them, does it really count for anything?
5. 2018 (8-5 overall, 7-1 American)
This was a very up and down team that probably could’ve been a lot better than they were. In true Temple fashion, they started the year by losing to FCS rival Villanova 17-19, getting outgained by 150 yards. They’d try to rebound against Buffalo the next week, but fall 29-36. Both games were at home. That set up a game between 0-2 Temple and 2-0 Maryland, who had a win over #23 Texas in their pocket. Despite being 16 point underdogs, Temple pulled off one of the surprises of the season by winning 35-14, doubling up Maryland in yardage with a 429-195 advantage. It wasn’t even close. That set off a chain reaction of goodness for the Owls, who’d finish the regular season 8-4 after an 0-2 start. Wins included the Maryland game, 24-17 in OT over #20 Cincinnati, 59-49 over 8-5 Houston, 27-17 over 7-6 South Florida, and 40+ point wins over East Carolina and UConn. Had it not been for a 40-52 loss against #9 UCF, Temple would’ve gone to the American Conference Championship. It wasn’t a stretch to think Temple could’ve beaten them either—UCF was on a 20 game win streak, but Temple would have 7 players drafted over the next 2 years while UCF would have just 2. A solid defense had 4 players make 1st Team All-AAC, and return man Isaiah Wright won AAC Special Teams POTY with 1 KR TD and 2 PR TDs.
4. 1986 (6-5 overall, Independent)
This team was led by a little coach named Bruce Arians, who was just 34 at the time. Safety Todd Bowles had just graduated a year ago as well. 1986 was the year of RB Paul Palmer, though. Palmer led the nation with 1866 rushing yards, and added 15 TD. Palmer finished 2nd in Heisman voting that season, behind Miami (FL) QB Vinny Testaverde, and just ahead of Michigan QB Jim Harbaugh and Oklahoma LB Brian Bosworth. In Temple’s midseason game against East Carolina, Palmer ran for 349 yards and 3 TD, and tied the single-game record for all purpose yards with 417. He’d go on a path of destruction after that, rushing for 239 yards against Virginia Tech, 187 against Syracuse, and 212 against Boston College. These set records for most consecutive rushing yards in 3 and 4 straight games. While Temple only finished 6-5, it was their best season in years, and Palmer was the most feared RB in all of college football. He’d be drafted 19th overall by the Kansas City Chiefs after the year, and make the NFL All-Rookie Team in 1987. Wins for Temple in 1986 included Pitt, Virginia Tech, and Rutgers.
3. 2011 (9-4 overall, 5-3 MAC)
Steve Addazio’s first year. Former head coach Al Golden, who had just left for Miami (FL), left the cupboard well stocked with talent, and Addazio took advantage before tanking the program just a season later. And boy, it was actually a very impressive year from this team. Their passing game was almost nonexistant, but they ran the ball down your throat, and had one of the best defenses in the country. 2011 Temple averaged 30.6 PPG and gave up just 13.9(!) PPG, 3rd best in the country. RB Bernard Pierce was one of the nation’s best with 273 carries for 1481 yards and 27 TD, drafted in the 3rd round by the Baltimore Ravens after the season. TE Evan Rodriguez helped pave the way, earning his second straight 1st Team All-MAC selection, and was drafted in the 4th round by the Chicago Bears after the year. Safety Tahir Whitehead was also drafted in the 5th and would go on to have a 9 year NFL career. Temple’s defense gave up 7 points or less 5 times this season, and had impressive victories like 38-7 over Maryland, 37-15 over 8-5 Wyoming, 41-3 over Akron, 42-0 over Ball State, and 34-0 over Buffalo.
2. 2015 (10-4 overall, 7-1 American)
I mentioned in the last section that Steve Addazio tanked the football program. After 2011 they went 4-7 in 2012, and new coach Matt Rhule went 2-10 in 2013 trying to clean up the mess Addazio left. He got them back on track in 2014 with a 6-6 record, and 2015 would see the most magical start to a Temple season maybe ever. Opening the season by hosting Penn State, this would become known as the “Sackenburg” game, where Temple sacked Penn State QB Christian Hackenberg 10(!) times. After that they started 7-0, and ranked #21, hosted #9 Notre Dame for College GameDay. Temple nearly beat them too, if not for a Notre Dame TD to take the lead with 2 minutes left. Temple went 10-2 for the regular season before losing the American CCG and the bowl, but one of those last few wins included 31-12 over #21 Memphis. This team was ridiculously stacked in hindsight, they could’ve competed with some of the best teams in the nation. Their offense consisted of QB PJ Walker (XFL MVP), RB Jahad Thomas (1st Team All-AAC), RB Ryquell Armstead (NFL 5th round), WR Robby Anderson (1000+ yard NFL WR), OL Dion Dawkins (NFL Pro Bowler), 2 more 1st Team All-AAC offensive linemen, 4 1st Team All-AAC defenders including AAC DPOTY LB Tyler Matakevich, and LB Haason Reddick (NFL Pro Bowler). Not to mention the kicking game was good too, Austin Jones going 23/28 on FGs.
1. 2016 (10-4 overall, 7-1 American)
While 2015 may have been a more magical year, 2016 had the slightly better resume. This was Rhule’s final year as head coach before leaving for Baylor. This time Temple lost to Penn State and Memphis after beating them the previous year—but made up for it with their other wins. A 3-3 start ended with a 6-0 regular season run to crash the American title game, leapfrogging division contender South Florida who finished 11-2 on the year. Rhule shut down the triple option in the championship game, taking a 21-0 lead early over #19 Navy and never letting up for a 34-10 win, clinching Temple’s first conference title since 1967. Also just their second conference title ever. Rhule left before the bowl, and #24 Temple lost 26-34 to Wake Forest. PJ Walker finished his senior season as by far Temple’s all time leading passer, throwing for 10,668 yards 74 TD 44 INT. Haason Reddick was 1st Team All-AAC with 9.5 sacks and 13 TFL, and was the 13th overall pick by the Arizona Cardinals in the NFL Draft.
5th Quarter
Temple fans, who’s more adored for you guys, Al Golden or Matt Rhule? Why did it take until the 2010’s for you guys to start winning if you’re a decent school and located in a good recruiting area?
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