Out of the Basement: Temple Owls have officially moved out of last place in the CBS Sports 134-Team CFB Rankings

Basement no more! The Temple Owls football program has crawled out of the 134th spot in the CBS Sports 134 ranking after Saturday’s 28-20 loss to Coastal Carolina.

Temple University: Football School

Final from the Linc

Back at home next Saturday vs Utah State. pic.twitter.com/7TNvdp0HDR

— Temple Football (@Temple_FB) September 14, 2024

Temple Now Ranked No. 132 out of 134 in CBS Sports CFB Rankings:

Even though the Owls lost, it was their closest game to this point in the season after getting rolled in Norman by Oklahoma, and a 27-point loss to the offenseless Navy Midshipmen in Annapolis.

Coastal Carolina entered Saturday’s game at the Linc 2-0 with wins against Jacksonville State and William and Mary. I’m well aware those two football powerhouses may seem like inferior opponents but Coastal doesn’t make their schedule and took care of business

Coastal is in its first season without standout quarterback Grayson McCall, and two years into the post-Jamey Chadwell era (Chadwell took the Liberty job in 2022).

My point is Coastal is not the same program that it was two years ago, but keeping it to a one-score game was good enough for the Owls to jump not one, but two spots to 132 in the 134 rankings. This is a football program that hasn’t posted a winning season since 2019 and is currently riding a 6-21 record under their current head coach Stan Drayton.

Here is a look at some basic stats and where Temple ranks amongst FCS schools in those statistics: 

Temple is averaging 196.7 passing yards per game so far this season, which is good enough to be ranked 92nd. 

On the ground, Temple is averaging just 77.7 yards, which would slot them in at 124th in College Football. 

They are averaging 11.3 points per game as an offense, which has them horrifically tied for 132nd (again, out of 134). 

Opponents are averaging a whopping 39 points against Temple, which puts the Owls at 125th. 

Those are not very encouraging numbers for Temple. 

Through three games, here are Temples 2024 leaders in some basic statistics: 

Forest Brock leads the team with 405 passing yards (N/R) and has a QBR of 14.4, which is 130th in College Football. 

Antwain Littleton is the team’s leading rusher with 104 yards on 29 carries. 

Dante Wright has 23 catches for the Owls, totaling 236 yards and 2 touchdowns, which is good enough for the team lead in all three categories. 

D.J. Woodbury senior leads the team with 28 tackles, and is tied for the team lead with one sack. 

There has not been a player on the Temple defense to force a turnover yet this season (not counting turnover on downs).

What is coming for the rest of the season for Temple? 

• 9/21 vs Utah State (1-2)
• 9/26 vs Army (2-0)
• 10/5 @ Uconn (1-2)
• 10/19 vs Tulsa (1-2)
• 10/26 @ East Carolina (2-1)
• 11/9 @ Tulane (1-2)
• 11/16 vs FAU (1-2)
• 11/22 @ UTSA (1-2)
• 11/30 vs North Texas (2-1)

While the Owls are struggling, there could be a few wins buried in that schedule, especially with Utah State, Tulsa, and FAU all coming to the Linc.

The Owls will face some challenges, and after the unfortunate 0-3 start for Drayton and company, a winning season or even a bowl appearance does not seem likely this year. 

With that being said, staying out of the basement and giving the Temple faithful literally anything to cheer for should become the new priority, even if that means keeping it close with a mediocre team like Coastal Carolina. 

This is a city that embraced the Philadelphia 76ers and the dark days of “The Process” so for Temple/Philly students to root for complete trash every Saturday should be second-nature at this point, right?

Don’t look now, the struggling Utah State Aggies are coming to Philly this weekend. Temple could be looking for their first win since November 4, 2023 when they beat Navy.

It goes without saying, a win for Temple could push them even farther from that dreaded 134th spot in the CBS Sports CFB Rankings. For a city that severely lacks any type of college football presence and Temple being the only hope, I think that’s something we can all get behind.

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Mandatory Credit: Photo by Ben McKeown of AP Photo