Temple Football Setting High Standard Ahead of Penn State Matchup

The tie between Penn State head coach Matt Campbell and Temple head coach K.C. Keeler dates back to 1999 and Division III. Campbell played at Mt. Union; Keeler coached at Rowan, and his team snapped Campbell and company’s 54-game winning streak during a playoff game. 

Keeler got the better of his first meeting with Campbell, but the Owls opened as a -21.5 point home underdog heading into their Saturday, Sept. 12 clash with Penn State. Keeler said that in watching film of the Nittany Lions’ season opening win over Marshall, their athletic defense stood out immediately. He also knows that veteran quarterback Rocco Becht could give the Owls fits. 

“I am really impressed with their defense. They’re long, they’re athletic, they have a lot of them. They’ve got five defensive ends that are all really good football players,” Keeler said. “Their quarterback has played more games than any college quarterback in the country, and he’s just so confident and just such a steady player.”

Keeler remained noncommittal on Temple’s own quarterback situation, saying that while one of Jaxon Smolik — who spent the first two seasons of his college career at Penn State — and Ajani Sheppard will eventually win a majority of the snaps, neither of them has claimed the job outright through their performance. The offensive line remains banged up: left tackle Giakoby Hills is out for Saturday, reserve tackle Luke Watson will miss several weeks, and starting right tackle Kevin Terry is a game-time decision against Penn State. As such, Temple will have to juggle who plays what position in the trenches, which they did to great success against Rhode Island.

Subdued Start to the Week

Temple rolled to a 38-14 win over Rhode Island in their season opener, riding a strong ground game and two interceptions returned for touchdowns to victory. Even so, Keeler said the Owls were disappointed with their performance upon watching film, picking up on missed assignments and other signs of rust that they managed to survive against the Rams. Penn State, he knows, will provide a different challenge.

“I was a little surprised we didn’t get a better pass rush. I think our guys got out of their lane a little bit when we allowed them to pull the ball down and make some big runs,” Keeler said.

“So let’s get back to the discipline of the game: we might not get home all the time, but we can’t open up some lanes where the quarterback can pull the ball down. Penn State will kill us. [Becht], he’s really experienced and he’s really good with his feet, pulling the ball down.”

Right guard Jackson Pruitt focused on the little things as he described the film review that led to a muted attitude at Monday’s practice. 

“Minute mistakes that you might not even see on TV,” Pruitt said. “But in the film like ‘wow, that’s glaring, that can be the difference between multiple touchdowns and no touchdowns at all.” 

Keeler, for his part, tried to keep his team upbeat. 

“You could just feel the low energy, and I think they just were disappointed that they didn’t play better,” Keeler said. “They were disappointed that they didn’t just go out and dominate. And my voice to them was very simple. When we played clean, we dominated. It’s when we didn’t play clean.”

Teaching Moment

Keeler used the subdued attitude as a teaching moment, guiding his players on how to respond to their disappointment. He noted that when his defensive line wasn’t able to get home to the quarterback, rushing lanes started to open up… and emphasized the importance of players sticking to their roles in spite of the adversity they face.

“I think Rhode Island’s a really good way to start off our season in terms of learning a lot of lessons,” Keeler said. “One of those lessons definitely was strictly teaching. When you get frustrated, don’t get yourself out of position.”

Senior linebacker Curly Ordonez, who led the team in tackles against Rhode Island, continued that thought process. Ordonez said that he and each of his teammates are just one of 11 players on the field, that they should focus on their own role and letting their teammates make the plays they need to. That approach helped them recover from a methodical Rhode Island touchdown drive on their first possession.

“Understanding ‘don’t point a finger, it’s we as a team,’” Ordonez said. “It’ll affect all of us: not just defense, the whole team. No pointing fingers. Pick your brother up, ‘it’s the next play’ mentality. You can’t go back in the past, look forward.”