Temple Blown Out Again, Time to Move on from Rod Carey

By Michael Lipinski, Sports Talk Philly Contributor

The Temple Owls were blown out again under head coach Rod Carey, 42-3 to East Carolina in Greenville, SC. There’s no reason to recap the loss if you feel compelled here’s the official Temple recap. For Temple, it was the same old song and dance.  The Owls had no offense, no defense, and poor coaching. It’s amazing to think that just six years ago the Temple program was hosting ESPN’s College GameDay and playing in primetime on national television.

The numbers under Carey are staggering. The Owls are 12-17 under Carey in his three-seasons on North Broad Street. Of those 17-loses, the Owls have lost thirteen of those games by 17-or-more points. Again, the Owls have been blown out THIRTEEN times in twenty-nine games.

The list keeps growing for .@Temple_FB

13 blowout losses under Rod Carey…#Temple #TempleTUFF #GoTU #TUFB pic.twitter.com/A9b0nbffhX

— Michael “Doc” Lipinski | Broadcast Journalist (@mlipinski52) November 6, 2021

That’s Chris Ash level bad.

Opponents have scored an average of 25.9, 37.1, and 35.8 points per game in Carey’s three seasons. Not surprisingly the Owls rank near the bottom of FBS teams in the points allowed per game category. 

Offensively it’s a lot of the same story. Carey’s teams have averaged around 20-points per game which is good for 86th, 114th, and 117th in FBS rankings in 2019, 2020, and 2021. Pathetic. 

Not only is it pathetic, but it’s also hard to do. For comparison, Owls’ teams under Steve Addazzio, Matt Rhule, and Geoff Collins averaged about 30-points per game during their tenures.

Recruiting is taking a massive hit under Carey. The Owls are averaging a recruiting class that comes in at 108 in the nation. Carey has never recruited a class that ranks in the Top 100 of schools during his time at Temple according to 247Sports.com’s composite rankings. The Owls are currently recruiting at the same level as schools such as UMass and UConn. 

Recruiting at that level is not sustainable and it’s dangerous in the ever-changing conference environment. Now is not the time for Temple to be caught on the outside looking in with conference realigning on a weekly basis.

It’s time for the Owls to go back to being “tuff.”

“Temple Tuff” was more than just a catchphrase, it was a style that embodied the area and an attitude embraced by the University. Now, it’s just a distant memory. It’s time for Temple to regain their attitude and that starts with a new regime.