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With Wolfe at the door, Owls going back to basics
By Kevin Tatum
Inquirer Staff Writer
Temple's young football team has seen a lot this season while going winless in its first seven games.
The Owls have faced nationally ranked teams at home and on the road. They have competed in hostile stadiums five times and played in a dome. They've lost by blowouts and in overtime.
Tomorrow, Temple must try to contain the nation's leading rusher when it visits Northern Illinois (4-3) and its 5-foot-7, 177-pound tailback, Garrett Wolfe, on the Huskies' homecoming day.
"They do other things, but this is primarily a run operation, and it's no secret who's getting the ball a lot of the time," Temple coach Al Golden said, alluding to Wolfe. "I think Ohio State knew that in the season opener, and the kid still had [171 yards rushing] against the No. 1 team in the country."
Wolfe, a native of Chicago, rushed for 1,181 yards in his team's first five games, more than any player in Division I history in that span. He brings totals of 1,368 yards and 14 touchdowns into tomorrow's contest.
Wolfe remains a Heisman Trophy candidate. His coach says he is the complete package.
"He's probably the most instinctive football player I've ever coached," said Huskies coach Joe Novak, who is 58-63 in 11 seasons with the team.
"He has great vision," Novak said. "He makes decisions on the football field, and he makes sound decisions a high percentage of the time. And even when he sometimes doesn't, he's got the speed, or moves, or something, to make a bad decision a good one."
When Northern Illinois had its four-game winning streak snapped last week in a 16-14 loss at Western Michigan, Wolfe was limited to 25 yards on 18 carries. A closer look at the contest, however, reveals that the Huskies committed three turnovers and ran only 47 plays, with a time of possession of just 21 minutes, 12 seconds.
In the first half, Northern Illinois snapped the ball only 13 times. When the game was over, the Huskies had 157 yards of total offense.
Golden said Temple hoped to follow a similar script to keep Wolfe off the field. He is averaging about 25 carries per game.
"We are looking to get some negative plays to limit his touches, and to do that we're going to have to play good defense and run the ball effectively on offense," Golden said.
In Northern Illinois, Temple will be matching up against its fourth Mid-American Conference opponent of the season.
The Owls, who will become members of the conference next year, will host two of its members, Bowling Green and Central Michigan, before completing their season at Penn State and Navy.
Temple is coming off a 63-9 loss to 12th-ranked Clemson on Oct. 12, in Charlotte, N.C.
In that game, freshman quarterback Vaughn Charlton went the distance for the first time this season, completing 13 of 25 passes for 110 yards.
The Owls also received good performances from tailback Tim Brown, who had 121 yards on 23 carries, and kick returner Travis Shelton, who set a school record of 205 return yards. In addition, linebacker Evan Cooper turned in 12 tackles.
"We took three days off after that game, and now it's time to move forward," Golden said. "This week, we got back to fundamentals. I challenged my coaches to go back to teaching and not so much game-planning."
With Wolfe at the door, Owls going back to basics
By Kevin Tatum
Inquirer Staff Writer
Temple's young football team has seen a lot this season while going winless in its first seven games.
The Owls have faced nationally ranked teams at home and on the road. They have competed in hostile stadiums five times and played in a dome. They've lost by blowouts and in overtime.
Tomorrow, Temple must try to contain the nation's leading rusher when it visits Northern Illinois (4-3) and its 5-foot-7, 177-pound tailback, Garrett Wolfe, on the Huskies' homecoming day.
"They do other things, but this is primarily a run operation, and it's no secret who's getting the ball a lot of the time," Temple coach Al Golden said, alluding to Wolfe. "I think Ohio State knew that in the season opener, and the kid still had [171 yards rushing] against the No. 1 team in the country."
Wolfe, a native of Chicago, rushed for 1,181 yards in his team's first five games, more than any player in Division I history in that span. He brings totals of 1,368 yards and 14 touchdowns into tomorrow's contest.
Wolfe remains a Heisman Trophy candidate. His coach says he is the complete package.
"He's probably the most instinctive football player I've ever coached," said Huskies coach Joe Novak, who is 58-63 in 11 seasons with the team.
"He has great vision," Novak said. "He makes decisions on the football field, and he makes sound decisions a high percentage of the time. And even when he sometimes doesn't, he's got the speed, or moves, or something, to make a bad decision a good one."
When Northern Illinois had its four-game winning streak snapped last week in a 16-14 loss at Western Michigan, Wolfe was limited to 25 yards on 18 carries. A closer look at the contest, however, reveals that the Huskies committed three turnovers and ran only 47 plays, with a time of possession of just 21 minutes, 12 seconds.
In the first half, Northern Illinois snapped the ball only 13 times. When the game was over, the Huskies had 157 yards of total offense.
Golden said Temple hoped to follow a similar script to keep Wolfe off the field. He is averaging about 25 carries per game.
"We are looking to get some negative plays to limit his touches, and to do that we're going to have to play good defense and run the ball effectively on offense," Golden said.
In Northern Illinois, Temple will be matching up against its fourth Mid-American Conference opponent of the season.
The Owls, who will become members of the conference next year, will host two of its members, Bowling Green and Central Michigan, before completing their season at Penn State and Navy.
Temple is coming off a 63-9 loss to 12th-ranked Clemson on Oct. 12, in Charlotte, N.C.
In that game, freshman quarterback Vaughn Charlton went the distance for the first time this season, completing 13 of 25 passes for 110 yards.
The Owls also received good performances from tailback Tim Brown, who had 121 yards on 23 carries, and kick returner Travis Shelton, who set a school record of 205 return yards. In addition, linebacker Evan Cooper turned in 12 tackles.
"We took three days off after that game, and now it's time to move forward," Golden said. "This week, we got back to fundamentals. I challenged my coaches to go back to teaching and not so much game-planning."
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