After two straight losses and a bye week, Temple will try again to win one more game and clinch its first bowl berth since 2019.
The next opportunity for the Owls to pick up that win comes against No. 24 Tulane (8-2, 5-1 American) on Saturday (3:45 p.m., ESPNU) at Lincoln Financial Field. The Green Wave have been a part of the last three American Conference championship games, winning in 2022.
“We’re two one-point games away from being tied for first in this league,” Temple coach K.C. Keeler said at his Monday news conference.
The last loss was a gut-wrenching 14-13 defeat to Army on Nov. 8. The Black Knights held the ball for the last nine minutes of the game, spoiling a chance for the Owls’ sixth win.
“One of those games where it was a death by a thousand cuts,” Keeler said. “They had five fourth downs … and a lot of those spots could have gone either way. … So that’s a tough way to lose.”
The bye week gave Temple (5-5, 3-3) a chance to retool an ailing defense. The Owls missed safety Dontae Pollard against Army as well as defensive tackles Demerick Morris and Sekou Kromah.
The status of Pollard (knee) is not clear. Morris (leg) was back in uniform at practice. Kromah (shoulder) dressed for practice but did not take part in drills.
K.C. Keeler has coached Temple to a 5-5 record in his first season.
“So he’s going to be a kind of a game-time decision,” Keeler said of Kromah. “He’s still battling through some injuries. It’s been disappointing because not having your best defensive lineman against Army because Demerick didn’t play either and that’s not a team you can be shy defensive linemen. You need to be rolling guys in.”
Linebacker Eric Stuart and safety Avery Powell also returned to practice after being limited by injuries.
Tulane is still one of the best in the American, but it has been vulnerable at times. The Green Wave have beaten Northwestern and Duke along with two schools that topped Temple, Army and East Carolina.
However, Tulane lost to Texas-San Antonio on Oct. 30 when the Roadrunners had 391 passing yards in a 48-26 rout. Memphis also nearly pulled out a comeback victory against the Green Wave after falling behind 35-17 at halftime.
”They’re a team that if you get them down, they’re going to fight their way back,” Keeler said of the Green Wave. “They’ve been very inconsistent, and I think that probably frustrates their coaching staff.”
The Owls offense has the ability to turn the game into a shootout. Tulane is ranked last in the conference in pass defense, giving up 269 yards per game. The Green Wave also allow 412 yards per game, third-worst in the American. The Owls offense has been dormant the last two games, but quarterback Evan Simon is tied for second in the American with 22 passing touchdowns.
Simon is among 27 players who will be honored Saturday on Senior Day.
“Thank God we had him during this transition,” Keeler said. “It’s tough when you’re a senior and all of a sudden a new guy comes in … I think we came to respect each other and like each other. They’ve been a really good senior class for me. It’s been rewarding having them go through this journey with me.”
Heading into Adam Fisher’s third season at the helm for Temple, the biggest question mark surrounding the team is chemistry. The Owls added 11 new players to the roster with guard Aiden Tobiason and center Babatunde Durodola as the only returning starters from last season.
The Owls’ 2024-25 season ended in a loss to Tulsa in the American Conference tournament’s first round. The team lost leading scorers Jamal Mashburn Jr., Steve Settle III, and Zion Stanford, as well as guard Quante Berry.
Despite the changes, the optimism is soaring high before Temple’s season-opener at home against Delaware State on Nov. 5 (7 p.m., ESPN+).
“We start in a week and a half and we’re excited to be back at the Liacouras Center,” Fisher said. “Eleven new faces to the roster. So there were a lot of things this summer that we had, team-building-wise, to connect us. Putting together a team, we try to do it like a puzzle. ‘Here’s what we’re trying to look for. How do these pieces come together?’ So we were really excited about the guys we brought in the transfer portal.”
Staying home
Durodola and Tobiason were comfortable in the starting lineup last season as freshmen and have taken it upon themselves to improve their leadership.
While the Owls lost five players to the transfer portal, including forward Dillon Battie, who joined the pair in the Owls’ 2024 recruiting class and is now at Wichita State, Tobiason and Durodola never considered leaving.
“[Aiden and I] kind of talked about it. It made no sense to leave after one year,” Durodola said. “There’s no way after a game with a new team, you’re going to leave. So it was kind of like, ‘Why are you going to leave based on the first year, based on the first year’s performance?’ You always have a next year and years to come.”
Aiden Tobiason averaged 4.8 points in 22 starts for Temple last season.
Tobiason started 22 games for the Owls last season. He gave the team a lift on the offensive end of the floor, scoring 4.8 points per game, while using his length to help on defense.
The Wilmington native is expected to step into the leading scorer role, a mantle that Mashburn left behind when he graduated. Tobiason scored in double figures five times last season.
“He can’t put pressure on himself,” Fisher said. “I think that sometimes you get that pressure, ‘I got to do this, from this to this.’ You don’t, [you] just have to be who you are. … Rather than taking two, three shots like he did in some games last year, right? That could triple, quadruple this year.”
New kids on the block
With Temple losing a chunk of its core last season, the Owls are changing their philosophy approaching the transfer portal, from a more offensive focus to primarily honing in on defense.
Temple gave up 77.7 points per game last season, ranking 321st in the country. The additions of guards CJ Hines, AJ Smith, Derrian Ford, and forward Jamai Felt are expected to improve the defense.
“I think we want to play faster,” Fisher said. “I think we’re going to be more aggressive on defense. We want to create more turnovers. It’s a huge thing. Our defense has to get better than it was last year. We’re going to be a little bit more aggressive.”
Hines joins the teams after two seasons at Alabama State. Last season, he helped the Hornets to an NCAA Tournament appearance and averaged 14.1 points with 1.1 steals.
Temple coach Adam Fisher enters his third season with the program.
Felt has the chance to be plugged in next to Durodola in the frontcourt after transferring from Bowling Green. The Boston, Mass., native spent his first two seasons on the shelf due to injuries. When he played last year, he averaged 5.7 points and 6.2 rebounds. He also blocked 1.4 shots per game and was named to the Mid-American Conference All-Freshman team.
Fisher says he has a sense of the team’s potential lineup, but won’t be sure until the team begins game prep on Sunday.
“All we have to do is stay together,” Fisher said. “Anytime you have team success, individual success will come.”
When coach K.C. Keeler held his first team meeting after he was hired in December, one thing he brought up to his new team was reaching a bowl game.
Temple had finished its fourth straight 3-9 season, so for Keeler to already be talking about reaching a bowl game seemed unrealistic. But that has been his mantra: Players have to be unrealistic if they want to play for him.
Ten months later and that unrealistic vision is very much real.
The Owls’ 38-37 win over Tulsa on Saturday moved them just one win away from reaching bowl eligibility for the first time since 2019. Keeler said Monday that his team knows how close it is to reaching a bowl game.
The remainder of the schedule is not light for Temple (5-3, 3-1 American Conference), and its quest for bowl eligibility begins at home against East Carolina on Saturday (2 p.m., ESPN+). ECU (4-3, 2-1) has an explosive offense and is coming off a bye week.
“We’ve all talked about it and we aren’t going to hide from it. We know that this is a bowl-eligible game,” Keeler said. “The guys, when I mentioned that this morning in the team meeting, you can see they were already ahead of me. You can see that there is this energy that, yeah, there’s an opportunity to get to a bowl game. It would be a big deal for this program to get back to being bowl eligible.”
Turning point
Tulsa gave Temple everything it could handle. The Golden Hurricanes had a two-point conversion try for the win in overtime, but the Owls defense got the stop to escape with the win. Keeler pointed out another response from his team that arguably changed the game.
The Owls had first-and-goal from inside the 5-yard line and a chance to go up 21-10 before halftime. Instead, they failed to score on their four attempts, and Tulsa marched 98 yards to score with three seconds left to take a 17-14 lead heading into the break. Keeler told his team to take a deep breath in the locker room, and Temple went out and recovered to sneak out the win.
Temple wide receiver Kajiya Hollawayne had 10 catches for 85 yards and three touchdowns against Tulsa.
“For us to come back after what happened at the end of that first half and find a way to win, I thought that was really impressive,” Keeler said.
The Owls were led by their offense in the second half, racking up 280 yards with 205 coming through the air.
Wide receiver Kajiya Hollawayne led the team in catches (10), receiving yards (85), and touchdowns (three). Tight end Peter Clarke added three catches for 71 yards as he continued his breakout season. The emergence of Hollawayne and Clarke has helped turn Temple’s offense into one of the conference’s best, Keeler said.
“We’ll match up with most of the people in the league in terms of putting those [offensive weapons] out there,” Keeler said. “And the offensive line keeps getting better, so all of a sudden, it’s a pretty complete offense. Which I don’t think people thought we would have going into the season.”
ECU averages 293.6 passing yards, ranking third in the American. Keeler believes the Owls are about to play one of the best teams in the conference, and they need a win to be considered among the best themselves.
“When you look at the best teams in this league, you’re thinking South Florida, Memphis, Navy is having a great year, Tulane. We’re thinking East Carolina,” Keeler said. “That’s where they’ve gotten back to, and if we want to think that we’re in the upper echelon of this league, which is what we want to be, then that’s who you have to beat. That’s the mentality we have.”
On the first offensive possession of the season, Temple faced second and 9 from Massachusetts’ 21-yard line, and offensive coordinator Tyler Walker buzzed down a play call to quarterback Evan Simon.
The play, called “Buckeye,” sent tight end Peter Clarke down the seam on a double move matched up with a UMass safety. The ball from Simon, which he says was “really overthrown,” somehow found the outstretched right hand of Clarke, the 6-foot-6, 265-pound tight end.
“You look at his height and weight, and [he’s] just a big target who really makes my job easier,” Simon said by telephone recently. “The missed throws, or whatever you want [to call them], inaccurate throws, they have a little more leeway with [his size].”
Walker heavily featured his tight ends as Montana State’s offensive coordinator, and he brought the same mindset to the Owls. He recalls meeting Clarke, describing him as “big, athletic, can run and catch the ball well.”
Clarke, a native of South London, went through the NFL Academy, a platform that helps international athletes learn football. He told Walker that he watched YouTube videos to learn the basics of football, drills, and highlights.
“He’s got great ball skills, he’s super intelligent,” Walker said. “When he told me that he learned [football] through YouTube, I was surprised, because he’s got football feel that you see from kids who’ve been playing the game their whole life.”
Philly emulates his home
Clarke has put up career numbers through eight games in his junior season with 23 catches, 378 yards, and four touchdowns. He entered the season with just five catches and three touchdowns.
Football began as a hobby for him in England, where he played five-on-five games in middle school before enrolling in the NFL Academy at 16. He equates the NFL Academy to IMG Academy in Bradenton, Fla., with the way it “emulates a college football sort of atmosphere in terms of the intensity and the weight room, the attention to detail in the meetings, the time schedule of early mornings, late afternoons, and really playing on a bigger stage than just an average high school.”
Temple tight end Peter Clarke runs with the football against Howard on Sept. 6.
“The NFL Academy did a great job of preparing me just for the transition of how much time, effort and intensity you put into this thing,” Clarke said. “And then once I got here, I had great leaders in my room, people like [former Temple tight end David Martin-Robinson], who’s on the Titans now, to really show me what college football was about and how to live this life.”
When it came to choosing his future college home, Clarke said the decision was simple.
“I wanted to go to a school that emulated something of my home environment, London, in a big city, 10 million people. I come from a very, like, inner-city part of London,” Clarke said. “So I wanted to go to a school that was in a city and Temple being in the heart of North Philly, when I came on my visit, it felt like home.”
Top-rated tight end
Among the tight ends across 136 teams in the Football Bowl Subdivision, Clarke is rated No. 1, according to Pro Football Focus, with a 91.8 grade, more than four points higher than the next player.
His value on the field has been apparent this season. Clarke averages the most yards per catch (16.4) on the team among players with five or more receptions. But his preparation is what separates him, tight ends coach Chris Zarkoskie said.
“Since I got here, he’s been a kid who has a good skill set and can do a lot of different things, and a young man who works really hard and is ready when his opportunity comes, which is the thing I’m most proud of for him,” Zarkoskie said. “He takes pride in the whole body of work that it takes to be a tight end. And I think that he’s continuing to grow and evolve as a blocker, in-line and out in space.”
Temple’s tight end corps has representation from three international players: Clarke, Ryder Kusch (Canada), and Daniel Evert (Germany). David Wise is from South Philly and Jake Woods is from California. Zarkoskie said getting to coach this diverse group “is the coolest part of the game that we coach.”
Temple tight end Peter Clarke enters before a game against Miami at Lincoln Financial Field on Sept. 23, 2023.
Clarke arrived at North Broad weighing 225 pounds and has filled out his frame. He said he relishes most in proving that he is more than a run blocker by doing “freakish stuff” in the passing game. Walker and Simon agree, and both detailed Clarke’s best play this season as a pass catcher.
“If I had to pick one from this year so far, I think it would be against UTSA in the second half,” Simon said. “Our first drive in the third quarter, we refer to it as ‘the spark,’ and we went down, scored, and his catch over the middle with a linebacker right on him and safety over top that could have really taken his head off. He stuck in there, caught the ball.”
Added Walker: “Evan put the ball in a window the size of a computer screen, and you saw Peter’s big mittens just coming out of the air and catching the ball above his head. And then on top of that, being able to get the yards after the catch and add on another 15 yards, his pure size, his pure mass. He’s hard to bring down. He’s a little more fluid than people would think, just based off his size.”
The longest catch of @iam_peterclarke career to set up the touchdown!
Clarke added to his highlight reel with a career-long 50-yard reception during a 38-37 overtime win over Tulsa on Saturday. With one more win, Temple (5-3) will be bowl eligible for the first time since 2019. And you can bet Clarke will be in the middle of it all.
Temple and Tulsa spent three quarters locked in an offensive shootout.
So when Saturday’s game went into overtime, it came down to which defense could get a stop. The visiting Owls would finally get the stop they needed, as a failed two-point conversion attempt by Tulsa secured a 38-37 overtime win.
Temple improved to 5-3 (3-1 American) and is just a win away from being bowl eligible for the first time since the 2019 season. Tulsa fell to 2-6, 0-5.
The Owls got the ball first in overtime and needed just two Evan Simon passes to score: a 24-yarder to Colin Chase and a 1-yarder to Kajiya Hollawayne. The Golden Hurricane responded with a touchdown on fourth down to get within a point, but decided to go for two and the win. A jump pass was knocked down and Temple escaped with the victory.
Simon completed 24 of his 35 passes for 265 yards and five touchdowns. Three of those touchdowns went to wide receiver Hollawayne. Simon now has 21 touchdown passes and no interceptions this season as the Owls are one win away from bowl eligibility.
First-half secondary struggles
Tulsa quarterback Baylor Hayes picked apart Temple’s secondary in the first half as he went 11-of-15 for 203 yards and a touchdown.
The redshirt freshman singlehandedly kept the Golden Hurricane in the game during the second quarter. Hayes had 109 passing yards and he led Tulsa on a 99-yard touchdown drive at the end of the second quarter to give it a 17-14 halftime lead. Hayes had completions of 38 and 22 yards before throwing a perfect ball to Brody Foley in the back of the end zone for an 8-yard touchdown.
Temple’s corners struggled to keep up with Tulsa’s wide receivers and Foley proved to be a difficult matchup for anyone on the Owls’ defense. The Owls’ secondary trio of Ben Osueke, Avery Powell, and Jaylen Castleberry routinely got beaten downfield for big gains as Hayes completed seven passes of at least 20 yards.
However, Temple’s defense contained Hayes for much of the second half. The defensive front started to get more pressure on Hayes, forcing him out of the pocket and making him throw the ball away multiple times. Hayes went just 8-of-16 for 93 yards in the second half and Temple’s defense, which struggled for much of the first half, was crucial in getting the win.
Explosive offensive plays
While Temple’s defense was struggling to slow down Tulsa, its offense did everything it could to keep up.
The Owls’ offense struggled a little in the first half as it was outgained by more than 100 yards. However, Simon started pushing the ball downfield in the second half and Temple relied on explosive plays to keep pace with Tulsa.
Temple tight end Peter Clarke, seen here in a game earlier this season, had a 50-yard catch-and-run on Temple’s first drive of the third quarter that set up a touchdown pass.
Simon connected with tight end Peter Clarke for a catch-and-run of 50 yards on Temple’s first drive of the third quarter that set up a 13-yard touchdown pass to running back Jay Ducker to give the Owls a 21-17 lead. Simon completed another 50-yard pass on the next offensive drive, this time to wide receiver JoJo Bermudez. That completion set up another Temple touchdown on a 6-yard pass to Hollawayne to take a 28-24 lead.
Temple finished the game with 447 total yards of offense: 267 passing and 180 rushing.
Hollawayne has only been playing wide receiver for a couple of seasons after transitioning from quarterback, but he has developed into Simon’s favorite target. Hollawayne entered the game as Temple’s leading receiver with 341 yards and was Simon’s go-to-guy against Tulsa.
Hollawayne got the Owls on the board with a 24-yard touchdown catch in the first quarter, but truly made his impact felt in the second half.
Simon found Hollawayne eight times in the second half for 58 yards. He reeled in his second touchdown of the day late in the third quarter, which gave Temple a 28-24 lead. Hollawayne routinely made himself available as a safety blanket for Simon while also being a deep threat with his size. Hollawayne came up clutch one more time with the overtime touchdown.
Hollawayne finished as Temple’s leading receiver with 10 catches for 85 yards and three touchdowns.
Up next
Temple returns to Lincoln Financial Field next week to host East Carolina (4-3, 2-1) on Saturday (2 p.m., ESPN+).
Former Temple guard Jamal Mashburn Jr. was selected eighth overall by the Westchester Knicks, the G League affiliate of the New York Knicks, in the 2025 NBA G League Draft held in White Plains, N.Y., on Saturday.
Mashburn Jr., the son of former NBA All-Star forward Jamal Mashburn Sr., spent one season at Temple after playing three years at New Mexico under Richard Pitino. He also played his freshman year at Minnesota, also under Pitino.
His season at Temple started strong before being derailed by a toe injury in February.
Mashburn Jr. led the Owls with 22 points per game and started all 23 games before missing nine of Temple’s final 10, including its American Conference Tournament loss to Tulsa on March 13.
He provided a scoring punch for Temple after the departure of former guard Hysier Miller, scoring 20 or more points 16 times, including a career-high 34 in a double-overtime win over Charlotte.
Mashburn Jr. is Temple’s second player to sign an NBA contract this offseason. Former forward Steve Settle III signed an Exhibit 10 deal with the Miami Heat and is expected to play for its G League affiliate in Sioux Falls, S.D.
It’s starting to get really fun keeping track of Temple football again.
While it might be a bit too soon to suggest that head coach K.C. Keeler has revitalized the program, it’d be unfair to suggest that he hasn’t brought in a fresh perspective bolstered by a new coaching staff and a belief that his roster can deliver results.
It’s worth noting that Keeler, who could pick up his 276th win as a head coach this weekend with a road matchup against Tulsa on Saturday (3:30 p.m., ESPN+), has been honest with his team — and the media — on his expectations.
But it also seems like he’s put the right people in place — on the field and off — to deliver.
“I feel like they are just starting to figure out that they are a good football team,” Keeler said this week. “That’s what showed when we played Charlotte. When we played them, I think it finally came out that we’re a good football team.”
The Owls (4-3, 2-1 American) have a winning record at this juncture of the season for the first time since 2019. Now, they are eyeing a real possibility of being bowl eligible in Keeler’s first season.
After Tulsa, the road doesn’t get any easier as teams like East Carolina (Nov. 1) and Tulane (Nov. 22) await. But both of those matchups are at home, where the Owls are 2-2 and could be 3-1 if not for a late flop against Navy two weeks ago on homecoming weekend.
It appears that Temple is applying the same mentality to its season that Penn State has vowed to employ. Each week, the Owls say they are going into games trying to be “1-0.” Defensive end Allan Haye says that approach is motivating them ahead of this weekend’s game.
“Just 1-0,” Haye said during Monday’s press conference. “Last week, we went 1-0, so now it’s 0-0 coming into this week. We’re coming into this game like it’s a clean slate; and every game from now on is our Super Bowl. Every game is very important because it’s the next game. That’s just how we move and how we think.”
Who would have believed that mindset would be working better for the Owls than the Nittany Lions?
Penn State offensive coordinator Andy Kotelnicki can’t put a finger on what’s plaguing the Nittany Lions’ offense.
Choice of words
Speaking of Penn State, Andy Kotelnicki might’ve wanted to use more time to think about his response when asked about what’s plaguing the Nittany Lions’ offense.
“I don’t really have a good explanation,” he said when asked Wednesday.
Now, more was said in context, which is available on the team’s website, but that’s not what fans want to hear about a team that currently ranks 97th in the FBS in total offense with around 355 yards per game.
Temple, meanwhile, is 72rd with 381.4 yards per game. And while playing UMass and Howard isn’t the same as playing Oregon and Iowa, we’re talking about a team that went from No. 2 in the nation to an afterthought in two months.
Needless to say, Kotelnicki’s response is getting the business on social media forums from irate Penn State fans who are looking for a little more insight into the collapse of a team that reached the semifinals of the College Football Playoff just a season ago.
Fortunately, Kotelnicki and the Nittany Lions have some time to figure it out as a bye week provides a few more days before a showdown with No. 1 Ohio State on Nov. 1 (noon, Fox29).
Lincoln Financial Field becomes the home to one of the most anticipated HBCU college football games of the season when former Eagles Michael Vick and DeSean Jackson go head-to-head as coaches on Oct. 30 (7 p.m., ESPNU, tickets).
Vick’s Norfolk State will take on Jackson’s Delaware State on the same field where the two made memories for themselves and Eagles fans alike.
But arguably the most memorable moment didn’t happen at the Linc; it happened in 2010 against Washington at FedEx Field in Landover, Md., when Vick threw an 88-yard pass to Jackson on the first play of the game, part of a six-touchdown outburst by Vick.
Villanova quarterback Pat McQuaide threw five touchdowns on just 13 passing attempts against Hampton last Saturday.
Three questions
🏈 How the heck did Villanova quarterback Pat McQuaide throw five touchdowns on just 13 pass attempts in a rout of Hampton last week, and can he do it again against Albany at home on Saturday (3:30 p.m., FloSports)?
🏈 Will Penn pick up its first 3-0 start in conference play after knocking off last season’s co-champs in Dartmouth and Columbia in the last three weeks? This week, a road trip to Yale (noon, ESPN+) will answer that question.
🏈 How come no one told us about how good the football is over at Eastern University? The Division III Eagles, who play on the campus of Valley Forge Military Academy, are off to a 5-1 start to their season and are on a three-game winning streak. They’ll look to make it four in a row when they travel to take on Misericordia University on Saturday (1 p.m., watch live).
20: That’s the number of consecutive home victories Villanova would have with a win over Albany this week. The Wildcats already own the second-longest active home winning streak in college football and are coming off a 56-14 win over Hampton last weekend at Villanova Stadium.
Texas A&M quarterback Marcel Reed will lead the Aggies into Tiger Stadium in Baton Rouge, La., to take on No. 20 LSU on Saturday.
LSU’s fall to No. 20 is considered surprising, but there’s a real chance to prove naysayers wrong against SEC opponent Texas A&M, the No. 3 team in the nation. Vegas only has the Tigers as a 2.5-point underdog, and that’s because LSU boasts a 4-0 record at Tiger Stadium this season.
Looking for a channel flipper? Consider No. 25 Michigan at cross-state rival Michigan State happening at the same time (7:30 p.m., NBC10).
After Temple’s 49-14 win against Charlotte on Saturday, quarterback Evan Simon decided he wanted to give out a game ball to someone who stood out. Usually, that’s the coach’s job.
This time, it was K.C. Keeler’s turn to get recognized.
Simon exclaimed that the victory was Keeler’s 275th, which puts him in the top 20 all-time in wins among college coaches. The team erupted and mobbed Keeler.
In honor of reaching 275 career wins, Keeler took a trip down memory lane, recounting some victories that stood out and the people who helped him along the way.
“This is not just business to me,” said Keeler, who’s in his 32nd year as a head coach. “I truly want to be successful so [my players] are successful. I truly do want to help them through life. I explained this to our staff, if this is just a business arrangement, your cap is only so high. But, like, if this is truly like something where you’re in this thing together and there’s love and trust between the players and the coaches, it takes your ceiling so much higher.”
Success at Rowan
Keeler was named the head coach at Rowan before the 1993 season. He had been the offensive coordinator and was promoted when his predecessor, John Bunting, left for a job with the Kansas City Chiefs.
The Profs beat Newport News, 54-7, in Keeler’s debut as head coach, and the victories did not stop there. Rowan won 10 more games that season and played for a Division III national championship. Although Keeler’s squad lost to Mount Union in the final, it was a banner first year for him.
“First game, there’s funny things that I can remember like stopping at a rest stop on the way home with the fellas and just kind of hanging with the players and just enjoying being with them,” Keeler said. “I remember my wife made it down for the game also. And so it was a big deal. It took a lot of pressure off getting that first win. It really did.”
Keeler continued to stack wins and Rowan won at least 10 games from 1995 to 1999 under his guidance. As Rowan continued to build momentum under Keeler, there was one program that had its number, Mount Union.
The Purple Raiders beat the Profs in the national championship in 1993, 1996, and 1998. They brought a 54-game winning streak into a matchup with Keeler and Rowan in 1999 in the playoff semifinals. In that game, however, Rowan was on the right side of the outcome.
“Larry Kehres is a legend, a phenomenal football coach,” Keeler said. “We beat him in overtime out there to break the longest win streak ever.”
K.C. Keeler took over as head coach at Delaware in 2002.
Keeler won 88 games in nine years at Rowan, which set him up to land a job at his alma mater, Delaware, in 2002. That jobmeant more to him than just being a head coach. Keeler played linebacker at Delaware from 1978 to 1980 and described it as his dream job.
Without Rowan, he never would have ended up at Delaware.
“I show up at a [Rowan] team meeting, and I get a standing ovation. What I realize is those kids realize they got me my dream job,” Keeler said. “They knew how much I loved Delaware. … I got really emotional. And I’m like, ‘Oh my God, they’re giving me permission to leave.’ They got me this job. It was so powerful. There’s a couple of moments in your life you remember forever. I wasn’t expecting it. It wasn’t something that was on my radar. That was something that I’ll always remember about Rowan. They didn’t want to lose me, but they felt good. They were turning me over to my alma mater.”
Taking Division I-AA by storm
Keeler went 6-6 his first year at Delaware. It was the first time in his career he did not finish above .500. That one season was all Keeler needed to turn the Blue Hens into a national power.
At Rowan, Keeler was in a “do it all” role and got involved in everything football-related. That was not the case for him at Delaware. He moved into more of a “CEO” role in which he was more of a manager.
Once Keeler realized he needed to change his approach as a coach and trust his coaching staff, Delaware took off.
K.C. Keeler holds the trophy after his Delaware squad defeated Colgate, 40-0, in the NCAA Division I-AA championship on Dec. 19, 2003.
In his second season, Keeler guided the Blue Hens to a 15-1 record. Delaware cruised through the playoffs in Division I-AA (now known as the FCS) and faced Colgate in the national championship. Keeler lost five national championships with Rowan, but his luck finally turned at Delaware.
“We went out and won, 40-0, and had the biggest point differential in the history of a national championship game,” Keeler said. “They had me, and the energy level we came out with was off the charts. They say you take a championship, that team took a championship. That would be my most memorable win just because it’s a national championship at your alma mater and they had never won a FCS national championship.”
Keeler spent nine more seasons with the Blue Hens and amassed 86 wins, ranking second in school history behind Tubby Raymond. He was fired after the 2012 season when the Blue Hens went 5-6 and decided to take a year off from coaching.
He worked as a commentator for ESPN and for NFL Matchup. It did not take long for Keeler to realize he missed being around the game. The Sam Houston State job opened in 2014, and it was the last job available in the cycle. Keeler took it.
Once Keeler was back on the sideline, it was like he never left.
He won double-digit games in his first four years with the Bearkats, then in 2020, he won the FCS national title.
Sam Houston State coach K.C. Keeler watches during an FCS quarterfinal against Villanova on Dec. 13, 2014. Sam Houston State won, 34-31.
“We ended up beating the only three teams to win an FCS national championship in the last decade in 16 days,” Keeler said. “We beat North Dakota State, James Madison, and South Dakota State in 16 days. All three of those are the only teams besides Sam Houston now that have won national championships in a decade. Some people said there should have been an asterisk because of COVID. There should have been an asterisk because of how we did it. We had to do it during COVID and we beat the best three teams in the last decade in 16 days.”
Sam Houston’s success under Keeler boosted the program to the FBS in 2023. The Bearkats won only three games in their first year but won 10 in 2024.
On Sept. 28, 2024, Bearkats squared off with Texas State in a battle to “take back Texas.” Texas State led, 22-0, before Sam Houston stormed back to win, 40-39.
“Their whole thing was take back Texas,” Keeler said. “So when we played them, we took back Texas. That was really a cool moment for the program and for a rivalry that had not been played in 10 or 11 years.”
Keeler left as the second-winningest head coach in Sam Houston State history with 97 victories. He decided it was time to head back home.
Writing a new chapter
Keeler was hired at Temple on Dec. 1, 2024, and tasked with turning around a program that finished 3-9 for four consecutive seasons. Keeler needed seven games to surpass the three-win mark, doing so in the milestone victory over Charlotte.
Entering a road matchup against Tulsa, Temple is 4-3. Each win this season has meant a great deal to Keeler, especially the Owls’ 42-10 victory against UMass in the season opener.
“That obviously is a really memorable game because [the players] put their trust in myself and the staff, and they had results that they really hadn’t had in a while,” Keeler said. “I think we all felt really good about that, and it was a great way to start the building.”
K.C. Keeler led Temple to its fourth victory of the season Saturday after the Owls finished 3-9 in four straight seasons.
Keeler is tied with Monte Cater for 20th all-time in wins among college football coaches. He had plenty of people to look up to on the way to 275, especially his father, Ralph Keeler, and Raymond, his coach at Delaware whom he replaced.
While the milestone is special, it’s just another win in Keeler’s eyes.
“That 275 is just a symbol of the fact that I’ve done this a long time,” Keeler said. ”I coach a lot of great players, and I put together really good coaching staffs. And that’s how I got to that number. Every one’s significant. I am going to be as happy for 276 as I was for 275.”
The Monday after Temple’s disheartening 32-31 loss to Navy on Oct. 11, quarterback Evan Simon asked coach K.C. Keeler if he could talk to the team. Keeler obliged and Simon relayed the same message that the team heard from Keeler: Don’t let Navy beat you twice.
While the team already heard the statement from Keeler, it felt more powerful coming from its leader and quarterback. Simon’s message started the week right and ultimately set the Owls up for a 49-14 drubbing of Charlotte on Saturday.
The key in Keeler’s eyes, which he explained Monday, was that he sees his players finally believing that they are a good team.
Temple (4-3, 2-1 American Conference) will have to funnel that feeling on the road against a Tulsa team (2-5, 0-4) that may be better than its record shows.
“I feel like they are just starting to figure out that they are a good football team,” Keeler said. “That’s what showed when we played Charlotte. When we played them, I think it finally came out that we’re a good football team.”
A major factor in the Owls’ success this year has been their ability to win the turnover battle. They have turned the ball over more than their opponent only once, against Navy. Temple’s ability to create turnovers was on display against Charlotte.
Cornerback Adrian Laing recorded a 64-yard pick-six in the second quarter that put Temple up, 21-7. Then safety Louis Frye scooped up a fumble and scored on a 70-yard return to extend Temple’s lead to 49-7 in the third quarter.
Temple’s defense has forced 10 turnovers while its offense has given the ball away just once. That difference has been a major emphasis for Keeler and his staff.
“My thing is if you win the turnover battle in college football, you win over 70% of your games,” Keeler said. “It’s a really important thing. … It’s been a major point of emphasis on offense of, protect the rock, then on the defense, getting that thing back for them.”
Keeler’s other takeaway for the program’s best start since the 2019 season was the offensive line.
The line was one of the biggest points of concern for Keeler when he took over in December. He could not rebuild the offensive line through the portal because of how much linemen cost in the portal, so he and his staff had to improve internally.
Temple coach K.C. Keeler during a game against Howard.
Since he took the helm, the offensive line has improved more than any position group, Keeler says. The same five linemen started the first six games and did well protecting Simon and opening holes for the running backs.
Right guard Eric King did not against Charlotte because of an injury, forcing Mausa Palu into his place. Keeler feels Palu played well, displaying the offensive line’s depth. Left tackle has also shown depth as Giakoby Hills stepped in after Kevin Terry went down with a preseason injury and he has remained the starter since, even with Terry healthy.
“That unit might have made more progress than any unit I’ve seen in my career in a short period of time,” Keeler said. “I think when we walked in here, the evaluation was: You’ve got to fix the offensive line. … There’s a strong belief in the starting five. There’s a really strong belief. And obviously, losing Eric, Mausa fit in and we don’t really skip a beat. I think a lot of credit goes to my O-line coach and my strength staff.”
King is expected to return against Tulsa, Keeler said.
Despite Golden Hurricane’s 2-5 record, Keeler believes their difficult schedule disguises how good they actually are. Three of Tulsa’s four conference losses came against three of the top teams in the conference: Navy, Tulane, and Memphis.
Although the Owls are coming off a big win and are playing a bottom-tier team in the conference, Keeler wants to make sure his team stays focused.
“It’s their homecoming game, so it’s going to be a very similar situation where we have to go into a homecoming environment and we have to make sure we’re focused,” Keeler said. “We have to make sure that we bring our intensity and are locked in. It’s a great opportunity for us. When you put the tape on, you can see that they’ve done some really good things at times. It’s just that they have played a pretty tough schedule.”
Temple turned a first-quarter tie into a 49-14 rout over host Charlotte on Saturday.
In doing so, the Owls (4-3, 2-1 American)posted their first conference road win since 2019, while head coach K.C. Keeler earned his 275th career victory. The Owls’ fourth win of the season also marked their most since 2019.
Temple got the rout underway on its second possession of the second quarter when quarterback Evan Simon capped a four-play, 44-yard drive with a 5-yard touchdown run. On Charlotte’s ensuing possession, Owls cornerback Adrian Laing jumped in front of a pass from Grayson Loftis and ran it back 64 yards for a pick-six, which gave the Owls a 14-point cushion and marked the beginning of the end for the 49ers.
After its loss to Navy last week, Keeler was adamant the Owls had to wipe the slate clean to avoid a downward spiral. Charlotte (now 1-6, 0-4) made the perfect opponent for the Owls to bounce back against. The 49ers ranked 122nd in the country in scoring defense, and its lone win was against an FCS foe, Monmouth.
At first, the 49ers hung with every punch the Owls threw. They forced a Temple punt on the first drive, and when Temple found the end zone on the next drive, Charlotte found gold with a touchdown of its own.
Loftis threw the ball with ease in the opening frame. He completed six of eight first-down pass attempts and found tight end Gus McGee on a 2-yard touchown pass to knot the game at seven. The 49ers’ defense did its part as well, containing Temple’s offense to just 100 first-quarter yards to Charlotte’s 110.
Air it out
Temple’s run game couldn’t get going, so the offense leaned on its passing game. Simon, who just had a career game seven days prior against Navy, threw for 194 yards and three touchdowns, in addition to his rushing TD.
Simon’s 176 first-half passing yards opened the floodgates for an offense that averages 30 points per game. He found wide receiver JoJo Bermudez three times for 45 yards, including a 29-yard gain to get to the 49ers’ 5-yard line. The very next play was when Simon scored on a keeper to give the Owls a 14-7 lead.
Wide receiver Kajiya Hollawayne followed up on his 146-yard game against Navy with 85 on Saturday. He was on the receiving end of a 46-yard strike from Simon to pour onto the lead.
The second half was more of the same for Temple. The running game got its legs under it, with a 44-yard rush by running back Jay Ducker, who punched the ball into the end zone to extend the Owls later in the quarter. He finished the game with 114 yards, while Simon continued to deal.
Simon had one more touchdown pass before being taken out for backup Gevani McCoy in the fourth quarter.
Bend don’t break
The 49ers’ offense finished with 359 yards and coughed the ball up three times.
Laing’s pick came when Charlotte was driving to tie the game in the second quarter. Two drives later, Temple allowed Charlotte to its 40-yard line before defensive tackle Allan Haye forced a fumble that bounced into the hands of safety Avery Powell.
The Owls allowed the 49ers to amass just nine plays after the takeaway. When Charlotte started moving the ball again, the game was out of reach.
The cherry on top came when Charlotte running back Cameren Smith fumbled and Temple safety Louis Frye, who was back following a two-game absence, scooped up the ball and ran back for a 73-yard touchdown.
Up next
Temple will stay on the road next week to take on Tulsa (2-5, 0-4) on Oct. 25 ( 3:30 p.m. ESPN+).
