"One win away" approach leads Owls into Saturday's matchup with No. 24 Tulane

Temple quarterback Evan Simon, defensive tackle Allan Haye and their head coach K.C. Keeler were equal parts measured, regretful and optimistic when meeting with reporters Monday during the team’s weekly media availability at Edberg-Olson Hall as they prepared for Saturday’s home game against No. 24 Tulane. 

For example, when Simon was asked if he had helped turn the program around, regardless of what happens in the last two games of the regular season, the single-digit quarterback stopped short of making that determination. 

“We’re one win away,” Simon said. “One win away, and I’ll talk to you next time and tell you this program has changed.”

The Owls have two more chances to gain their sixth win and gain bowl eligibility for the program for the first time in six years. Two ranked teams stand in their way in Tulane this week and No. 22 North Texas next Friday.

But it didn’t have to be this hard the way Keeler sees it, as he lamented the one-point losses to Navy and Army and wished they capitalized.  

“Two opportunities where we’re one point away,” said Keeler, “and we didn’t get that done.” 

In Temple’s Nov. 8 loss at Army, a 14-13 setback, the Black Knights drained almost 10 minutes off the clock to close out the game and limited the Owls to just six offensive possessions. Keeler described it as “death by 1,000 cuts.” 

Keeler also touched on how special this senior class has been to him since taking over the program last December. A total of 27 graduating seniors will be honored prior to Saturday’s 3:45 p.m. kickoff, and Keeler talked Monday about how he had to build trust early with the seniors and get them to trust him and his philosophies. 

No one has bought in more than Simon, whether it meant not flinching when the coaching staff brought in transfer Gevani McCoy to compete with him or telling his now-notable story of sleeping at the team’s facility over the summer for “close to six weeks,” Simon said. 

Simon threw for 2,032 yards, 15 touchdowns and nine interceptions last season before Keeler replaced former head coach Stan Drayton. Buying into what the new staff was selling, Simon said, was an easy decision. 

“You either buy in or have a crappy season,” Simon said. “And myself and the guys, we bought in because we had no other options. So really happy that we did.” 

As for Tulane, the 8-2 Green Wave are powered at quarterback by Jake Retzlaff. The BYU transfer has accumulated a little more than 2,700 total yards and 23 total touchdowns, with 11 coming on the run. 

When faced with similar dual-threat quarterbacks like Oklahoma’s John Mateer and Georgia Tech’s Haynes King, Temple struggled. The Owls allowed 282 yards and a passing touchdown and a 51-yard rushing touchdown to Mateer, and King got them for two passing touchdowns and a third on the ground. 

Keeler spoke about Retzlaff’s quarterback ability, noting his strong arm, but really honed in on his athleticism.

“Quarterback’s a stud. I was hoping he wasn’t as athletic as he was,” said Keeler. “But, boy, he can make you pay if you get out of your lanes.”

Haye spoke about how the Owls used the extra time in the bye week to watch film and break down Tulane. 

Haye, who has tallied 18 tackles and a forced fumble this season, had an upbeat take on playing two ranked teams to close out the season. 

“You know, I kind of like playing better opponents,” Haye said. “Because when they come out there on Saturdays, they’re not really trying to trick you. They believe in their players, and they are gonna do what they got to do, just run what they run. And that’s good for us.”

The American Conference has seen its share of parity this season. UAB upset then-No. 22 Memphis back on Oct. 18 in the debut of interim head coach Alex Mortensen. Twelve days later, UTSA drubbed Tulane by 22 points, a game that saw Retzlaff get benched. 

“I feel like everybody in this conference is beatable,” Haye said, “and the dudes that show up on Saturday are gonna win.” 

In terms of a measuring stick for the program, Keeler sees things the way his quarterback does. 

“To me, helping get this thing fixed is us going to a bowl,” Keeler said. “That’s kind of where my minimum standard is. So yeah, I really badly want to get us to bowl eligibility for those seniors, and there’s a bunch of them, too.”