Simon says Temple must "triple down" in moving on from Oklahoma and preparing for Georgia Tech
Evan Simon looked wholeheartedly dejected as he answered questions following Temple’s 42-3 loss to No. 13 Oklahoma Saturday afternoon at Lincoln Financial Field.
Sure, no quarterback would feel great after weathering a 39-point loss, getting sacked three times and throwing for just 75 yards after firing off nine scoring passes in the previous two weeks, but Simon wore the expression of someone who had been deceived.
“It’s tough right now,” Simon said, “because we had one of our best weeks of practice, no doubt.”
Temple, now 2-1 headed into next Saturday’s road game at Georgia Tech (4:30 p.m., CW Network), looks much better coached than it was at this time a year ago, but all the preparation in the world couldn’t compensate for what the Owls faced Saturday in Oklahoma – a team with more high-priced talent that simply dominated them at the line of scrimmage.
Temple’s offensive line gave Simon a clean pocket on just 12 of his 30 drop backs, and the 6-foot-3, 205-pound redshirt senior went just 4-of-10 for 17 yards on the 13 occasions on which Oklahoma head coach Brent Venables, who calls defensive players for the Sooners, dialed up blitzes.
Simon initially got into his best passing rhythm on Temple’s third series, with the Owls trailing 11-0. Going no huddle out of the shotgun, Simon shook off an incompletion to tight end Ryder Kusch on first down before finding wide receiver Colin Chase for six yards on second down and then hitting wideout Kajiya Hollawayne on consecutive completions of 12 and nine yards. That set up the Owls in a pretty good spot, at second-and-1 from the Oklahoma 48.
But after Simon threw high and over Hollawayne’s outstretched right hand (a completion there would have given Temple a first down), Oklahoma’s pressure wrecked the Owls on third down, with safety Reggie Powers III lined up behind right defensive end R Mason Thomas. While redshirt-freshman left tackle Giakoby Hills occupied Thomas, one of college football’s better edge rushers, off the snap, Powers ran to their right and easily took down Simon with no one there to block him.
“They did what they wanted,” Simon said, “whether that was bring the house or play coverage, so respect to them.”
When asked how often he got the opportunity to eye up a receiver and let a route develop at least 15 yards downfield, Simon paused before answering.
“Not many times,” Simon replied. “I think that’s a fair answer. We did call plays for that.”
When asked what was on his mind following that response, Simon again kept it simple.
“Pretty disappointed,” he began, “but we’ve got to move past, because people look at Sekou (Kromah, who sat next to Simon and answered questions postgame) and I, and that kinds of sets the tempo going out into next week, so we’ve got to hold our chin high and move on.”
Speaking of moving on, things won’t get much easier next week at Georgia Tech. The Yellow Jackets, now 3-0 after upsetting No. 12 Clemson Saturday, held Tigers quarterback Cade Klubnik to pedestrian numbers (15-for-26 207 yards with one touchdown and one interception) in the win.
“Tape doesn’t lie,” Simon said. “We’re going to dive into that tape tonight, tomorrow, and we’ve got 24 hours to move on. We’ve got a great opponent again. We’re going to Georgia Tech, and we’ve got to triple down this week.”
