One headline down, 12 more to go

By Mike Gibson
Back on Media Day, Temple quarterback Adam DiMichele said, "we're only a couple of days away from starting special."
DiMichele was talking about a season of headlines.
One of those headlines is in, the Hartford Courant's simple "Temple Routs Army" telling the story of the opening-day 35-7 win over the Cadets slightly better than the Philadelphia Daily News' "Temple Football Opens with a 35-7 Win at Army" or the Philadelphia Inquirer's "Owls Storm West Point in Triumphant Opener."
Those are the headlines that were.
These are the headlines that could be in the coming weeks and months:
Sunday, Sept. 7 _ Owls slog out a 6-0 win in torrential rainstorm _ The UConn fans who returned roughly half of the school's ticket allotment must have known something. Hurricane Hanna made a run right up the East Coast and arrived in Philadelphia just in time for the 8 a.m. pre-game tailgate. Temple abandoned its no-huddle offense and went to a pro-set two-back attack. Backup tailback Ahkeem Smith shined, gaining 167 yards and scoring the Owls' touchdown on a 22-yard run in the first quarter. UConn quarterback Tyler Lorenzen was stopped on fourth down at the Temple 2 as the clocked rolled down to zeros in the final quarter, but Big East officials awarded him the touchdown anyway. As several Temple fans headed toward the replay booth with baseball bats in hand, MAC officials quickly overturned the call. "It used to rain like this in Bethlehem all the time," a beaming Smith said afterward. "I love it." Owls' kicker Jake Brownell slips in the mud and misses the extra point.
"Harper killed us again," UConn coach Randy Edsall said, not knowing Jason Harper is no longer No. 34 for the Owls. Surveying the damage to the field post game, Eagles' owner Jeffrey Lurie was rushed to Thomas Jefferson Hospital with chest pains and did not make the opener with the Rams.
Sunday, Sept. 14 _ Owls exact messure of revenge _ The number 12 was lucky for Owls. With the No. 12 on their helmets, the Owls beat host Buffalo by the same score, 26-14. Afterward, reporters found out why No. 12 was on the helmet. It wasn't to honor redshirt quarterback Vaughn Charlton but to help the Owls remember what Buffalo's No. 12, junior defensive back Kendric Hawkins, said after last year's game. "We punched them in the mouth and they quit," Hawkins said then. Owls ran several sweeps in Hawkins' direction and pulling guard Andre Douglas pancaked him on one Marquise Liverpool touchdown run. Defensive coordinator Mark D'Onofrio unleashed the dogs of war on Buffalo quarterback Drew Willy, calling for several blindside blitzes that buried Willy. "I never saw them," Willy said. "I don't know about punching them in the mouth," D'Onofrio said. "But I did see him bleeding a couple of times. This is bigger than UConn. Much bigger."
Sunday, Sept. 21 _ Penn State's Season Goes Down the Toilet _ Penn State coach Joe Paterno was seen running off the field four times during Temple's stunning 28-21 win in State College. Remarkably, the Owls scored all four of their touchdowns during Paterno's bathroom breaks. "Guys, I take Flo-Max, OK," the 81-year-old Paterno said. "I forgot to do that this morning and it came back to bite me. I heard some cheers and a whole lot of moans while I was in the head. I figured something was going on. How did Temple score?" Paterno was later told Travis Shelton took the opening kickoff of the second half for a touchdown and former Penn State recruit Adam DiMichele tossed three more touchdown passes. "We pick up the biggest win in the school's history and I know the headline in the Philadelphia paper is going to be Penn State loses and not us winning," Temple coach Al Golden accurately said afterward.
Sunday, Sept. 28 _ Owls remain unbeaten with 16-3 win over Broncos _ A Homecoming Day crowd of 65,478 greets the Owls after their win over Penn State. Ironically, Jimmy Rollins was honored at halftime for his attendance at Temple basketball games and takes the microphone. Rollins was at the game because he was injured running out a foul ball and could not play for the Phillies. "You guys are front-runners," Rollins said, adding, "just kidding." Everyone laughed. Temple's defense dominated.
Sunday, Oct. 5 _ Owls move one step closer to MAC East title _ In a repeat performance of last year, Temple beat Miami, 24-17. This time, it was closer as the Owls' Eric Reynolds scored on a 67-yard punt return in the fourth quarter to break a tie. "This is why we practice all over the place," Golden said. "I told the guys we have to learn to win anywhere and they've adopted that mindset."
Sunday, Oct. 12 _ Owls hand Central Michigan first loss _ Long touchdown runs by Joey Jones, Marquise Liverpool and Ahkeem Smith gave Temple a 21-0 halftime lead and the Owls coasted past the defending champions, 35-14, before a stunned crowd of 18,568. "Where did those guys come from?" Central Michigan coach Butch Jones said. "I read MAC Report Online and they never said the Temple runners were that good." After the game, Joe Jones legally changes his first name to Joey. "That's in honor of coach," Jones said, pointing to Golden.
Wednesday, Oct. 21 _ Owls hammer Ohio, 41-0 _ ESPN Game Day makes a special trip to the rare Tuesday night game with Lee Corso and Kirk Herbstreit throwing bouquets at the Owls as several thousand Temple students ham it up for the cameras in the background. Corso interviews former Temple kicker Cap Poklemba, who arrives to the halftime set in a Dr. Suess hat. "You lead the cheers," Corso said. "I understand you led the cheers when no one was here. It must be sweet."
"Lee, you don't know the half of it," Poklemba said. "It's sweeter than sweet."
Owls go to 8-0 and move into the top 20 for the first time since 1979.
Sunday, Nov. 2 _ Owls sink Navy, 21-14 _ Temple uses experience gained from stopping Army's option to stopping the Middies as well. "I don't know how to say this diplomatically, but I think they found out we're not Towson," Golden said. Owls go to 9-0 and Philadelphia radio station WIP announces that it will now take calls on Temple football.
Thursday, Nov. 13 _ Owls sack Kent State, 21-7 _ Temple's defense finds diminutive quarterback Julian Edelman for nine sacks in the win. "Those guys are so tall I couldn't see over them, so I tried to duck for a view downfield and, by then, they had me," Edelman said. "It's frustrating." D'Onofrio: "We weren't going to let a midget beat us." Temple goes to 10-0 and DiMichele and Golden make the cover of Sports Illustrated.
Sunday, Nov. 23 _ Owls give Eastern Michigan an empty feeling, 28-0 _ Before an announced crowd of 5,234 that looked like 534, the Owls coasted to a routine road win. "We're not used to this," DiMichele said. "It was like playing in library but, like coach says, you need to be prepared to win everywhere. Man, I didn't know it was this cold in Michigan." Owls go to 11-0 and clinch the MAC East title by a full game over Bowling Green.
Saturday, Nov. 29 _ Record crowd sends Owls off to MAC title game _ Temple tunes up for the Dec. 5 MAC title game with a 26-7 win over Akron before a record crowd of 71,222. "It's the beginning of a new tradition in Philadelphia," Golden said. "Everybody goes to a Thanksgiving Day game on Thursday and our game on Friday. I saw a lot of turkey sandwiches in the stands." Owls spend two hours going around the stadium and high-fiving the fans afterward. Owls go to 12-0 and are mentioned as a possible BCS Bowl game foe.
Saturday, Dec. 5 _ Owls beat Central Michigan for MAC title _ Using the no-huddle offense Temple last used in the opening game against Army, Temple befuddles Central Michigan in a 35-25 win. "It's my fault," Central Michigan coach Butch Jones said. "In our game against them earlier, they pounded us running the ball. I thought they'd do the same thing so we practiced using an eight-man line. Then they go no-huddle. We got outcoached." Unbeaten Temple named as foe for once-beaten LSU in 2009 Fiesta Bowl.
Saturday, Jan. 10 _ Tigers topple Temple, 22-17, for National Title _ In an eerie end to the game at the Fiesta Bowl, DiMichele finds Bruce Francis in the back of the end zone for an apparent score but he is ruled out of bounds. Fox Replays from several angles show Francis clearly caught the ball but LSU fans insist Francis bobbled the ball. "If he bobbled the ball, why is there no video anywhere of him bobbling the ball?" Golden asks. On ESPN afterward, Corso rips the officials and says both the BCS refs and the BCS replay officials are corrupt.
"As far as I'm concerned, Temple is the national champion," Corso says.