Blue and Gold Illustrated

Preseason 2017

Blue & Gold Illustrated: America's Foremost Authority on Notre Dame Football

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66 PRESEASON 2017 BLUE & GOLD ILLUSTRATED BY BRYAN DRISKELL I t seems like we've been here be- fore. A new head coach at Temple is making his debut on the road in Notre Dame Stadium. Four years ago it was Matt Rhule. This year it is Geoff Collins, who spent the last two years running the defense at Florida. The Irish defeated the Owls 28-6 in that first contest, and Rhule's first season finished with a 2-10 record. Over the next three years, though, the Owls compiled a 26-14 record and posted back-to-back 10-win sea- sons (2015 and 2016) for the first time in school history. Rhule departed for Baylor and Collins is now the lead man at the Philadelphia school. Rhule and Collins coached to- gether at Western Carolina (2002-05) and have remained friends. Rhule left his buddy and colleague with a program in much better shape than it was when he took over in 2013 (the Owls were coming off a 4-7 season). "The parallels between Geoff Col- lins and Matt Rhule are kind of in- teresting," said John DiCarlo, pub- lisher of OwlScoop.com. "Not only are they friends and they know each other, but Geoff's making his debut at Notre Dame. Matt made his head coaching debut at Notre Dame, but the team that Geoff Collins is taking out there is much better … Geoff's inheriting a lot more talent." Collins' past relationship with Rhule, and his awareness of the re- cent climb, has allowed him to transi- tion easily to being in charge of Tem- ple. The former SEC coordinator isn't looking to overhaul the program, he just wants to add his own wrinkles onto what has already become a strong presence in the American Ath- letic Conference (AAC). "There's so much tradition built here, the last 10 years especially," Collins said at the AAC's media day. "Championship football, the Temple tough, being physical, those things are staples to Temple football. We're going to keep those things going." A third straight 10-win season could be asking too much, but the Owls are expected to once again con- tend for the AAC title, which they won last season with a 34-10 victory over Navy in the league champion- ship game. Temple lost a first-round pick at defensive end, a second-round pick along the offensive line and one of the best quarterbacks in school his- tory. Only one coach from last year's staff returns, but Collins is not lower- ing the bar for the program. "The big thing for us is we talk about setting a standard every day," Collins said. "The past two years winning 10 games, that's going to be the edge that takes us to the next level. "Instead of just being a top-25 pro- gram, how do we get in that top-15, top-10 conversation." OFFENSIVE OVERVIEW The biggest change Collins made was on offense by going away from Rhule's conservative approach with the hire of former Coastal Carolina offensive coordinator Dave Paten- aude, who brings with him an up- tempo attack that averaged 37.3 points per game. Patenaude is going to change the pace of the offense and it will look to create explosive plays, but the Owls are still going to work to be a physi- cal offense that can run the football effectively. "I think even though they're go- ing to be described as a spread of- fensive team … they are still going to be under center a lot and run the ball," Philly.com staff writer Marc Narducci explained. "The more they feel they can pound and run the ball … any quarterback deficiencies can be lessened." Quarterback is the biggest question mark surrounding the program. It lost four-year starter Phillip Walker, who set all-time school records in passing yards (10,669), touchdown throws (74), completions (831), at- tempts (1,459) and total offense (11,442). Four players entered fall camp in contention for the starting spot, and at the time Blue & Gold Illustrated went to press (Aug. 22) a starter had yet to be named. Redshirt junior Frank Nutile, redshirt sophomore Logan Marchi, redshirt freshman An- thony Russo and true freshman Todd Centeio have all been given a chance to win the starting role. "If you have four quarterbacks, you have none," Narducci joked. "They have at different times all kind of shown a little bit." GAME PREVIEW: TEMPLE Facts & Figures TEMPLE AT NOTRE DAME Game Info Date: Sept. 2, 2017. Site: Notre Dame Stadium (approximately 77,000-78,000). Kickoff: 3:42 p.m. ET. Television: NBC. Radio: This broadcast can be heard live on SIRIUS Satellite Radio (channel 129) and on Notre Dame's IMG affiliates. Series Facts: This is the third meeting be- tween Notre Dame and Temple. The Irish lead the all-time series 2-0. Head Coaches: Temple — Geoff Collins (0-0, first season); Notre Dame — Brian Kelly (59-31, eighth season). Noting Temple: In the last meeting, No. 9 Notre Dame beat No. 21 Temple 24-20 on Oct. 31, 2015 … The game was played at Lin- coln Financial Field, a stadium the Owls share with the Philadelphia Eagles … Notre Dame quarterback DeShone Kizer hit wide receiver Will Fuller for a 17-yard touchdown pass with just 2:09 remaining in the game to put the Irish ahead … Temple went 9-2 in road games the last two seasons under former head coach Matt Rhule … Collins and Notre Dame direc- tor of football strength and conditioning Matt Balis worked together at Mississippi State from 2011-13. New Faces The Owls will enter Notre Dame Stadium with a first-year coach and a brand new quarterback

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