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SPORTS PAGE
from The Temple News
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The Temple News
EXCEEDING EXPECTATIONS
Temple Football finished the season with a 3-9 record, but outside of a few blowout games, the team performed beyond expectations.
BY NICK GANGEWERE Sports Editor
When Temple Football head coach Stan Drayton received the call in December 2021 that he would become the school’s 17th football head coach, the former University of Texas assistant coach felt a sense of overwhelming pride.
It’s the same pride Drayton spoke with after Temple’s 49-46 loss to East Carolina University on Nov. 26. While his team finished with the same 3-9 record as last season with former head coach Rod Carey, those nine losses came with fewer blemishes than the regime he succeeded.
“There was a lot of lifestyle changing that had to take place,” Drayton said. “A lot of self-esteem that had to be restructured.”
Temple football may have finished the 2022 season with a 1-7 record in conference play, but four different onepoint losses show an improved squad from last season. Several players like true freshman quarterback E.J. Warner and redshirt junior outside linebacker Layton Jordan received national recognition for their play and Drayton has cemented himself as Temple’s coach moving forward.
Drayton’s squad had a rough start to the season, falling 30-0 to Duke University on Sept. 2 in what many, including Drayton, called “firstgame jitters.” The team looked lackluster in pass coverage and was stagnant offensively.
Drayton was unhappy with the result against Duke and believed it was a good opportunity for the team to figure out who they were, Drayton said during his post-game press conference on Sept. 2.
Unexpectedly, the Owls would finish the season with Warner under center and boast the third-best pass defense in the conference.
Warner took the starting quarterback position on Sept. 10 in Temple’s second game against Lafayette College after redshirt sophomore and former quarterback D’Wan Mathis was benched. The young quarterback played like a true freshman early on, throwing three interceptions in his first two starts. As the season progressed, Warner became one of the top true freshman quarterbacks in the country.
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ROBERT CRUZ / THE TEMPLE NEWS
