The best era for every current AAC football school

Temple Owls: Matt Rhule and the only conference title (2013-16)

Temple University has been playing FBS college football for 70 years. Yet for a large majority of their existence, the Owls haven't made much noise on the gridiron. While basketball has had tons of great success with 33 NCAA Tournament appearances, football has been an embarrassing afterthought. There's been lots of losing for Temple football. Lots and lots of it.

The program did experience some flashes in the pan, such as a Sugar Bowl appearance in 1934, a win in the Garden State Bowl in 1979, an iconic upset over No. 14 Virginia Tech in 1998, and a win in the New Mexico Bowl in 2011. However, other than that, there's not much else. If we're talking about a consistent run of success, there's only one option. That option is the days under Matt Rhule.

Rhule came in to help give Philadelphia's college football team some excitement. Rhule was coming off a one-year stint with the New York Giants as an assistant offensive line coach. But before that, Rhule was an assistant for Temple from 2006-2011. He started as a defensive line coach before being a quarterbacks and tight ends coach. He was also the offensive coordinator for four years.

So there was lots of familiarity for Rhule to ease into his first job as a college football head coach. Just two years before Rhule's arrival, Temple won the New Mexico Bowl, as a MAC school. However, they quickly became irrelevant again. His first season in 2013 was uneventful. Temple went 2-10, which included an embarrassing 30-29 loss to Fordham from the FCS. Half of the losses were by one score.

Despite the awful first year, improvements quickly came starting in 2014. To open up that season, Temple defeated Vanderbilt and earned their first win against an SEC team since 1938. The Owls raced to a 4-2 record in the year's first half. Unfortunately, Temple went 2-4 during the latter portion. However, one of their last two wins came against a No. 21 East Carolina squad.

It was the program's first victory against a ranked team since the Owls infamously defeated #14 Virginia Tech in 1998. At the end of the year, Temple would finish 6-6, earning bowl eligibility. Unfortunately, they weren't given a bid to a bowl game. However, that was just the start and things would only get better. To begin the 2015 campaign, Temple hosted Penn State for the 18th time ever.

In the contest, Temple would shock many people around the country, as they took down the Nittany Lions 27-10, shutting Penn State out in the final three quarters. The 27-10 victory was Temple's first against the Big Ten powerhouse in 74 years. The team would win their next six games and be nationally ranked for the first time since 1979. Temple would pose a challenge for No. 9 Notre Dame as well, but fell short 24-20.

After the end of the regular season, the Owls had a record of 10-2 and 7-1 in the American Conference. They would earn their first trip to the American Conference Championship Game. The Owls would lose to No. 17 Houston, 24-13. In the Boca Raton Bowl against Toledo, Temple would fall 32-17. Despite the disappointing conclusion, Temple enjoyed their first double-digit win season since 1979.

In 2016, the success kept on coming. Temple split the first six games but still pushed Penn State in the rematch. However, in the latter half of the regular season, Temple went unbeaten and dominated opponents. They shut out UConn and Tulane in consecutive weeks and blew out USF, Cincinnati, and East Carolina. For the second straight year, Temple earned a birth in the American Conference title game.

Against No. 20 Navy, Temple claimed their first American Conference title, defeating the Midshipmen in another blowout victory. Temple earned a No. 23 ranking before their trip to the Military Bowl. Unfortunately for the team, Matt Rhule wouldn't be along for the ride as he accepted a job as Baylor's head coach. Ed Foley would coach the bowl, which Temple would lose to Wake Forest 34-26.

After Rhule's dismissal, Temple would remain respectable for the next three seasons, even winning the Gasparilla Bowl in 2017. However, the school hasn't been the same since Rhule left and as of now, the school has gone through four straight losing seasons.