TEMPLE RUNNING BACK RYQUELL ARMSTEAD TALKS ABOUT THE OWLS BOWL GAME AGAINST DUKE

The golden age of Temple football continues, with news that the Owls will play Duke in the 43rd Walk-On’s Independence Bowl in Shreveport, LA on December 27th. This is the fourth bowl game in a row for Temple and eighth ever; they are 3-4 all-time in bowls. Additionally, the school will have players who have played in a bowl game in all four years of their careers.

The seniors are – for the second season in a row – the winningest class in Temple history and five of them will have seen action in all four bowl games they been eligible for. They are running back Ryquell Armstead, wide receiver Ventell Bryant, defensive lineman Michael Dogbe, linebacker Todd Jones and safety Delvon Randall. Some were recruited during the Owls 2-10 season in Matt Rhule’s first season as head coach and were on campus for a 6-6 season that saw them bowl-eligible but uninvited to a postseason game. Then they left no doubt with back-to-back 10-wins seasons including an American Athletic Conference championship in 2016. Last year, a six-win campaign got them a birth in the Bad Boy Mowers Gasparilla Bowl where they beat Florida International for the first bowl championship trophy to come back to North Broad Street since the 2011 New Mexico Bowl. After an 0-2 start to this season, the Owls rallied for eight wins so it was just a question of where they would be going not if they would be going somewhere.

The answer is Shreveport in northwest Louisiana where they’ll find the Blue Devils waiting. Duke was 7-5 overall and 3-5 in Atlantic Coast Conference play. It’s the first ever meeting between the schools and also each institution’s first appearance in the Independence Bowl.

“It means a lot,” Dogbe said about going to a fourth-straight bowl game. “I think back to my freshman year when we went 6-6 and we were unable to go to a bowl game. Just seeing seniors like Kenny Harper telling the younger guys not to ever let this happen again or never leaving it in the hands of the conference. So, to go to four straight bowl games is a big testament to the hard work we put in over the years and it’s a trend you’re now seeing within Temple football that it’s the standard to go to a bowl gave every year.”

“We have a put the ball down mentality,” said Armstead, who leads the Owls with 1,098 yards rushing and 13 touchdowns, when asked about the team’s preferences about who and where they are going to play.

Armstead said he and his fellow upper classmen will impress upon the younger players not to take postseason games for granted.

“My first two years were 10-win seasons back-to-back,” he said. “I thought it was a normal thing. Last year, we battled and had to win out to get to a bowl game. That’s when I took appreciation that bowl games don’t come easy. It’s a lot of work. A whole team effort.”

“We’re 1-2, my class. We want to finish out with a bang” said Bryant, who is the Owls leading receiver with 47 catches for 659 yards. “Last year, I feel like we finally understood what it takes to win. You just can’t go down there, have fun with all the festivities going on for bowl week. Now, as the older guys, we understand what it takes and we can’t wait to lead this team to a victory.”

Email Rock Hoffman at Rock@footballstories.com