For two of this citys college football teams, much of the 2011 season has been defined by inconsistent play at the quarterback position.
A couple of guys named Chris are trying to change that.
Lets start with Temples Chris Coyer, who was a shining beacon in Temples otherwise gloomy, 35-31 loss to Ohio in Wednesdays nationally televised MAC East showdown.
The sophomore replaced Chester Stewart in the games third offensive series and proceeded to rush for 184 yardsone shy of Walter Washingtons school record for rushing yards by a QBwhile completing 8 of 14 passes for 123 yards and three touchdowns.
I thought the kid did a marvelous job for the first time in his career really playing significantly, Temple coach Steve Addazio told reporters following the game.
Prior to Coyers emergence, Addazio shuffled between senior Chester Stewart and Mike Gerardi at QB before settling on Stewart, who made his sixth straight start Wednesday.
But Temples passing game had been mostly ineffective, which put too much of a burden on the Owls power rushing game as opposing teams, like Ohio, really loaded the box against them.
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Enter Coyer, who managed to effectively run Addazios tricky spread option and change the dynamic of the Owls offense.
Ive been told ever since Ive been here to prepare as if I were a starter, Coyer said. When my number was called, I felt ready to go in there.
Despite his breakout performance, Coyer lamented the heartbreaking defeat, which dropped Temple to 5-4 overall and 3-3 in the MAC East, putting a serious dent in their conference title hopes.
The Owls, who have now lost two straight on the road, return to Lincoln Financial Field on Wednesday to take on Miami of Ohio - and Coyer will get his first start.
It was good that I played well, Coyer said, shortly after the Ohio game. But there were still too many plays I left out on the field.
In another part of town, freshman Chris Polony finally gave rebuilding Villanova a good quarterback performance this season.
In this past Saturdays 41-25 loss to Maine, Polony threw three touchdown passes in the second half while leading the Cats to over 400 yards of total offense against a top 10 FCS team on a snowy day in Maine.
Villanova coach Andy Talley only hopes the freshman can keep the momentum going for Villanovas final two games of the seasonat UMass on Saturday (3:30 pm, Comcast Network) and vs. rival Delaware at PPL Park on Nov. 19.
For us, we all know we need a quarterback and were trying to get this guy right, Talley said. If he can come out and put a nice package again together Saturday and against Delaware, then we can build on that in the spring with a guy we can hang our hat on. Otherwise, its just open for business in spring practice.
This season has been uncharacteristically difficult for Talley, as Villanova (1-8, 0-6 CAA) has struggled to compete in most facets of the game. The biggest problem, the veteran coach knows, has been at quarterback, where Polony, freshman Dustin Thomas and senior Christian Culicerto have all had difficulties when given the opportunity.
We knew this would be a rebuilding year; we just didnt think wed be this noncompetitive this late in the season, Talley said. That is because we have not developed a quarterback. If theres anything weve learned from a mish-mosh season like this is that youve got to get a guy. Whether through injury or inexperience, we havent been able to do that.
Until this past Saturday, that is.
All good things must come to an end
Penn coach Al Bagnoli knew his team would eventually lose an Ivy League game.
Now, in the wake of the Quakers 6-0 loss to Brown this past weekendwhich halted Penns historic Ivy League winning streak at 18 gameshe knows theres only one thing left to do.
Were going to try to start another streak, Bagnoli said.
The Quakers get their first shot at that Saturday when they host rival Princeton in a 1 p.m. homecoming matchup at Franklin Field.
And even though the streak is dead, the Quakers Ivy title hopes are still alive and wellmeaning they have plenty to play for this weekend and then in their final two conference games, against first-place Harvard and Cornell.
I think theyre over it, Bagnoli said of the streak. They better be over it because that Harvard game is not going to mean much if we cant win this weekend. We still kind of control our own destiny. If we win our next three games, the worst we can do is tie for first. Theres a lot to play for. Its just that particular winning streak came to a crashing halt.
All during the streak, Bagnoli made sure not to talk about it with his players. But now that its over, the longtime coach took a moment to reflect on the 18 straight wins, calling it epic in nature.
The only other time a team won more consecutive Ivy League games was from 2002-05 whenyou guessed itBagnolis Quakers strung together 20 straight victories.
You try to keep things in historical perspective, the Penn coach said. We had not lost an Ivy away game since 2007 and not lost an Ivy game total since 2008. It had been a long time and sometimes you get spoiled. But its over and you have to move on.
CSN contributor Dave Zeitlin writes a weekly college football notebook focusing on Temple, Villanova and Penn. Email him at dzeitlin@gmail.com.