End Zone: UT 10-06

10/6/2011

They say whatever doesn't kill you makes you stronger. Well in the case of the Rockets, they were pretty much left for dead at the end of their meat-grinder nonconference schedule. What Tim Beckman and his players went through can only be described as a cannonball to the midsection, like on that crazy YouTube video.

Somehow, someway, the Rockets picked themselves up off the mat and embarrassed Temple on its home field last Saturday. Now in my third season on the UT beat, I'm not sure if I've seen a more impressive win. The Owls were coming off a very impressive 38-7 road victory over Maryland, and the Rockets spent the earlier part of last week lamenting the win that wasn't at Syracuse.

At practice last week, Beckman kept saying how much he liked the intensity of the team and he thought his players were rebounding well. That doesn't mean much until the next game rolls around, but the Rockets made good on their head coach's words by stifling the Owls' potent run game and taking advantage of four Temple turnovers in a 36-13 victory to open conference play.

To their credit, the Rockets proved they're a resilient bunch. You'd have to be after going through what they went through in the last six games, including last year's loss to FIU in the Little Caesars Pizza Bowl. To that point, Beckman doesn't believe the Rockets will overlook Eastern Michigan on Saturday, because as they've discovered, nothing is guaranteed in college football.

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