American college football season
1983 Temple Owls football Conference Independent Record 4–7 Head coach Bruce Arians (1st season) Home stadium Veterans Stadium, Franklin Field Seasons
1983 Major eastern college football independents records
Conf.
Overall
Team
W
L
T
W
L
T
Penn State
4
–
1
–
1
8
–
4
–
1
No. 16 West Virginia
4
–
2
–
0
9
–
3
–
0
No. 18 Pittsburgh
2
–
1
–
1
8
–
3
–
1
No. 19 Boston College $
3
–
2
–
0
9
–
3
–
0
Syracuse
3
–
3
–
0
6
–
5
–
0
Temple
2
–
4
–
0
4
–
7
–
0
Rutgers
0
–
5
–
0
3
–
8
–
0
$ – Lambert Trophy Winner Rankings from AP Poll
1983 NCAA Division I-A independents football records
Conf.
Overall
Team
W
L
T
W
L
T
No. 1 Miami (FL)
–
–
11
–
1
–
0
Virginia Tech
–
–
9
–
2
–
0
No. 19 Boston College
–
–
9
–
3
–
0
No. 16 West Virginia
–
–
9
–
3
–
0
No. 20 East Carolina
–
–
8
–
3
–
0
No. 18 Pittsburgh
–
–
8
–
3
–
1
Florida State
–
–
8
–
4
–
0
Penn State
–
–
8
–
4
–
1
Southern Miss
–
–
7
–
4
–
0
Memphis State
–
–
6
–
4
–
1
Notre Dame
–
–
7
–
5
–
0
Syracuse
–
–
6
–
5
–
0
South Carolina
–
–
5
–
6
–
0
Cincinnati
–
4
–
6
–
1
Southwestern Louisiana
–
–
4
–
6
–
0
Temple
–
–
4
–
7
–
0
Tulane
–
–
4
–
7
–
0
Louisville
–
–
3
–
8
–
0
Navy
–
–
3
–
8
–
0
Rutgers
–
–
3
–
8
–
0
Army
–
–
2
–
9
–
0
Rankings from AP Poll
The 1983 Temple Owls football team was an American football team that represented Temple University as an independent during the 1983 NCAA Division I-A football season. In its first season under head coach Bruce Arians, the team compiled a 4–7 record and was outscored by a total of 241 to 170.[ 1] [ 2] The team played its home games at Veterans Stadium and Franklin Field in Philadelphia.
The team's statistical leaders included Tim Riordan with 1,732 passing yards, Paul Palmer with 628 rushing yards and 48 points scored, and Russell Carter with 482 receiving yards.[ 3]
Schedule [ edit ]
Date Opponent Site Result Attendance Source September 2 Syracuse Franklin Field Philadelphia, PA W 17–611,549 [ 4]
September 10 at Pittsburgh Pitt Stadium Pittsburgh, PA L 0–3545,713 [ 5]
September 24 Penn State Veterans Stadium Philadelphia, PA L 18–2335,760 [ 6]
October 1 Boston College Franklin Field Philadelphia, PA L 15–187,033 [ 7]
October 8 at Cincinnati Riverfront Stadium Cincinnati, OH L 16–3118,272 [ 8]
October 15 East Carolina Franklin Field Philadelphia, PA L 11–245,461 [ 9]
October 22 at Delaware Delaware Stadium Newark, DE W 23–1618,096 [ 10]
October 28 at No. 6 Georgia Sanford Stadium Athens, GA L 14–3181,822 [ 11]
November 5 at No. 17 West Virginia Mountaineer Field Morgantown, WV L 9–2750,514 [ 12]
November 12 Louisville Veterans Stadium Philadelphia, PA W 24–73,021 [ 13]
November 19 at Rutgers Rutgers Stadium Piscataway, NJ W 24–2314,261 [ 14]
Rankings from AP Poll released prior to the game
References [ edit ]
^ "1983 Temple Owls Schedule and Results" . SR/College Football . Sports Reference LLC. Retrieved May 29, 2020 .
^ "2019 Temple Owls Football Media Guide" (PDF) . Temple University. p. 132. Retrieved May 29, 2020 .
^ "1983 Temple Owls Stats" . SR/College Football . Sports Reference LLC. Retrieved May 29, 2020 .
^ "Temple stymies Syracuse" . The Sacramento Bee . September 3, 1983. Retrieved February 23, 2025 – via Newspapers.com.
^ "Congemi drives Pitt by Temple" . The Pittsburgh Press . September 11, 1983. Retrieved February 23, 2025 – via Newspapers.com.
^ "Finally, Penn St. 'gets one' " . The Akron Beacon Journal . September 25, 1983. Retrieved February 23, 2025 – via Newspapers.com.
^ "Flutie 'pitches in' as Boston College turns back Temple" . Courier-Post . October 2, 1983. Retrieved February 23, 2025 – via Newspapers.com.
^ "Cincinnati sends Temple reeling to fourth loss, 31–16" . The Philadelphia Inquirer . October 9, 1983. Retrieved February 23, 2025 – via Newspapers.com.
^ "Temple losing streak reaches five after 24–11 loss to East Carolina" . The Philadelphia Inquirer . October 16, 1983. Retrieved March 5, 2021 – via Newspapers.com.
^ "Temple outlasts 'loose' Delaware 23–16" . Sunday News Journal . October 23, 1983. Retrieved February 23, 2025 – via Newspapers.com.
^ "Temple hounds Bulldogs but takes 31–14 loss" . The Philadelphia Inquirer . October 30, 1983. Retrieved November 4, 2023 – via Newspapers.com.
^ "West Virginia topples Temple, breaks two-game losing streak" . Star Tribune . November 6, 1983. Retrieved January 29, 2024 – via Newspapers.com.
^ "Louisville falls, 24–7, to Temple" . The Patriot-News . November 13, 1983. Retrieved March 5, 2021 – via Newspapers.com.
^ "Rutgers nipped by Temple, 24–23" . The Home News . November 20, 1983. Retrieved March 5, 2021 – via Newspapers.com.
Venues
Vernon Park (?–1927)
Temple Stadium (1928–1977)
Veterans Stadium (1978–2002)
Franklin Field (alternate, 1978–2002)
Lincoln Financial Field (2003–present)
Bowls & rivalries
Bowl games
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Culture & lore People
Head coaches
NFL draftees
Statistical leaders
Seasons