A Rarity: Game Times In Advance

Only thing that will top 10 wins is 11 … or more

At this time last year, we knew the starting time for just two Temple football games, and those were the high-profile ones involving Penn State and Notre Dame.

Now we know five.

That’s a huge leap in an era where almost all of the game times are kept open due to the whim of various television contracts and a double-edged sword for Temple because it is a nod to the Owls’ 127th-ranked schedule.

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I wonder if “Unfinished Business” will fit on this?

The Owls open the 2016 season at Lincoln Financial Field against Army on Friday, September 2 at 7 pm. (That’s good because any shore people can leave after the game and enjoy the Labor Day weekend of Saturday, Sunday and Monday.)

Temple’s game against Stony Brook, to be played on Saturday, September 10 at Lincoln Financial Field, will kick off at 1:00 p.m. and be televised live by ESPN3.

There is a huge favor in there, though, and that’s the dreaded Stony Brook game. Not because it is going to be Cupcake City, but because it is removed from “real television” which might be Temple’s biggest attendance foe.  We were able to research the attendance for the five Temple games which were off “real television”—meaning the television you can see on your TV set—versus the other home games. Temple home games averaged 25,985 between 2010 and 2015 when it was off the air; 17,675 for the games where Temple was on Philadelphia TV (this is taking out the ND and PSU games, which would have skewed the sample).

The evidence is pretty clear. Temple has a softcore fan group that only gets off the couch and into the car when all other options are exhausted. So the Owls need all the help they can get for to put fannies in the seats for Stony Brook, and it looks like the TV situation has helped immeasurably. That win should send a confident 2-0 Owl team into Penn State, a noon kickoff (Big 10 Network).

Other times set are:  at Memphis (Oct. 6, a Thursday night, 8 p.m., ESPN); home against USF (Oct. 21, 7 p.m., ESPN) and at UConn (Nov. 4, 7 p.m., ESPN2).

The championship game will be played on Dec. 3, hopefully at Lincoln Financial Field (noon, ESPN). There is no Navy game to worry about this year. That game with Army is Dec. 10 in Baltimore.

Wednesday: Going North to Go South

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3 thoughts on “A Rarity: Game Times In Advance

  1. Hi Mike, lots of talk about our schedule this year and trust me I’m less than thrilled to play Stony Brook. How is the schedule decided? Is this something TUF pushed for or was it given to us? I just can’t imagine after a year like last year Rhule or anyone else demanded a lighter schedule, and I’d be just as mystified to see any schedule maker say “Temple ranked, give them ol’ SB”.

    Any insight into this process would be helpful.

    • Last year’s tough schedule was a Bill Bradshaw project; this year’s was entirely crafted by Dr. Kraft. I hope Matt isn’t telling him he wants to pay a bunch of patsies outside the AAC. I like UConn’s schedule a lot better (three P5 schools) and I hope that’s the model Temple follows into the future. I’ve been told that no P5 wants to play us, yet 3 P5s want to play UConn. Do I believe P5s are saying, “let’s not play Temple, they are too tough; let’s play UConn instead.” No. Yet I’m hearing Bucknell, Lafayette and VIllanova will be added by Dr. Kraft. Can’t believe it’s not without Matt’s blessing or maybe at his insistence. The only reason Rutgers and Maryland are on the schedule is because of Bradshaw. Those are the types of schools Temple belongs with, both academically and athletically, not Lafayette and Bucknell.

  2. The Temple schedule this year is a Godsend…., we have seven home games, when was the last time that happened?

    The 2015 team was battle hardened and included many four year senior starters…, who we play during the season takes a back seat to paying Houston in the conference championship game..

    How we fare in the PSU, USF, Conference Championship, and bowl game will define the season.., .500 or better in those four games is a must for a Top 25 finish…, nobody will care about Stoney Brook

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