10.31.16
by

What Have We Done?

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If you are part of the crowd who remains totally focused on the next game and believes any discussion of anything beyond UConn is unhealthy and counterproductive and somehow has an effect on the game result, please click the “x” in the upper right-hand corner of your browser and leave the room now.

If you believe there are other issues for Temple football to address beyond Friday night in a timely fashion, please remain glued to the internet.

I, like many people, was a little surprised to get an email from Temple athletics on Saturday night upon my return home from the game asking me what bowl I wanted to attend.

What have we done? Surely,  the only thing anyone in athletics should be thinking about is UConn. (Just kidding.)

There are easy answers and there are ridiculously easy answers and this falls into the latter category.

Still, I think a lot of fans are going to pick the warm weather sites like Miami and Boca Raton again without thinking this question through. In reality, there are only three games the Owls should even consider and only three games you should vote for and they are these:

  • St Pete Bowl (American vs ACC)
  • Military Bowl (American vs ACC)
  • Birmingham Bowl (American vs SEC)

In fact, I will go a step further and go on record that the one in Birmingham against an SEC foe is the most logical choice. This is where the Temple administration swung and missed last year. Shawn Pastor of OwlsDaily.com reported a year ago that, as the second-place team in the league, the Owls were given a courtesy choice of Birmingham vs. Auburn or Louisiana vs. Virginia Tech and turned that down in order to play Toledo in Boca.

Bad job by the Temple administration and we wrote so BEFORE the game. The Temple administration’s response was that the survey said the majority of the respondents wanted to go to Boca because Temple has a large alumni presence in Florida. If you fill out this survey, please do not make the same mistake twice. Beating a MAC team will earn a collective “blah” from the Philadelphia community. Beating a SEC team (or even losing to one close) will give Temple football the shot of legitimacy it sorely needs from the general public. Just give me a shot at beating a good SEC bowl-eligible team. That’s all I ask. That’s what we owe these kids.

Go check that box for Birmingham. After that, it is permissible to start thinking about UConn even though you or I thinking about the Huskies will have zero impact on the outcome of that game.

Wednesday: The Conference Reacts

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24 thoughts on “What Have We Done?”

  1. Wouldn’t voting for a game against an ACC team be acceptable since most people think our best fit for a better conference is the ACC? A win over an SEC would be more impressive, but do you really think the fans would care as long as it is not a MAC team? I think the St. Pete Bowl and the Military Bowl might better serve Owl fans, the former because it is in Florida, and the latter because it is driving distance.

    Reply

    • Personally, from a convenience point of view, I would prefer Annapolis. Taking the long view as a program, I want to be in the position to beat the most prestigious program possible and a foe the kids would get as excited about as they did UCLA in 2009. That would be an SEC team in Birmingham. I would like to win the AAC and get that NY6 bowl, though we would need Western Michigan to lose twice. How delicious would that be if it was a rematch against Penn State on a neutral site?

      Reply

      • Why do you feel Western would need to lose twice? If they lose a reg season game, it will be to a bad team well under .500. That will drop them off the map to the pollsters and kill their computer #’s.

      • Not an expert in the intricacies of the CFB computer, but just looking at it from an optics’ standpoint an 12-1 Western Michigan team with two wins over Big 10 teams would probably be more enticing than a 10-3 Temple team with no Big 10 wins.

      • If Western loses a reg season game, they go from #17 to no votes. I think that would end it for them.

  2. As far as us beating an ACC team helping us get into the ACC, I don’t see that happening due to the ACC’s Grant of Rights keeping their group intact for the next 15 years. They don’t want to share that money with anyone. Now, if they kick Boston College out, that’s another story.

    Reply

  3. How about Army beating Wake Forest this week. That helps the Owls’ ranking. Wake has been getting some good press this season and has some good wins.

    Reply

  4. Sorry, winning one bowl game over a power 5 conference is not getting Temple anywhere regarding joining a P-5 conference. I think the conference shuffling has settled in until the major conferences decide to make mega conferences and bolt from the NCAA. I see that in 3-5 years on the horizon. There will be four major conferences with a total of 64 teams. Big Ten, ACC, SEC and Pac10.

    Reply

    • All the more reason to position ourselves into a bowl to beat one of these teams. We’re going to get limited opportunities to even play these teams going forward, so beating one in a bowl will be extra sweet.

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    • Used to think the same thing but don’t anymore because it would put the non-revenue sports at risk, including 98% of women’s programs. Football cannot by itself break away. Also, most tv contracts extend into the 2020’s including the Big 12’s contract. TV is not going to permit this to happen especially because many teams in those conferences simply don’t draw as well as others and the product would get stale real quick.

      Reply

    • If that is the scenario, the Owls will never get in. There are already 64, and that doesnt include Notre Dame or BYU. Cant imagine they would not get in with all of there followers. That means at least 3 would have to get kicked out to at least have a shot. And Temple is probably not even next on that list.

      Only hope is 4-20 team conferences.

      Reply

  5. I agree with Mike’s general thought about shooting for bowl games that would allow Temple to play a P5 team. I’d add that among the 3 games listed, the St. Petersburg Bowl should rank the lowest, even if it is in the nicest location, just due to its date/time (Monday 12/26 at 11 AM ET). That game probably has the worst date/start time (i.e. lowest visibility) of any post-Christmas bowl game; playing in a game people won’t watch doesn’t help Temple in the long-term.

    IMO, the Military Bowl is the best option, but either that game or the Birmingham Bowl should be Temple’s preferred target bowls if it has the opportunity to choose its bowl game site.

    Reply

  6. Like you state, getting general public legitimacy by playing and defeating a P-5 school will help. Although when that’s happened in years past (Cal, Wis., Va Tech, Vandy, BC, WVU, Pitt) it didn’t make many ripples. Different times now… hopefully.

    Who would those teams be in the P-5 matches? Tennesse, KY or UGA? Those teams may be bummed out about playing in that game and not be motivated. That’s what goes with SEC teams if they don’t play for the big enchilada. And by the way, Legion Field is just a bad site, so be aware. Ask your grandpa what it was like going to Connie Mack Stadium in the 60’s.

    Wake, Ga Tech, Miami, Pitt??? They may sleepwalk for the game as well.

    So if Coach R can keep himself and the troops motivated regardless of who and where, a quality victory can be obtained to keep the program relevant at the worst. At the best, it opens a couple eyes.

    Decent crowd on Saturday by the way. They got their money’s worth. Boomer superb on place kicks. Need someone who can kick off deep into the end zone or kick it so high coverage can converge on returner.

    Reply

  7. let’s just go wherever, win and finish in the Top 25.., we can bemoan about where we should have gone after they give us the bowl trophy.., more hardware in EO!

    Reply

    • If you win the AAC, you are going to have choices. I don’t want us to make the wrong one. “Wherever” includes those bowls that play MAC and CUSA teams. I don’t want to go wherever. I want to go to the place that best advances the Temple brand. Beating PSU advanced the brand. Even losing to ND close advanced the brand. Let’s play and beat a P5 team.

      Reply

    • forgot about listing that one. If we are the G5 rep–and that’s a real longshot, even if we do win the AAC–that opens up the possibility of playing a real big-time name and I think our kids are capable of beating anyone not named Alabama on any given day/night. Not every given day, mind you, but certainly any given day.

      Reply

  9. You guys keep talking about when we win or beating PSU, etc. as if it’s a done deal. PSU is a better team than when we played them – and so are we. But there’s no guarantees. It would be nice to get another shot at them, but gees they just beat OSU and hammered another BIG10 team.
    And no matter what, I don’t think Temple will be invited into a P5 conference unless the Big10 drops Rutgers, then maybe they’d want to try the Philly viewership. Also, why would the ACC drop BC?
    Bottom line, Temple is still developing the program and still doesn’t draw enough fans (although it looked like a nice crowd Friday night). Rutgers was looking real solid for a few years and look at them now. Given Temple’s history that could certainly happen to them. Sorry for the skepticism, but…….

    Reply

  10. CFP rankings are out; Western is 1 spot ahead of 1 loss Boise. If WMU loses a game they are completely gone from the rankings and the G5 spot.

    Reply

  11. Where is Temple ranked BTW. Top40? Thdey probably need to win the conference and a bowl game to get into and stay in the top 25?

    Reply

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