The math and Temple football

 

So far so good for Temple football fans.

Preparations for the season are going as planned and there has been no outbreak reported among the Owls as with, say, Rutgers up the road.

We could be UConn or Rutgers now and, while I’m glad we’re not, this is a fluid situation.

That said if you get the feeling–as I do–that we are walking on eggshells and something could crack in the next few weeks–join the club.

So far, here are the numbers:

rodster

Speaking of numbers, my money is on Anthony Russo going from 15 to a single digit very, very soon

 

0

Chance of playing Miami on Sept. 5. The edict has come down from the ACC: No football before Sept. 7. The Hurricanes–who have their own COVID-19 problems–have shown no inclination of asking for a league dispensation and officially canceled the game yesterday. Owls need to find a 9/5 opponent stat.

4

As of yesterday, that’s the number of weeks from the opener. New athletic director Fran Dunphy probably is shopping around for a replacement game with Miami now. There are several attractive schools from which to chose and some of them might even come here.

1

The number of FBS schools already dropping the season. That, of course, does not count the Ivy League, Patriot League and the Colonial, which are FCS. UConn has become the first school on this level to cancel the season. That affects Temple since the Huskies were mentioned as a possible replacement for both the Idaho and Miami games. That option no longer exists.

5

The magic number to get to a bowl game lowered from six. While this isn’t official yet if the majority of the 80 bowl games are played, it’s hard to believe that there will be 40 teams with at least six wins so five could be that figure since conferences like the Big 10 and ACC have either eliminated or reduced non-conference games.

Right now, commissioner Mike Aresco has committed the AAC to eight league and four non-conference games. That seems a little ambitious to me but let’s hope he and the league can pull it off.

Fans or no let’s hope the Owls can get out there and be happy and healthy in the process.

Monday: Silver Lining

 

 

Advertisement

11 thoughts on “The math and Temple football

  1. Has the game against Idaho been cancelled?

  2. Assuming some sort of season will happen, what are the prospects for the ESPNs, CBSports, etc. coverage so we can watch the games on TV? I would think they’re ready to broadcast whatever games get played. Viewers are champing at the bit and so are the TV stations – advertising dollars, baby.

    I have my doubts for much of a season tho. If Corona cases balloon after a game or 2, the whole thing will probably be cancelled.

  3. BYU + Navy adds up to a nice number. Like to see Temple add Gedham Young to the schedule.

  4. MAC canceled football; just add that to the list of reasons we’re thankful for the AAC.
    Our league has a big opportunity to shine in terms of racking up wins, but only if we can get the dates set and grind out the W’s on the field.
    Could be interesting.

  5. 2020 season looking less and less likely. I can live without the NBA, NHL and MLB. College football would be much harder. NFL almost certainly will be played. CFB should follow the NFL, not the MAC, model. NFL is giving it a tentative go and, if things go bad for after the first or second game, probably opting out. To me, that makes more sense than jumping the gun like UConn and the MAC seem to have done.

    • Without their big P-5 paydays, the MAC is saving money by not playing. Most schools can’t draw flies to their games and they depend on the P-5 money to survive. Without it, they are toast and that’s why they canceled the season. Their tv money is negligible even when compared to the AAC.

  6. For all those who think the student requests are unreasonable: why should players be forced to risk their immediate and, worse yet, long term health just to play a few game? As much as I want to watch games this fall, I also totally agree with the players right and demands for protecting themselves. At least postpone the season and hope the situation improves enough to be safe.

Leave a Reply

Fill in your details below or click an icon to log in:

WordPress.com Logo

You are commenting using your WordPress.com account. Log Out /  Change )

Facebook photo

You are commenting using your Facebook account. Log Out /  Change )

Connecting to %s