One of the impressive things about scheduling in the post-COVID era is the fact that teams are able to change schedules on the fly.

That also should be the reason Fran Dunphy–or whoever is in charge of the schedule-making these days–should be looking to trade the Wagner game for someone else.

Anyone else who plays FBS football, really.

Most Temple football fans aren’t hardcore like me so I got a lot of “Wagner? WTF?” when going over the game-by-game schedule this fall. Unfortunately, I’ve known for at least a couple of years that Wagner was on the schedule. I didn’t think it was a good idea then. I don’t think it’s a good idea now, even for a team coming off a 1-6 season.

“We need more Wagners on the schedule,” another Temple fan said, assumingly half in jest.

At least we think half.

My point is this: Just what does Temple get playing Wagner? Win and it’s ho-hum. Lose and the “Joe Philadelphia” fan is laughing for a number of weeks. Yes, Wagner not too long ago lost to UConn by “only” 21-14 but two weeks later that same Wagner team lost, 24-14, to Division II East Stroudsburg University. (When I went to Temple, it was known as East Stroudsburg State Teachers College.)

I could see playing Akron or another MAC team like Buffalo or even NIU. Wagner, though, not so much and certainly not Lafayette next year.

Temple should have never played Stony Brook (a 38-0 win) or Bucknell (a 56-12 win) recently. This scheduling philosophy seems to be a holdover from the Pat Kraft era.

One argument is that Temple needs to get at least six wins to get to a bowl game and scheduling teams like Lafayette and Wagner improves its chances of getting there. That argument needs to be disabused. If Temple can’t beat six FBS teams every year, getting to a bowl game is the least of its problems.

The Owls need to play FBS teams, period, end of story. Two Power 5 teams a year is a reasonable amount, but there’s no reason the rest cannot be filled by teams who play a FBS schedule.

If Temple ever gets around to hiring a permanent AD, tinkering with that schedule should be at least one priority.

Friday: What Could Go Right