Mike Kern: No, Temple's season isn't over already
SO WHAT TO make of Villanova's 27-24 win over Temple on a last-play field goal that capped a comeback from a 10-point, fourth-quarter hole, other than the ongoing observation that the Owls rarely, if ever, make life easier on themselves?
Well, last week there were 38 games matching Division I-A teams against I-AA opponents. Two other I-AAs, both also members of the Colonial Athletic Association, won. Defending national champion Richmond beat Duke (24-16), while William & Mary took out Virginia (26-14).
Nine others were decided by eight points or fewer, including close calls by Northern Iowa at Iowa and Massachusetts at Kansas State.
That's not going to make Temple Country feel any better. It's just the reality of the landscape.
There are 120 I-A programs. If you take the top, say, 20 or so I-AAs and put them up against the bottom 40 or 50 I-As (which basically represent the ones that don't go to a bowl game) there isn't a whole bunch of separation.
Maybe Temple shouldn't be scheduling I-AAs. Or at least not this particular one. But, it did draw 27,000. The Owls averaged 15,786 in five home dates last year, including a high of 18,824 on a Tuesday night against Ohio.
So whether you think it's worth the risk, that's a consideration. You think Florida A & M would have packed them in?
Upset is a relative term. In this instance, it was as much about the way it went down as anything else. And the fact that it wasn't the first time Al Golden's guys have found ways to not get things done at the end.
Nevertheless ...
Temple's season isn't over, as several e-mailers suggested. Just as beating Villanova wouldn't have ensured a winning record or a bowl game. But it is one more perception hit for a program that's had to endure way too many, often self-inflicted.
Perhaps the best thing the Owls have going for them is the Mid-American Conference, which went 0-5 in bowls last season - by a combined 84 points. Temple is picked to finish second in the East Division, where defending champion Buffalo already has lost standout running back James Starks to shoulder surgery.
The MAC went 3-10 in its openers. A lot of the losses were supposed to happen. But Ball State fell at home to North Texas. The wins came against Coastal Carolina, Troy and Texas-El Paso.
MAC-CAA Challenge?
The Owls don't play again until Sept. 19 at Penn State. All of their goals are still attainable. Should they ultimately succeed, the way the journey started doesn't figure to remain quite the lasting impression.
Except, of course, on the Main Line, where the Wildcats could well be going for an even bigger trophy to put alongside that inaugural Mayor's Cup.
You knew there had to be a rub.
Trivial pursuit
When Villanova beat Temple in double overtime in 2003 in the first college football game at the Linc, who kicked the winning 37-yard field goal, his third of the afternoon?
See Answer man.
Tough neighborhood
