Prediction: Temple to finish 6-5
Temple college sports - basketball, football and more - covered by the Philadelphia Inquirer's Keith Pompey.
Prediction: Temple to finish 6-5
Keith Pompey, Inquirer Staff Writer
If you take a long look at Temple’s schedule, what's your realistic season-ending record?
Maybe the Owls shock their naysayers and contend for the Big East Conference title. Perhaps, they struggle to win four games.
Returning just eight starters from last season’s 9-4 squad, there’s a thought Temple is doomed this season.
I disagree.
The Owls have a manageable non-conference schedule. On paper, Boston College transfer Montel Harris will be the best running back at Temple since Paul Palmer. (Yes, better than Bernard Pierce!) And the Owls have made huge upgrades to their coaching staff.
Upset alert: South Florida (Oct. 6).
The scheduling gods set the stage for a successful Big East opener and homecoming weekend for the Owls. With a bye week on Sept. 29, Temple will have two weeks to prepare for the Bulls. South Florida, on the other hand, will sandwich this game between tough matchups against Florida State and Louisville. One can only assume South Florida will have a letdown game and won’t match Temple’s intensity – at least in the early going. By that time, Temple could build a comfortable lead.
Almost sure bets: Villanova (Aug. 31), Maryland (Sept. 8) and at Army (Nov. 17).
The Owls will be on cruise control leading up to a key Sept. 22 date with Penn State. They face a Football Championship Subdivision opponent (Villanova) and arguably the Atlantic Coast Conference’s worst team (Maryland) in the first two weeks. Temple's other breather will come at Army in the second to last game. This expected blowout win will enable Temple to heal any bruises heading into an important regular-season finale against Syracuse.
Brutal stretch: Rutgers (Oct. 20), at Pittsburgh (Oct. 27), at Louisville (Nov. 3) and Cincinnati (Nov. 10).
The good news is that two of these games are at home. However, the bad news is that Temple has to face these teams in a row. One victory during this stretch is attainable. Anything more is highly unlikely.
Prediction: The Owls end the regular season with a two-game winning streak to finish 6-5 and become bowl eligible for the fourth consecutive season.
Complete chedule with predicted outcomes:
Aug. 31: Villanova, Win
Sept. 8: Maryland, Win
Sept. 22: at Penn State, Loss
Oct. 6: South Florida, Win
Oct. 13: at Connecticut, Win
Oct. 20: Rutgers, Loss
Oct. 27: at Pittsburgh, Loss
Nov. 3: at Louisville, Loss
Nov. 10: Cincinnati, Loss
Nov. 17: at Army, Win
Nov. 23: Syracuse, Win
vs. Penn State is a Win...book it.— Favorthabold- ^^
Ha ha ha ha ha ha ha!— verve - Il guarantee temple beats rutgers! Ruygers struggled against army last year!— negktn121
- Best chance ever to beat NIT's depleted team. There are 4-5 wins in the schedule which can't be called one of the more difficult in the BE.— Bigbirch
- Owls are very strong in the skill positions with a QB, two running backs and a kicker that could (I'm not saying would) start for any team in the country. They have one of the best DC and head coaches in the country. They need to offset a lot of change in the trenches but that's' Daz's specialty. I think 6-5 or 7-4 are most likely. I don't agree with the we beat so-and-so who beat these guys.... The owls will face tougher competition on a weekly basis than they faced in years and will have to learn how to play in that dynamic. Go owls.— owl87
- Initially I had the Owls going 6-5.. With Redd suddenly departing PSU. I am now starting to lean towards a 7-4 season. Yep, only 4 losses. PSU is in real trouble. It looking like they win perhaps 5 games at the most. They may only get 4 wins. The scandal, NCAA penalties, tough schedule and new coach is a bad formula— Byron
- PennState should be decent this year. In the future they will have problems. PennState offensive coaches are a lot better than they were a year ago. Joe PA and his staff were ruining qbs and offense for years in happy valley. Goodluck OWLS— Kerz
- 8-3.— Temple U Owls
- 11-0 ideally.— Temple U Owls
- GO TEMPLE.— Temple U Owls
- JUST WIN.— Temple U Owls
- WIN.— Temple U Owls
- Concentration is the key, staying focused. Go Owls.— joninohio
- so temple hasn't even won a mac title while they were there and struggled against winning mac teams...but they will come to the big east and do better than .500?
The big east has progressively lost its best teams to the acc over the last decade. temple fans need to stop acting like the big east is the SEC.— psuproud635
Pompey is a native Philadelphian and a University of Pittsburgh graduate. Follow him on Twitter @pompeysgridlock. Reach Keith at kpompey@phillynews.com.
