Temple looks to end with three-game win streak, bowl bid

IN A PERFECT world, Temple's football team would be playing Kent State today at the Linc for a chance to win the MAC East. It didn't work out that way. But the Owls (7-4, 4-3) still figure to have a decent shot at getting back to a bowl game, after being only one of two eligible teams left out a year ago.

That group lost its last two games, including one at home to Ohio, which wound up getting a spot in the New Orleans Bowl, perhaps instead of them. This one can finish with a three-game winning streak. The Golden Flashes (5-6, 4-3) have won their last four (three at home), but are 1-4 on the road.

The Owls will honor their 19 seniors, 13 of whom start. It's already the winningest 4-year class in program history.

The last time Temple had three consecutive winning seasons was 1970 to '75, when they had six straight.

"I think every game you play, you play to win," said one of those seniors, cornerback Kee-ayre Griffin. "But especially with this being our last [regular-season and home] game. It went by so fast. We're just trying to come out with another victory.

"Hopefully we can solidify a [bowl] spot with a win. We're looking at it as if we have to win in order to go to one. But what drives us is just to win as many games as possible."

And of course, the last time Temple won at least eight games in 3 consecutive years was, well, never.

Al Golden put the foundation in place. First-year coach Steve Addazio has made a bunch of changes. He thinks that, everything considered, it has been a relatively seamless transition.

"We're approaching this like it's a one-game season," said the former Florida offensive coordinator. "We've got to be able to run the last 100 yards. That's where we are right now, still scratching and clawing to get there. That's what this is all about.

"It's not so much, per se, looking ahead as saying we want to finish really strong. And we're probably going to have to play our best game of the season. I'm just enjoying the fact that we're competing at a high level right now. I see all positives with the development of our program.

"In the big [picture], we're playing pretty darned good right now. And we were pretty darned good early [3-1 start]. There's certainly a game or two that didn't go the way we think it should have, but the rest of them kind of went the way they were supposed to. We got a bunch of [blowouts]. I'm not delusional. A lot of things had to be done. There were a lot of question marks. Sometimes there's an assumption, I don't know why, that it's [just] going to happen. I'm happy where we're at, and where we're headed in the future."

Six of their wins were by at least 28 points. Five came against opponents that are a combined 11-34. Three of the four losses were by a total of 11 points, including one to nationally ranked Penn State.

"This is a process," Addazio said. "We have to learn to become a team that's not sneaking up on people, but a team everyone's playing their best game against. That's what happens when you have recent success. The next step is to win those big championship games. That's going to happen. That's part of building it in the right direction as you go forward. That was started, and we're continuing to move along those lines.

"There's been a lot of victories, other than just wins and losses. I think [the growth] has been better than I'd hoped. We've really kind of handled it. As in any other season, there's at least a game in there that you feel you shouldn't have let it get away from you. That's where the disappointment lies.

"All we care about right now is getting to eight. It's not the time for 'kumbaya' [yet]."

Maybe they'll get to sing the university fight song, which they save for locker-room celebrations, once or twice more. At the end of the day that would make their world at least a little less imperfect.