Temple gears up for return to Big East football

NEWPORT, R.I. — If any Big East football coach is familiar with Temple and coach Steve Addazio, it's Connecticut's Paul Pasqualoni.

Although Temple scuffled during its first Big East stint, from 1991 until being booted from the conference in 2004 due to poor performance on the field and at the box office, Pasqualoni recalls his Syracuse teams always being challenged by the Owls. And one of his assistants was Addazio.

So on Tuesday, during Big East Media Day, it was interesting to hear Pasqualoni's take on the Owls' return to the conference after five football seasons in the Mid-American Conference.

"I played Temple for a long time," Pasqualoni said. "In all the times we played Temple, I can never remember having an easy time playing Temple. The kids always played hard, gave great effort and were skilled players.

"People say, 'Temple's just coming into the Big East.' That's inaccurate. Temple was in the Big East. We had good teams at Syracuse. I don't ever remember going to the Vet and saying, 'This is going to be easy today.' It never was easy. With Steve there and what they're doing at Temple — upgrading everything and doing a good job recruiting — is huge.

"They won a lot of games in the MAC. They played Penn State toe-to-toe and won at Maryland. Now, they're coming into the Big East. Are these kids going to be in shock when they line up against teams in the Big East? I don't think they're going to be in shock. I think you'll need to be ready when you play Temple."

According to Addazio, Temple didn't just commence readying itself to play in the Big East when it was admitted early this year, after the defections of Pitt, Syracuse and West Virginia.

"Obviously, coach Pasqualoni was my mentor," Addazio said. "I've worked with [Louisville's] Charlie Strong for 6 years at Florida. I've known [South Florida's] Skip Holtz since he was the head coach at Connecticut when I was a high school coach. I know all these guys and have a feel for who they are.

"I come in here and feel very comfortable — footballwise and socially. It's a great feeling coming back into the conference. Temple's ready for this. They prepared for this. We didn't just wake up and say, 'We want to play BCS football.' We've been preparing for this for years, so we're in great position.

"Not only do I accept the challenge, but I embrace it."

Addazio's feelings notwithstanding, Holtz knows making the jump from the MAC to the Big East won't be a stroll in the park.

"I think Steve Addazio is the right guy for the job," Holtz said. "I know it will be a tall task for them to step in on such short notice without having the opportunity to recruit for 2 or 3 years. And, oh, by the way, tomorrow you're in the Big East.

"When you look at the calendar, he didn't have a chance to recruit three classes to get here. It was like tomorrow."

Holtz is familiar with the type of player Addazio develops.

"I've known Steve since he was a high school coach in Connecticut," Holtz said. "I think he is a great football coach and I used to recruit his players. I knew they were going to be tough, hard-nosed, disciplined and were going to have good work habits.

"I think he'll drive and push."

The fact Temple was picked to finish last in the preseason media poll is irrelevant to Addazio.

"We're confident we're going to come in and compete at a high level," he said. "I don't know if we'll win one game or 11. I don't make those predictions.

"I do know this: I'm confident our team will compete like hell every Saturday."