Stars have aligned for huge Temple-Notre matchup

SATURDAY night didn't have to turn into a perfect storm.

Notre Dame, which hasn't played in Philadelphia since 1993, didn't have to sign a contract four years ago to play a three-game series with Temple.

The game in South Philly didn't have to be this year. Or at this point on the schedule.

Temple didn't have to get off to its first 7-0 start, or be ranked for the first time since 1979.

The Owls didn't have to beat Penn State for the first time in 74 years. Or follow that with a win at American Athletic Conference favorite Cincinnati, where they again were a touchdown underdog.

They didn't have to find a way to score five points in the final 1 minute, 20 seconds (two by returning a blocked PAT all the way) in Week 3 to avoid getting upset at Massachusetts (1-6).

They didn't have to score two touchdowns in the last 3:31 pull out a win at slightly favored East Carolina last week.

The Eagles didn't have to be on their only bye week.

ABC didn't have to televise the game nationally in prime-time. ESPN didn't have to bring its "College GameDay" show here.

So what were the odds that all or even most of those things would happen?

You want perspective? Temple's basketball program - which won two NITs when it still meant something and went to two Final Fours and five Final Eights - has started better than 7-0 seven times. And not since 1987-88. Or how about this: It's the first time Temple (which is 21st) has played as a ranked team against a ranked opponent (the 6-1 Irish are 12 spots higher). For Notre Dame, it'll be No. 212.

For most of their existence, these programs have been polar opposites.

It wasn't all that long ago that Temple was looking for a conference to play in and actually talking about possibly dropping the sport.

So when they line up across from each other at sold-out Lincoln Financial Field, where half the crowd figures to be wearing green, all of that will mean what?

"These kids are winners," said third-year coach Matt Rhule, who went 2-10 in 2013, his first season. "They're tough guys. I'm confident they'll be ready."

It's also a safe bet that the Irish, who had last week off, will take this one seriously. Even if they did beat the Owls two years ago in South Bend in the opener, 28-6.

That might as well have been a decade ago.

"You just look . . . (at) where he's taken this program, they are deserving (of the ranking)," said ND coach Brian Kelly, whose team lost by two at unbeaten Clemson on Oct. 3. "They've earned everything. I think they just are solid in whatever they do, fundamentally sound. Just (a) really well-coached football team.

"We'll have to play well."

Fair points. And all accurate.

This is ND's third road game, and first since Clemson. That came down to a late two-point conversion. On Sept. 12, it needed a 39-yard TD pass with 12 seconds left to survive at Virginia.

Notre Dame has never lost on Halloween (15-0). The Irish are 11-7-2 since 1966 against teams that were 7-0 or better. Only two of those (1986 vs. Penn State and 1993 vs. Florida State) were home games. The last time they played a team that was 7-0 or better during the regular season was the 2004 finale at No. 1 Southern Cal (41-10 loss). Their last win over a 7-0 or better team was that 1993 1-vs.-2 game with FSU. Their last road win over a 7-0 or better team was the 1988 finale at USC, another 1-2 matchup.

The last four times they've played where "College GameDay" was held, they've lost. The last three were on the road, including the trip to Clemson.

Comparatively speaking, Temple doesn't have a history. The Owls have three victories over ranked teams, none against one in the Top 10. The first was in 1987 (at Pitt), the next came 11 years later (at Virginia Tech). And last Nov. 1, they beat No. 21 ECU at the Linc.

"I'm excited for our guys to have a a chance to go out and play against the best," Rhule said. "Our plan to win doesn't change. This game has to be about us and how we play.

"I think for us, it's kind of fun in a lot of different ways to put that (2013) game on and see . . . your (current) starting outside linebacker starting at free safety. We see how far our guys have come. But you can also see how far their guys have come."

Notre Dame has Philly exports on its team - real good ones, who figure to be playing on Sundays in the future - in linebacker Mike McGlinchey (Penn Charter) and wide receiver Will Fuller (North Catholic, Roman Catholic). Think Temple ever had a chance to get them? That's hardly what this game's about, just the reality. And part of what makes it all the more captivating.

Not many neutral observers would pick Temple to win. And that's OK with the Owls.

"That's how the outside world will look at it," senior defensive lineman Matt Ioannidis said. "We'd love to win because it's the next game, not because it's Notre Dame.

"It's great that we're in this situation. But the goal is to keep getting better."

Whatever happens, after this, they can get back to the business of trying to finally put a conference title trophy in their trophy case, a quest that continues Friday night at AAC West foe SMU (1-6). On Nov. 21, they'll host No. 15 Memphis (7-0), also in the AAC West, in a game that, if you don't count perceptions, is overall more important to them. Just as Cincy meant more than Penn State. But, of course, perceptions are always a large part of the landscape. And in college football, it doesn't get any bigger than Notre Dame.

See you at the Linc.