ESPN Says Temple Could Be in National Title Hunt
Quarterback P.J. Walker of the Temple Owls drops back to pass in the third quarter of the NCAA football matchup between the Temple Owls and the East Carolina Pirates at Dowdy Ficklen Stadium in Greenville, NC, on October 22, 2015.
Temple is 7-0 in football for the first time ever.
That’s pretty great. Here’s what’s better: Temple is so good ESPN has already started concocting ways the Owls could make the four-team national title playoff. Yes, really.
Last night, the Owls scored two late touchdowns in a span of 1:13 to beat East Carolina, 24-14. Jahad Thomas, the Owls’ star running back, had just 66 yards rushing but scored a pair of touchdowns in the win. P.J. Walker‘s TD pass to Robby Anderson with 3:31 to play gave Temple the lead for good.
Afterward, ESPN — which broadcast the game — actually ran a segment discussing how Temple could be in the national championship hunt. Last week, we theorized Temple would end somewhere in the bottom end of the top 10 if they finished the season 12-0, won the American Athletic Conference championship and a bowl game.
ESPN says an undefeated Temple might be good enough to get into the College Football Playoff, the four-team championship bracket selected by a 13-member committee. I don’t think I buy that, but ESPN’s analysts should know better than I do!
To be fair, analysts Danny Kannell and Joey Galloway said Temple had zero chance of beating Notre Dame. Kannell laughed at the idea. That’s how good the Owls are now: They even have media doubters fans can taunt on Twitter! This is truly uncharted territory for Temple.
It’s not just ESPN that has Temple football fever. This morning, Fox 29 and 6 ABC both covered Temple’s plane landing at PHL Airport at 5 a.m. The school is talking about building a new $100 million stadium.
The Owls play Notre Dame (currently 6-1) at Lincoln Financial Field on October 31st.
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