Tonight will be a battle, a battle where the Temple Owls will take on the East Carolina University Pirates on the road to play on ESPN’s Thursday night’s national stage and fight to keep first place in the American Athletic Conference East.
The last time the Temple University football team played a game and was ranked in the Top 25 was in the 1979 Garden State Bowl against the unranked University of California, Berkeley. Temple was the underdog in the matchup but won 28-17.
FAN VIDEO: QB PJ Walker passes to Jahad Thomas for a touchdown vs. UCF.
Now, the Owls are 6-0 and have found a spot in the Top 25 for the first time since then. The Owls, also known as the No. 22 team in the AP poll, will play tonight at East Carolina in a crucial division matchup. The Owls host Notre Dame on Halloween for Saturday Night Football at Lincoln Financial Field. With a winning football program, comes a positive and ecstatic campus atmosphere for students, administration and alumni.
“To see a winning football program is all I ever wanted when I came here to Temple. There’s a buzz and excitement levels this school has never experience about its football team,” said student Pratik Patel. “The coolest part is how Temple Football is hype not only around campus but also around Philadelphia. More news stations and businesses have now paid more attention to Temple Football.”
Matt Rhule has worked on shaping Temple’s football program since he was named head coach in 2013 and was placed on the Paul “Bear” Bryan Coach of the Year Watch List yesterday.
“If College Game Day comes to campus, the anticipation will be beyond the roof. Overall the culture is improving and hopefully we can be a football and basketball school, instead of just a basketball school,” said Patel.
Last year, East Carolina was ranked No. 21 with a 6-1 record when they traveled to Philadelphia to take on the Owls. Temple pulled off a 20-10 victory on their way to finishing the season with a 6-6 record. East Carolina finished their season 8-5 and lost a bowl game.
East Carolina lost two important players; quarterback Shane Carden and wide receiver Justin Hardy. The Pirates are 4-3 right now overall and 2-1 in the East. The teams’ division loss was a game against Navy.
Temple Football has taken everyone by surprise this year and running back Jahad Thomas and linebacker Tyler Matakevich have showcased their skills for the Owls, breaking numerous records.
Students who have been rooting for the football team since their freshman year are now getting the chance to witness history being made during their final year in cherry and white.
“I would say it’s definitely exciting especially with it being my senior year and not having a very good football team any of my other years and it’s definitely a change from other years because people are actually excited about going to the games and the stands are so much fuller,” said Temple student Haley Kuhns. “I’m sure that helps the team but I think it started with the win against Penn State and it created a great sense of camaraderie at school since we haven’t beat them in 74 years so I think there was a new energy to kick off the school year.”
Temple kicked off the season with a huge win over Penn State at home and have been unstoppable since.
Be sure to cheer on your Temple Owls tonight at 7:00 p.m. on ESPN2 or tune in at 97.5 The Fanatic.