The Badgers will go up against perhaps their weakest opponent in years when they host the Temple Owls this Saturday. Wisconsin is a 34-point favorite-only Purdue and Texas Tech were given bigger lines this week-not because Brian Calhoun and the Badger offense seem unstoppable, but because just about any offense is unstoppable against Temple.
Every major conference has its bottom feeders (the Southeastern Conference has Kentucky, the Atlantic Coast Conference has Duke). Temple, however, manages never to contend in a conference-the Big East-which has been top-heavy with the likes of Miami and Virginia Tech and then fairly mediocre beyond that.
The Owls have gone 3-20 over the past two seasons, and two of those three wins were against Middle Tennessee State and Florida A&M. Their only conference win during that span came against Syracuse. Temple hasn't been able to hold its own in a major conference because they can't recruit the talent. Philadelphia, where Temple's campus is located, is simply not a city for collegiate football. Its most athletically prominent schools-the University of Pennsylvania, Temple, and Saint Joseph's-all thrive in basketball, but have you ever heard of their football teams?
Even if any Pennsylvania football standouts wanted to stay in-state, they would head to Pitt which has the perpetual recruiting edge, boasting such alums as Tony Dorsett, Dan Marino, and most recently, phenom Larry Fitzgerald. In the world of athletics, Temple is Don Chaney and 2-3 zones. Unlike Texas or Florida, the school doesn't have the appeal to become a two-sport powerhouse who can build programs by selling recruits the atmosphere, location, and winning tradition-so it must choose its focus, and the choice has clearly been made.
So now the Owls have accepted an offer to leave the Big East where they have been unable to compete and become a part of the Mid-American Conference effective 2007 (though they are eligible for the conference's bowl bids as of this year). Surely they can make it look like a matter of free will, though some coercion was likely since the Big East gave itself a makeover and probably don't want Temple in the \after"" picture.
Temple began its first of two seasons as a MAC ""affiliate"" last Thursday getting crushed by No. 20 Arizona State 63-16, extending their losing streak against ranked opponents to 22 games. To make matters worse, Temple will play-in order from ""nearly impossible to win"" to ""impossible to win""-Maryland, Clemson, Bowling Green, Virginia and Miami. It doesn't look as though Temple will contend until their schedule consists entirely of MAC opponents. Until then, teams will be lining up to run all over the Owls and score more points than there are minutes in the game.
Aren't you glad Wisconsin is next?
