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| The 2012 Temple Football schedule released today. |
One of the favorite household remedies for a hiccup is spoonful of sugar.
Temple University's football team had a few hiccups last year (Toledo and Bowling Green come to mind) and, if the 2012 football schedule released today is any indication, the Owls got an intravenous injection of sugar today that could inoculate them against future similar spasms.
It's a sweet schedule, with the only hint of bitterness that is is one game short.
As far as I know, the college football preseason magazines come out too late to include a classified section.
However, if Temple was to place an ad, it would look something like this:
HELP WANTED: Large urban university, close to major airport and within easy driving distance of 46 percent of the nation's population, seeks football opponent for fall of 2012, but not necessarily for a home game. School has been bowl eligible for three straight seasons and has posted record-setting TV numbers for college football in the nation's fourth-largest market. Have fan base, will travel. Fan base traveled 20,000 to D.C. for 2009 bowl and 6,000 to New Mexico for 2011 bowl. Open dates are Saturday, Sept. 15 or 29th or Saturday, Dec. 1. FCS foes need not apply. If interested, please contact Temple athletic director Bill Bradshaw at bill.bradshaw@temple.edu.
The "official" word out of Temple is that the Owls are quite satisfied to play 11 games this season after the release of the schedule today.
The "unofficial" word out of Temple is that there is still time (albeit not much) to add another opponent.
The trick is finding someone with an open date on either Sept. 15, Sept. 29 or Dec. 1.
Not much luck there, but there are FBS and BCS schools out there who would like to drop an FCS foe for Temple, so there is some wiggle room involved. Selfishly, as a fan who plans my fall Saturdays around Temple football, I'd like to see another game added.
Realistically, though, going with 11 just for this year could turn out for the better.
Whether or not they can find another suitable game for an FCS school is the tricky problem.
That's what Temple AD Bill Bradshaw will be working on today and into the weeks ahead.
Still, whether this is an 11-game or a 12-game schedule, it is undoubtedly the most exciting schedule of my lifetime.
Even in the Wayne Hardin and Bruce Arians years, when the Owls were playing the 10th-toughest schedule in the country, there was no league title on the line.
When the Owls did finally join a league, the Big East, they weren't competitive.
Now they have the best of both worlds: Attractive foes week-in and week-out and a good chance to win every week.
They have six locked in home games and bring a competitive team to the Big East right away.
It could be the best Temple football season ever if the Owls focus every week like they did against Penn State and Maryland last year.
No time for hiccups this year.
