Yes, if Ohio wants to remain in the hunt for the Mid-American Conference East Division title, it needs to win all of its final three games of the 2007 regular season, beginning tonight at Peden Stadium against Temple.
But there’s something more on the line for the Bobcats than keeping pace to pounce on the division should Buffalo falter — pride. Because winning out is the only way for them to finish with a winning record.
“This game is important to show people who say (the win against Bowling Green) is a fluke that it isn’t,” quarterback Theo Scott said. “This Temple game could be a really big statement just to get back-to-back wins, because we haven’t had any back-to-back wins since the beginning of the season.”
The last time the Bobcats (4-5, 2-3 MAC) had consecutive victories were the first two games of this season, against Gardner-Webb and Louisiana-Lafayette. And they haven’t seen the .500 mark since late September, a far cry from what anyone expected following a trip to the MAC Championship Game and a bowl bid a year ago.
But the Bobcats aren’t the only ones trying to prove they’re worth paying attention to. The Owls (3-5, 3-2 MAC) have the same number of wins as that other Philadelphia team that plays at Lincoln Financial Field and have rattled the MAC with three straight victories.
The Owls have drawn attention as something other than the laughingstock of the NCAA, but if the success doesn’t continue, Temple will be quickly reclassified. Or as Owls coach Al Golden told The New York Times:
“It’s fool’s gold if we go out next week against Ohio and lay an egg,” he said.
Temple leads the conference in total defense (366.8 yards per game) and pass defense (198.5 ypg) despite having just one senior playing on that side of the ball.
“Yeah, Temple’s a good football team, with the best defense and the best pass defense in the MAC,” offensive coordinator Tim Albin said. “Sure they’re playing real well right now, coming off a three-game winning streak, and they’ve had two weeks to prepare. But our guys are hungry to get to .500.”
Scott should get his second career start against Temple after he helped guide the Bobcats to their first division win against Bowling Green last week. According to Albin, the sophomore transfer’s attention to detail has picked up rapidly in recent weeks, and he looks increasingly comfortable in Ohio’s offensive system.
“We’re a little different style of team with him in there,” coach Frank Solich said. “I like the fact that he was able to take command out there like a quarterback has to do.”
But while the Owls defense garners considerable attention, there’s just as much focus on Temple’s extensive offensive playbook.
“They have a lot of formations,” defensive end Jameson Hartke said. “They don’t do anything really spectacular or out of the ordinary, but they have done certain things against one team, and against another they’ll do something completely different — a whole different playbook than what they do against somebody else. So, I’m not really sure what we’re going to see.”
What will be seen tonight are two teams looking to make names for themselves — one has pulled out all the stops on its way to establishing itself in its new conference, while the other will do anything it takes to regain the respect it earned last year.
“I just want to win right now, that’s all really. I don’t care how,” Scott said. “At this point, we’ve got nothing to lose. We just have to go out there, play and win however we can.”
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