No 'what ifs' as Temple focuses on Ball State

IF TEMPLE played Toledo 10 times, maybe they'd both win five. And maybe you could say the same about Temple and Maryland. And maybe Temple and Toledo will play again in the MAC title game.

But unless there's a rematch, all we know for sure is that Toledo came here and beat Temple by 23. One week after Temple went to Maryland and won by 31.

And all the Owls (3-2, 1-1 MAC East) can do now is go to Ball State (3-2, 1-0 MAC West) and try to start a winning streak.

"Our job is to rally our team back," Owls first-year coach Steve Addazio said. "You don't want to overreact [to either]. Somewhere in the middle is reality. You can't cry in your locker. It gets away from you really quick. When it's over, it's over. We have a society that wants to push reset buttons all the time. My bad, can I get a redo? No, it's over. You squandered it. It's gone. Get ready to move on, and make sure it doesn't happen again.

"We didn't handle our business. There's consequences. We have to figure it out and move forward. It's funny how it goes. You can play that 'what if' game, but it doesn't do you any good. We have a lot of ball ahead of us. That's the line you walk."

The Cardinals lost at South Florida, 37-7, and just got understandably squashed at Oklahoma, 62-6. They've beaten Indiana, Buffalo and Army, which are a combined 4-11. The Owls' other remaining trips are to Bowling Green (3-2) on Oct. 22 and Ohio (4-1), the preseason pick to win the division, on Nov. 2. Their three home games - with 1-4 Buffalo, 0-4 Miami Ohio and 1-4 Kent State - look more user friendly. This much is certain: If they win out, they'll be in Detroit for their first MAC finale, on Dec. 2.

The Wildcats (1-4, 0-2 CAA), coming off a 20-16 home loss to 11th-ranked William & Mary, now hit the road to face No. 6 New Hampshire (3-1, 1-0). And next week they will travel to No. 7 James Madison. There's a reason why they call this the SEC of FCS.

They've scored one offensive touchdown in each game. Hard to beat anyone that way, but especially a team that averages nearly 40 (and gives up slightly more).

"I hope we can score some points," coach Andy Talley said. "It's frightening, when you really think about it. We're trying to keep our pride going, groove our young players. We've got to earn everything we get. We got better last week, but it was still another loss. With New Hampshire, you're always on the razor's edge. They know exactly what they're going to do, and it happens quickly. There's nothing you can throw at them that they haven't seen."

The Wildcats hope to get starting quarterback Dustin Thomas (shoulder), a redshirt freshman, back in a few weeks. Until then, walk-on senior Christian Culicerto has been doing a capable job despite working with an injury-depleted set of skill-position components.

The Quakers (1-2, 1-0 Ivy) won their Ivy opener at Dartmouth on a late touchdown. Next week, they'll resume their threepeat attempt at Columbia. But first they have to deal with Fordham (1-3), which now has scholarships, in their final nonleague game.

Maybe not the way you'd like to see the schedule shake out.

"It puts everyone [in the Ivies] in harm's way," coach Al Bagnoli said. "Not just Penn. You're into the Ivy League, then you're out of it, before you go back in. And the teams we play are all physical teams. Not just Villanova [but also Lafayette, like Fordham a member of the Patriot League]. You never know how you're going to come out of that. It's not easy. And next year will be fun. We've got William & Mary. You hold your breath every time you play a scholarship team. And Fordham wasn't giving them out when this one was scheduled."

The good news?

"[Quarterback] Billy Ragone grew up right in front of our eyes on that winning [89-yard] drive," Bagnoli noted. "I told him he picked a really good time."