Temple to meet Wyoming in bowl game in Albuquerque

TEMPLE, AS anticipated, is going to its fourth bowl game. But for the first time, the Owls will be getting on a plane to do so.

In 1979, Wayne Hardin's 9-2 team headed up the Jersey Turnpike to play Cal in the now-defunct Garden State. Two years ago, Al Golden's 9-3 club headed down I-95 to the nation's capital to meet UCLA in the since-renamed EagleBank. And we can only assume that in 1934, when Pop Warner took his 7-0-2 squad to the inaugural Sugar to face Tulane, they went by train.

Now, first-year coach Steve Addazio's guys are headed to Albuquerque on Dec. 17, when the first three of 35 bowls will be held, to play Wyoming in the Gildan New Mexico. Their matchup will kick the postseason off at 2:30 Eastern time, on ESPN.

"That's awful cool," Addazio said. "People are excited to see the first game. It's a chance to go to a whole new venue. I'd rather do that, honestly, than just be tucked back late, late, late.

"It's going to be a crazy week [of preparation]. It's all going to happen fast. That's kind of good. We want to get that ninth win. That's really important to us. What a great feeling if we can come home [with that] and enjoy the holiday season. That's what you want."

He figures the Owls will leave on the 14th, after a week of final exams.

Last year, of course, the Owls also finished 8-4 but were one of two bowl-eligible teams, and the only one with a winning record, that stayed home. That team lost its last two. This one won its last three.

"They always remember November," Addazio noted.

A record-tying five MAC teams are headed somewhere. Champion Northern Illinois (10-3) drew Sun Belt winner Arkansas State (10-2) in the GoDaddy.com bowl, Jan. 8 in Mobile, Ala. Ohio (9-4), which beat out Temple to take the East Division, gets Utah State (7-5) in the Famous Idaho Potato, also Dec. 17, in Boise. Toledo (8-4) will play Air Force (7-5) in the Military (formerly EagleBank), Dec. 28 in Washington, D.C. And Western Michigan (7-5) goes to the Little Caesars Pizza against Purdue (6-6), Dec. 27 in Detroit.

Wyoming, out of the Mountain West, went 8-4 for third-year coach Dave Christensen. A year ago it beat Fresno State in this game in two overtimes, 35-28. It was the Cowboys' first bowl since 2004, and second since 1993.

They've played Temple once. That was in the 1990 opener, in Laramie. The Owls lost, 28-23. But they would finish 7-4 that year, their lone winning record between the mid 1980s and 2009.

"Last year was a really tough time," said center John Palumbo, one of 13 senior starters, who's been injured much of the second half of the season. "With eight wins, you kind of take it for granted [that you're getting an invitation]. This year we were a little more skeptical. You definitely want to hear [the news]. It's a sigh of relief.

"It's been pretty special. You think about all the times you had together. All the heart you put into it paid off . . . I think the whole [2009] experience will help us. We might have been a little too anxious to play. We kind of let everything [become] bigger than a game. It's hard to explain. Now I think we have a lot of veteran guys who went through it. We're going to try and play it like every other game."

The Cowboys beat two FCS teams, Weber State and Texas State. They also beat 8-4 San Diego State and 7-5 Air Force, both on the road. And they won at Bowling Green, where Temple lost. The losses were to Nebraska and TCU at home, and at Utah State and Boise State.

"We wanted to go someplace different," said senior outside linebacker Tahir Whitehead. "We want to get to show our talent somewhere else. We're happy with New Mexico. We thought it was going to be warm. But I'm hearing it's really good. It's going to be fun. We just want to get out there and beat them."

In their last game, a 34-16 win over Kent State the day after Thanksgiving in South Philly, the Owls lost quarterback Chris Coyer, a third-year sophomore making his third start, early with an injured (left) throwing shoulder.

"That's the one downside [of playing early]," Addazio acknowledged. "But he feels pretty good right now. I'd be surprised if he wasn't ready. I feel good about it."