Owls hoping for a change in fortunes against Army

WHAT TEMPLE football could use right now is a win.

It's never as simple as that, but . . .

Not much was expected from the Owls this season, in their first year back in a BCS conference. Then they won their first two Big East games and everyone got excited.

Since then, they've lost four straight, by a bunch, including three against teams that have a combined four losses. They've had injuries, some to key guys. They lack depth. They've had quarterback issues. They've been inconsistent. They're playing a ton of freshmen.

"It is what it is, you know," said second-year coach Steve Addazio, whose 3-6 team has been installed as a slight underdog Saturday at 2-7 Army, which the Owls beat, 42-14, last year in South Philly. "We're trying to get as much experience as we can. You hope the seniors can motivate the young guys. They feel like they've got 100 tomorrows. And the older guys start to realize they don't have very many tomorrows. It's up to them to help the young guys appreciate how fragile it is.

"Our strength is in the freshmen and sophomore class right now. That's just the cycle of football. You're going to go through pain and disappointment as you move forward, and you get confronted with that kind of deal. I see some disappointment in some of the eyes of the older guys, when the reality hits them that there's 10 days of football left.

"I challenged our older guys to play a great football game on Saturday. We need to do that. Here is it, your opportunity. What do you want to get done here? It'll be interesting to see how those dynamics play out."

The Owls, who finish at home with Syracuse (5-5, 4-2) the morning after Thanksgiving, were trying to schedule a 12th game with Hawaii, to make up for losing a game on the schedule when they moved from the Mid-American Conference in March. That won't happen, because Hawaii decided it didn't make enough financial sense.

Even if Temple wins out, it can't get the necessary six wins to be bowl eligible. Still, Addazio thinks a 5-6 team might get a bid, if there are not enough eligible teams to fill all 70 slots for the 35 scheduled bowl games. Whether a 5-6 Temple would be deemed more worthy and/or more attractive than some other 5-7 team is anybody's guess.

That becomes irrelevant, of course, if the Owls go to 4-7. And Army, which lost to FCS Stony Brook, beat 5-5 Air Force at home 2 weeks ago. Last week, the Cadets and their wishbone offense were tied at Rutgers through three quarters before losing by 21.

"This is certainly not a 12-month process," reiterated Addazio, who hasn't divulged whether starter Chris Coyer, backup Juice Granger or even Penn State transfer Kevin Newsome will be his quarterback. "When you're rebuilding, this is all part of it. But our day will come."

Until then, play on as best you can. Regardless of the circumstances, it has been a long month. But a win could sure ease some of the sting from that growth chart.