Big win behind them: Owls face huge road test in Cincinnati

While Penn State may have literally buried the game film of its 27-10 humiliation against Temple in State College this past week, the 1-0 Owls, which will play their biggest conference game of the season Saturday at Cincinnati (1-0), have sounded all week as if they have figuratively done the same thing.

"We enjoyed Saturday," American Athletic Conference defensive player of the week Tyler Matakevich said earlier this week. "Once it turned Sunday that game was behind us. Last year Cincy averaged over 40 points a game. It's a nice win but it's over. Our goal is to win a conference championship."

The road there begins Saturday (8 p.m. ESPNEWS) at Nippert Stadium, which recently completed an $86 million overhaul and is said to be exponentially louder than it was before its transformation. There the Owls will find a Cincinnati team that received fewer votes (7) than the Owls (8) did in the AP Top 25 balloting after barley working up a sweat in last Saturday's season-opening victory over FCS Alabama A&M, 52-10.

Temple is not only facing a team that was the unanimous choice to win the conference in their AAC opener. The game represents the first of three consecutive road games that will be crucial in determining whether or not the Owls will potentially play in a bowl game and are really serious contenders for the conference crown.

By the time the Owls play their next home game on Oct. 10 against Tulane, 34 days will have passed since the Owls defeated Penn State. In the interim, they've got games at Massachusetts (Sept. 19) and Charlotte (Oct. 2) that are broken up by a bye week before returning home for three of their next four.

While they have spoken this past week of being singularly focused on the Bearcats, who are led by the conference's top quarterback in Gunner Kiel and a core of returning vets on offense and a veteran defense that has been stingy against the run, the Owls know the importance of being successful in the following two road games as well.

"If you look at them like a block of games then, yes, they are very important," said quarterback P.J. Walker, who made his first career start against Cincinnati two seasons ago. "On the road we feel like we come out with a chip on our shoulder. That's different from being home.

"But at the end of the day, we have to win these games by looking at them one at a time," he continued. "Cincinnati is next. But we know what coming after that. We are very aware."

@JmitchInquirer