Looking at our Falcons ...
We have a young team that is coming off a difficult road loss that all but ended their hopes of winning the MAC East title. They are facing their second consecutive road trip. This is a non-conference game very late in the season. They are facing a team that hasn't won a game since late 2004.As for Temple ... Al Golden needs a win - I'm sure the old Todd Rundgren song "Just One Victory" is ringing in his ears. Going winless in his first campaign will make it very difficult to maintain the enthusiasm created by his arrival. His best chance for a win was the season opener at Buffalo, but that slipped away. Kent would have seemed a potential win at season's start, but the Flashes posted a "W" at The Linc.
Now Golden is 0-8 and looking at this remaining schedule:
BG at home
CMU at home
at Penn State
at Navy
Which of those appears to be the most winnable game? Yep, our Falcons appear to be the most likely victim of an Owl upset. So I expect Golden to pull out all of the stops Saturday. If he has any motivational magic, he'll implement that, too. Shouldn't be hard to find material, since we've won the last two contests by a combined 140-23 (or somethign like that).
I know a lot of folks will say they can't see us losing to Temple, but some of the more "seasoned" fans will recall a particularly painful loss to Buffalo that, I believe, gave the Bulls their first win as a D-IA program.
In short, I believe this game is a real test. It's a test for Coach B, because he must keep his young team focues and enthusiastic for a game many of the kids are probably looking past, especially with the gaunlet that follows (Akron, Miami, Toledo). It's a test for the players, too. We've posted a few close victories (FIU, EMU, Buffalo) and some painful losses (Ohio State, Wisky, Kent), but only one convincing win (Ohio). Can this team start strong and put away a team?
