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Temple Would be Leading the American Conference if They Didn’t Let Navy Off the Hook
Published:
Temple improved to 5-3 on the season by knocking off Tulsa in overtime on Saturday:
Tulsa stinks but gave the favored Owls everything they could at home. No matter. It’s a W in Oklahoma, as K.C. Keeler’s boys find themselves on the brink of bowl eligibility for the first time since 2019.
Temple’s three losses this season have come against:
- 8-0 Georgia Tech (ranked 8th in the AP Poll)
- 6-2 Oklahoma (ranked 18th in the AP Poll)
- 7-0 Navy (ranked 23rd in the Coaches Poll)
What’s more is that they had Navy on the ropes, but THEY LET THEM OFF THE HOOK, as the late, great Denny Green once said. The Owls were up 7 on the Midshipmen at home with 1:16 remaining on the game clock. They gave up a 51-yard touchdown run on 4th and 1 then Navy converted a beautiful two-point conversion to steal the game. It was outrageous. Highway robbery. Temple would be leading the American Conference at 4-0 with a 6-2 overall record had they finished off that game. They would have been in line for the Hawai’i Bowl or Fenway Bowl.
Moving forward, this is an Owls team that should beat 4-3 ECU at home. Then they get 3-4 Army followed by 6-1 Tulane and 7-1 North Texas. Even if they split, 7-5 and a bowl berth with a chance to get to 8-5 would be an incredible season. T IS FOR TEMPLE U
Kevin has been writing about Philadelphia sports since 2009. He spent seven years in the CBS 3 sports department and started with the Union during the team's 2010 inaugural season. He went to the academic powerhouses of Boyertown High School and West Virginia University. email - k.kinkead@sportradar.com