UPDATE at 8:46 p.m. on Feb. 11
The American Athletic Conference released Temple University’s official 2019 football schedule, which includes matchups with the University of Maryland and Georgia Tech.
Temple will play four nonconference and eight conference opponents during its 12-game schedule, The American announced Thursday morning.
Rod Carey will coach his first game on Aug. 31 when the Owls host Bucknell University, a Football Championship Subdivision school.
Four of the Owls’ first six games will be at Lincoln Financial Field. Temple has seven home games next season, with visits from reigning East and West division champions Central Florida and Memphis.
Maryland, the University at Buffalo and Georgia Tech are Temple’s three other nonconference opponents. The Owls will play Maryland and Buffalo for the second consecutive year. Last season, Temple lost at home to Buffalo, 36-29, on Sept. 8, 2018, before it beat Maryland on the road, 35-14, the next week.
The Owls will host Maryland on Sept.14 and travel to Buffalo on Sept. 21.
After the first two games of the season, the Owls won’t play back-to-back home or road games.
Former Temple coach Geoff Collins will come to Philadelphia on Sept. 28 for Temple’s game against Georgia Tech. Collins led the Owls to an 8-4 record in the 2018 season before he became Georgia Tech’s coach on Dec. 7, 2018.
Temple players are looking forward to the matchup against their previous coach, redshirt-junior quarterback Anthony Russo told The Temple News in January.
“I am not too focused on that part of the schedule yet,” senior linebacker Sam Franklin said in January. “But [Collins has] to come to Philly, that’s all I am going to say.”
Cherry Crusade President Josh Forman believes the fan atmosphere against Georgia Tech could resemble the atmosphere for the Penn State and University of Notre Dame games in 2015. The Cherry Crusade will plan special promotions for Collins’ return to Philadelphia, the senior added.
The Owls will travel to Greenville, North Carolina on Oct. 3 to open conference play against East Carolina. This will be one of their two Thursday road games televised on ESPN, including a game against USF on Nov. 7.
Forman presumes fan attendance will be higher next season with no Thursday night home games. Thursday games typically draw a smaller crowd, particularly in the student section.
Temple played of its upcoming seven opponents — Maryland, Buffalo, East Carolina, UCF, USF, Cincinnati and Connecticut — during the 2018 season. The Owls went 5-2 against those teams, with their losses in games against Buffalo and UCF.
Michael Zingrone contributed reporting.
Be the first to comment