According to a report on Philly.com, Notre Dame and Temple and in negotiations that would result in a home and home series between the Irish and Owls in 2013 and 2014. Nothing, however, is finalized at this point.
The 2013 game would be a road game for the Irish played inside the Philadelphia Eagles’ Lincoln Financial Field as Temple plays its home games inside the “Linc”.
Before anyone groans about potentially adding Temple to the schedule, let’s not forget that Temple hasn’t been the doormat they once were since Al Golden took over the program in 2006 and that the Owls nearly knocked off UCLA in the Eagle Bank Bowl last year. Temple was 9-4 last year under Golden’s guidance and have improved every season since he was named their head coach.
Considering the tentative 2013 schedule already includes marquee programs Michigan, USC, and Oklahoma along with other BCS schools Purdue, Arizona State, Pitt, and UConn, a game like this is a nice addition to the 2013 schedule. On the surface I’m sure plenty of people will give Notre Dame AD Jack Swarbrick grief over this potential matchup, but you need games like this on your schedule as well as those marquee games. In fact, the only “gimme” on the 2013 schedule right now is Navy – and they just beat Notre Dame two of the past three seasons.
A game in Philadelphia against Temple would be a big deal in the area since Temple has not been able to draw many big name opponents to play them in their house in a while. Lincoln Financial Field is also a great venue for a game – very similar to M&T Bank Stadium in Baltimore where the Irish have played Navy a few times in recent years.
The only problem with such a game is that it will be tough to Temple to hold on to Al Golden until these games happen making it tough for them to maintain the success they’ve had with him in charge. His name is going to come up a lot during coaching searches over the next few years especially if a vacancy where to become available in Happy Valley where Golden played his college ball.
Swarbrick has taken heat for adding teams like Tulsa and Western Michigan to the 2010 schedule, but he shouldn’t take any if he ends up adding Temple to the 2013-14 schedules. If Temple can hold on to Al Golden until then, they should be a solid team and it would give Notre Dame a chance to play a game in a major market in an NFL Stadium.
On a side note: Congradulations to Tim Brown and his induction into the College Football Hall of Fame. As one of the most exciting players to ever suit up for the Irish, he represented his Team and school extremely well.
Next stop… The NFL HOF
Tim Brown, always a class act!
I believe the Irish benefit whenever they can play in the New York and New Jersey market. We need that exposure into those recruiting markets. I don’t really see that Temple is that different from Western Michigan or Nevada. We need games like that on our schedule each year.
Temple isn’t what they use to be, plus they play in a major city, and it is a very winnable game for ND. That is 3 positives for playing Temple. This is the team they should play instead of Nevada and Western Michigan