Buffalo and Temple are making their move
Buffalo and Temple are making their move
Posted by ESPN.com's Graham Watson
Saturday's game between Buffalo and Temple might not be a clash of the titans, but that doesn't make it any less of an intriguing matchup.
For years, Buffalo and Temple have been the scourge of the FBS (formerly I-A) world. The last time both teams had a winning season was 1984, and the two have just one winning season each since.
But third-year head coaches Turner Gill and Al Golden are turning things around. Both programs are 1-1 to start the season; the first time Temple had won a nonconference game since 2004 and only Buffalo's second nonconference win since that time.
Although neither team is a world beater right now, both seem to be moving in the right direction in terms of being able to play with most teams around the country.
"We're probably very similar in a lot of ways just going back in the past history with not much success that we've had in the past from a football standpoint," said Gill, Buffalo's coach. "Right now we're both moving in the right direction, so this is really a key game for both of us particularly because it's the first MAC game of the year. It's always good to get off with a win in the MAC Conference. Coach Golden, he's an excellent coach and done a great job there and it's just a great opportunity for both of us."
Both coaches are cautious to say too much about their squads for fear of jinxing a good thing. For the first time in the two seasons, Gill and Golden have confidence that they could be players in the Mid-American Conference East and that quest starts against each other Saturday.
"In the East, I think anybody can beat anybody at any given time," Gill said. "It's not that big a difference on the East side. You can look at the top and you can look at the bottom and probably just pick names out of a hat and see what happens."
Although it's been an uphill battle, complete with a lot of losses and letdowns, both coaches said their teams are better for the climb. Golden said he's watched his team mature through the heartache. Golden said for the first time since he's been at Temple, he watched his players take Saturday's 12-9 overtime loss to Connecticut hard.
"You have to go through that phase to turn a program around. To have guys in the locker room for the first time since I've been here that are spent, that are crying, that are almost distraught is actually a good thing," Golden said. "The biggest thing for us is I'd say in our last nine games we've been very competitive in all of them, including the Penn State game that ended up 31-0. And that wasn't the case the year before when we lost by an average of 30 points per game."
Temple is 1-11 against Buffalo and the Owls haven't beaten the Bulls since 1970, but after trouncing Army and losing in overtime to Connecticut, Gill knows this is a far different Temple team than the Bulls have faced in the past.
Temple has not allowed a touchdown in the first half of a game this season, and just one in regulation. The only other touchdown came in overtime against Connecticut. The Owls pass defense ranks third in the country and they're fourth in pass efficiency defense. Buffalo ranks 18th nationally in passing efficiency.
Both coaches think Saturday's game will open a lot of eyes to the teams that are usually on the bottom of the MAC. While parity is starting to run rampant with the top non-BCS schools and the teams of the BCS, the lower level non-BCS teams are starting to make their move, too.
"Now, we can go out and recruit kids that used to be the fifth, sixth and seventh tailback at Penn State," Golden said. "There are kids out there now that are good enough to win with that used to be stockpiled at the perennial powers. So parity is starting to appear across the board and we're showing progress because of it.
"That's why you take a job like this. To do something that nobody thinks that you could have done and to really do something that hasn't been done."
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