TEMPLE OF DOOM

All eyes are on Philadelphia, where No. 21 Temple hopes to ride a staunch defense to victory over No. 9 Notre Dame.

Rarely in college football can it be said with a high degree of certainty that a school is playing the biggest football game in program history. This is one of those times. No. 21 Temple hosts No. 8 Notre Dame on Saturday night in the first game the Owls have ever played featuring two ranked teams.

Temple is also 7-0 for the first time in school history. And the ultimate stamp of authenticity: ESPN’s “College GameDay” is setting up shop in Philadelphia this weekend for Temple.

Temple! A program that was an FBS outpost for decades. Temple football was so bad at one point it was essentially kicked out of the Big East. Now, Temple is playing the game of the week on Halloween Night at a sold-out Lincoln Financial Field, the home of the Eagles.

“People are stopping me on the street. They’re excited. I just think it’s a small window of all the great things happening at Temple,” coach Matt Rhule said.

Notre Dame (6-1) is right at home on the big stage. The Fighting Irish spend much of the season being their opponent’s marquee game, playing in prime time with high stakes.

“We just have to stay within ourselves. We know they’re going to be really hyped, they’re going to be really into it. We just have to come in and play our game,” Notre Dame running back C.J. Prosise said.

The Irish are heading down the stretch thinking playoffs. Their only loss came at Clemson on a soggy night when they could not convert a last-minute 2-point conversion to tie. If they can avoid another loss, the College Football Playoff selection committee will have to consider the Fighting Irish for the final four.

But what about Temple? Yes, it sounds crazy, but the Owls have already beaten Penn State. If they can do the same to Notre Dame and continue winning when they return to American Athletic Conference play, they will have be part of the discussion when it comes time for playoff bids to go out.

Picture this: Undefeated Temple hosting undefeated AAC rival Memphis on Nov. 21. The 16thranked Tigers have already nudged their way into the national conversation with a victory against No. 19 Mississippi.

The way things have been going for Temple, why not dream big?

“I want us to enjoy each and every moment,” Rhule said. “I’m not concerned at all we won’t be ready to play the game. I’m not concerned that the moment will be too big. Now are we good enough to hang with Notre Dame? That’s the concern.”

Around the American

South Florida at Navy: Keenan Reynolds and Quinton Flowers are at their best when running the football.

Reynolds, a senior quarterback, has been the primary running threat in Navy’s triple-option offense since taking over as the starter midway through his freshman season. Over his career, he’s amassed 3,822 yards rushing yards and 75 rushing touchdowns.

He ranks third in the American Athletic Conference this season with 636 rushing yards. On Reynolds’ heels is Flowers, who has gained 563 yards on the ground for South Florida.

Both their talents will be on display Saturday when the Midshipmen (5-1, 3-0) host the Bulls (4-3, 2-1).

Reynolds needs three more rushing touchdowns to break the NCAA record held by former Wisconsin tailback Montee Ball (2009-2012). Reynolds is 358 yards shy of surpassing Napoleon McCallum as Navy’s all-time leading rusher.

Flowers set a single-game school record for rushing yards by a quarterback with 201 in last weekend’s 38-14 win over SMU. He leads the Bulls with seven rushing touchdowns.

Vanderbilt at Houston: The 18th-ranked Houston Cougars have hit arguably the toughest stretch of their season, starting Saturday against the Vanderbilt Commodores.

The Cougars have four of their last five games at home, which should help against Vanderbilt, Cincinnati, No. 16 Memphis and Navy.

However, first-year coach Tom Herman is quick to point out that being at home doesn’t matter if they don’t execute.

“I’d rather it be this way than the other way; having four road games as your last five,” Herman said. “At the end of the day we have to go out and execute whether we’re at home or on the road. The one place that it will benefit us is not traveling.”

The Cougars already defeated one team from a Power 5 conference in Louisville September 12 and know what defeating another school from a Power 5 conference would do for them.

“They understand that there doesn’t need to be a whole lot of motivation in terms of the opponent that you are playing,” Herman said. “I want to make sure this week that the focus and preparation is solid. Our guys know who they are, and what (Vanderbilt) did last week to Missouri and the conference that they are in, I’m confident that they will be excited to play them.”

Tulane at Memphis: Justin Fuente isn’t peeking at the daunting schedule that awaits No. 16 Memphis after Saturday night. The coach’s focus on one opponent at a time is so strong that his quarterback insists he doesn’t know how long the Tigers’ winning streak really is.

The Tigers concern themselves with only one issue right now, and that’s win this week. It’s the approach that got Memphis the highest ranking in school history.

“It definitely feels cool,” Memphis quarterback Paxton Lynch said. “You see that and other schools, their ranking keeps going up. We just know if we keep winning ballgames and doing what we need to do, and take care of business, the sky’s the limit for us.”

First, the Tigers play Tulane on Saturday night before turning their attention to hosting Navy and later visiting No. 18 Houston and No. 21 Temple. Fuente also finds himself making sure the Tigers balance staying confident while still working to improve despite having won 14 straight games.

“My job is to make sure we balance that confidence and make sure we balance that confidence with an understanding of why you feel that way because of the hard work you put in and attention to detail,” Fuente said.

Tulsa at SMU: Both Tulsa and SMU will be looking to notch their first conference win of the season while also snapping a losing streak. Tulsa hopes to bounce back from a 66-42 drubbing by Memphis and snap a two-game skid, while SMU looks to snap a five-game losing streak.

UCF at Cincinnati: The Central Florida Knights hit the road for their first game since former coach George O’Leary abruptly announced his retirement following the program’s worst home loss, a 59-10 shellacking at the hands of then-No. 21 Houston. The Knights head to Cincinnati to take on a Bearcats team that has yet to put together consecutive wins after being named a preseason favorite to win the conference. The Bearcats will look to make it back-to-back victories after beating Connecticut 37-13 at home last week.

“People are stopping me on the street. They’re excited. I just think it’s a small window of all the great things happening at Temple,”

— Matt Rhule,

Temple head coach