On the first day of 2011, while still the offensive coordinator at the University of Florida, Steve Addazio helped lead the Gators to a 37-24 win over Penn State in the Outback Bowl.
A little more than nine months later, Addazio will try to coach his team to another victory over Penn Stateonly if he does it this time, it will be historic.
Saturday at noonin a nationally televised ESPN game at Lincoln Financial FieldTemple and first-year head coach Addazio will match up against in-state rival Penn State, a team the Owls have not beaten since World War II.
In fact, the all-time series between the states two largest public schools is so lopsided that legendary PSU head coach Joe Paterno has never lost to the Owls, boasting a 27-0 all-time record vs. his Philly foes. In all, since the teams first meeting in 1931, Penn State leads the series, 36-3-1, with its last loss coming in 1941.
Could this be the year Temple finally rises a rung in the states pecking order and knocks off the perennial powerhouse from Happy Valley?
Every win is significant but they talk about the big 3 in Pennsylvania with Penn State, Pitt and Temple, so obviously youre fighting for respect in the state and the country, Addazio said. And youre playing an in-state team and also a nationally recognized team with a legendary head coach and great players everywhere. So you certainly want to play against the best. You want to have that opportunity. You want Philadelphia to be a part of that.
Its major college football. And its right here at the Linc.
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It certainly is a treat for local college football fans, but in years past the games have been about as one-sided as a hungry dog vs. a steak bone. The last time the two squads met at the Lincin 2007Penn State left Philly with a 31-0 victory, a year after an even more brutal 47-0 romp.
Last season, though, the improving Owls finally made it a game, leading the Nittany Lions for 37 minutes before falling, 22-13, in front of 104,840 fans at Beaver Stadium. It was Temples closest loss to Penn State since 1985 and the first time the Owls led at any point in the game since 1993.
Paterno noticedand is prepared for another tough battle Saturday.
We had our hands full with them last year, the Nittany Lions 84-year-old head coach said during his weekly teleconference. And this Temple team is the best Temple team Ive ever seenand thats in all the years weve played. Theyve got some size. Theyve got speed. Theyve got excellent quarterbacking. Theyre a good football team.
When asked if he was concerned about his players overlooking a team that has not beaten Penn State for 70 years, Paterno scoffed at the notion.
Well, I dont think were in a position to be anything but running scared ourselves, he said. I mean, were not a team that was a great team last year. We went 7-5 last year, lost some games because we were sloppy and the turnover situation, the whole bit. I think weve got to take a good look at ourselves and say, Hey, weve got a ways to go. And Temple certainly is not going to be somebody thats going to be easy.
Let there be no mistake though: Penn State is still a very good football team, fueled by a defense that Addazio believes is one of the nations best.
The Temple coach still remembers PSU senior defensive lineman Devon Stillwho he called a complete dominatortorturing his Florida offense in last years Outback Bowl with seven tackles and 3.5 tackles for loss. And after watching Penn States first two games of the 2011 seasona 41-7 win over Indiana State and a 27-11 loss to No. 3 AlabamaAddazio believes Still and company are even better this year.
Theyre older and theyre better, the Temple coach said. Im very impressed with them. I think theyre a legitimate bona fide one of the top defenses in the country. Thats what Im seeing right now.
But off to their first 2-0 start since 1968, the Owls are better, tooall of which means Saturdays clash could be one of the most competitive Penn State-Temple matchups of all-time.
Its going to be tough, Paterno said. And we better get ourselves ready to play as well as we can play.
Penn to kick off (historic?) season
The Penn football team has made a lot of history inside Franklin Field over the last 135 years, but heading into the 2011 season the Quakers have a chance to do what no other Penn team has done before: Finish three straight seasons without an Ivy League loss.
The Quakers highly anticipated 2011 season begins Saturday with a home game against non-conference rival Lafayette at Franklin Field (6 pm).
Penn will also put an eight-game winning streak on the line when they face the Leopards, hoping to extend the longest active winning streak in the Football Championship Subdivision.
Everyone is itching to get on the field and be playing quality games again, Penn senior tight end Luke Nawrocki said earlier in the preseason. This is a big season for us. We have a chance to make history and I think everyone is feeding off that energy. Well be ready to go against Lafayette.
In other local action, Villanova welcomes Monmouth for its home opener, hoping to win its first game of the 2011 season after consecutive blowout losses to Temple and Towson to start the year.
CSN contributor Dave Zeitlin writes a weekly college football notebook focusing on Temple, Villanova and Penn. Email him at djzeitlin@gmail.com.