Temple University Athletics
Temple Football Travels to Akron
10.9.07 | Football
Oct. 9, 2007
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THIS WEEK
Under the direction of second-year head coach Al Golden, Temple travels to Akron for its second MAC road game. Kickoff is set for 6 p.m. on Saturday, Oct. 13 at the Rubber Bowl.
The Owls' radio broadcast will air on The Big Talker, WPHT 1210 AM, with Harry Donahue calling the play-by-play and Steve Joachim providing color analysis. Live gametracker stats, live audio streaming will be available on the Temple Athletics website at www.owlsports.com.
Under the guidance of fourth-year head coach J.D. Brookhart, the Zips stand 3-3 overall and 2-0 in the MAC after a 39-38 win at Western Michigan last Saturday.
Temple and Akron each utilize a multiple offense. While the Owls employ a 4-3 defense, the Zips use a 3-3-5 defense. Both squads are coming off one-point victories in Mid-American Conference play. TU's 16-15 homecoming win over Northern Illinois is the team's first this season and first-ever as a member of the MAC. Akron's 39-38 win at WMU puts the Zips at a perfect 2-0 in conference play, one of four teams to maintain a perfect league record to date.
Unlike Temple, Akron sports a veteran roster. The Zips return 44 lettermen from last season, including 13 starters.
In series action, Temple leads, 9-7. The teams have not met since 1999 when Akron claimed a 25-15 home win. The Zips are riding a two-game winning streak vs. Temple. However, the Owls won six straight in the series over a 12-yard span from 1976 to 1988.
Temple has no players on its roster from the state of Ohio. Akron has 14 players from Pennsylvania but none from Philadelphia.
The teams will play in the Rubber Bowl, Akron's home stadium since 1940. With a capacity of 31,000, the stadium is the second-largest collegiate facility in the state of Ohio. The Bowl is second to Ohio State's Ohio Stadium which seats 101,568.
TEMPLE-AKRON: THE SERIES
Saturday's game will mark the 17th meeting between the Owls and the Zips since the squads' first meeting in 1967.
In their last meeting, Akron scored 25 first-half points en route to a 25-15 win at the Rubber Bowl.  Temple scored all 15 of its points in the fourth quarter. Marcus Godrey led the Owls on the ground with 16 carries for 67 yards. QB Mac Devito scored TU's first touchdown on a two-yard run. Devito closed out the stanza with a 43-yard toss to Sean Dillard for the second touchdown.
SERIES INFORMATION
Temple all-time vs. Akron: 9-7 Temple in games at Temple: 5-4 Temple in games at Akron: 4-3 First meeting in series: 1967 at Temple Stadium, W, 22-21 Last meeting in series: 1999 at Rubber Bowl, L, 15-25HOMECOMING CHEERYear Site Results TU Coach UA Coach 1967 Temple Stadium W, 22-21 George Makris Gordon Larson 1970 Temple Stadium L, 0-21 Wayne Hardin Gordon Larson 1973 Temple Stadium W, 47-33 Wayne Hardin Jim Dennison 1975 Rubber Bowl L, 23-24 Wayne Hardin Jim Dennison 1976 Rubber Bowl W, 23-13 Wayne Hardin Jim Dennison 1978 Rubber Bowl W, 56-21 Wayne Hardin Jim Dennison 1979 Veterans Stadium W, 42-6 Wayne Hardin Jim Dennison 1980 Veterans Stadium W, 16-7 Wayne Hardin Jim Dennison 1987 Veterans Stadium W, 23-3 Bryce Arians Gerry Faust 1988 Rubber Bowl W, 37-17 Bruce Arians Gerry Faust 1991 Veterans Stadium L, 32-37 Jerry Berndt Gerry Faust 1992 Rubber Bowl L, 15-29 Jerry Berndt Gerry Faust 1993 Veterans Stadium L, 7-31 Ron Dickerson Gerry Faust 1994 Rubber Bowl W, 32-7 Ron Dickerson Gerry Faust 1998 Franklin Field L, 28-35 Bobby Wallace Lee Owens 1999 Rubber Bowl L, 15-25 Bobby Wallace Lee Owens
SERIES HIGHS Temple Owls Rushing: Todd McNair 32-127, 2 TD (1987) Passing: Matt Baker 9-15-203, 3 TD (1988) Receiving: Leslie Shepherd 5-116, 0 TD (1991)
Akron Rushing: Brandon Payne 25-156, 2 TD (1999) Passing:  Marcel Weems 13-19-247, 0 TD (1993) Receiving:  Jeff Blakely 3-133, 0 TD (1993)
Under head coach Al Golden, the Temple Owls are a perfect 2-0 in homecoming games, presented by Verizon. Last year during his inaugural season, Golden led TU to its first win, a 28-14 victory over Bowling Green at Lincoln Financial Field. The win was the first for Golden as a head coach while snapping the team's 20-game losing streak. On Oct. 6, Temple posted a 16-15 win over Northern Illinois for its second straight homecoming win and first victory in MAC play.
