Temple University Athletics
American Athletic Conference Preseason Media Poll Has Temple Second in the East, Third in the Conference
8.2.16 | Football
NEWPORT, R.I. - The American Athletic Conference announced the results of the 2016 writers' poll and the Temple Owls were predicted to finish second in the East Division. The Owls finished 10-4 overall and 7-1 in league play last season and are the defending American East Champs. Temple received nine out of the 30 first-place votes on the East side, finishing second behind USF who received 15 first-place votes.
Cincinnati was the only other team on the Eastern side of the American Athletic Conference to receive any first place votes (6).
The Houston Cougars are predicted to finish first in the West as they received 30 out of the 30 first-place votes for the West Division and 27 out of the 30 first-place votes for the entire conference. The Cougars are the defending conference champions and finished eighth in the AP Poll released at the end of the year. Houston defeated Temple in the conference championship last year, 24-13.
Other notable programs mentioned in the West with high preseason expectations include Navy and Memphis. The rankings can be seen below.
American Athletic Conference Championship
Votes- Team
27- Houston
2- USF
1- Temple
East Division
Team (First-Place Votes), Points
1. USF (15), 164
2. Temple (9), 144
3. Cincinnati (6), 130
4. UConn, 89
5. East Carolina, 55
6. UCF, 48
West Division
Team (First-Place Votes), Points
1. Houston (30), 180
2. Navy, 128
3. Memphis, 124
4. Tulsa, 92
5. SMU, 65
6. Tulane, 41
The Owls are returning six starters on both offense and defense including three-year starting QB Phillip Walker, and four all-conference honorees from last year- senior OL Dion Dawkins, junior DB Sean Chandler, redshirt senior DL Haason Reddick and senior RB Jahad Thomas.
Matt Rhule enters his fourth year as the head coach for the Owls, and like the conference, he has very high expectations for his team heading into the season.
The team reached 10 wins for just the second time in program history last year. Never has a Temple team reached 11 wins or gone to bowls in consecutive seasons, certainly one of the goals heading into the 2016 season.
Seven out of Temple's 12 games will be played at home this year, including two huge AAC matchups with Eastern conference favorite South Florida (Friday, Oct. 21, 7:00 p.m.) and Cincinnati (Saturday, Oct. 29, TBD).
The 2016 American Athletic Conference Championship game will be played on Saturday, Dec. 3, and will kick-off at noon on either ABC or ESPN.
Cincinnati was the only other team on the Eastern side of the American Athletic Conference to receive any first place votes (6).
The Houston Cougars are predicted to finish first in the West as they received 30 out of the 30 first-place votes for the West Division and 27 out of the 30 first-place votes for the entire conference. The Cougars are the defending conference champions and finished eighth in the AP Poll released at the end of the year. Houston defeated Temple in the conference championship last year, 24-13.
Other notable programs mentioned in the West with high preseason expectations include Navy and Memphis. The rankings can be seen below.
American Athletic Conference Championship
Votes- Team
27- Houston
2- USF
1- Temple
East Division
Team (First-Place Votes), Points
1. USF (15), 164
2. Temple (9), 144
3. Cincinnati (6), 130
4. UConn, 89
5. East Carolina, 55
6. UCF, 48
West Division
Team (First-Place Votes), Points
1. Houston (30), 180
2. Navy, 128
3. Memphis, 124
4. Tulsa, 92
5. SMU, 65
6. Tulane, 41
The Owls are returning six starters on both offense and defense including three-year starting QB Phillip Walker, and four all-conference honorees from last year- senior OL Dion Dawkins, junior DB Sean Chandler, redshirt senior DL Haason Reddick and senior RB Jahad Thomas.
Matt Rhule enters his fourth year as the head coach for the Owls, and like the conference, he has very high expectations for his team heading into the season.
The team reached 10 wins for just the second time in program history last year. Never has a Temple team reached 11 wins or gone to bowls in consecutive seasons, certainly one of the goals heading into the 2016 season.
Seven out of Temple's 12 games will be played at home this year, including two huge AAC matchups with Eastern conference favorite South Florida (Friday, Oct. 21, 7:00 p.m.) and Cincinnati (Saturday, Oct. 29, TBD).
The 2016 American Athletic Conference Championship game will be played on Saturday, Dec. 3, and will kick-off at noon on either ABC or ESPN.
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