The final matchup for the Group of Five conferences’ championship games is officially set.
Needing a win against UConn to wrap up the AAC East, Temple went out and did just that, with the Owls closing out a very successful and historic 2015 regular season with an impressive 27-3 win over the Huskies. A loss to UConn by Temple would’ve handed the East division to USF.
As has been the case most of the season, it was the Owls’ defense that was the star of the show as the visiting Huskies were limited to 138 yards of offense. Putting an exclamation point on the defensive dominance, UConn averaged a meager .3 yards on 26 carries.
Now, 10-2 Temple will have a week to prepare for 11-1 West division winner Houston in the first-ever AAC championship game. Because of the Cougars’ conference record, the game, which will very likely determine the Group of Five’s New Year’s Six bowl bid, will be played on UH’s on-campus home field.
Temple will be looking for the football program’s first conference title since claiming the Middle Atlantic crown way back in 1967. Already, though, the Owls’ 10-win season is just the second in school history, with the first coming in 1979. With two more wins, the owls could get to 12 wins on the season; the previous three seasons, they won a total of 12 games.