Mike Aresco must’ve been sweating bullets when East Carolina took a 14-10 lead over No. 22 Temple into halftime Thursday night. It was just Monday where ABC announced Notre Dame at Temple as the 8 p.m. primetime matchup on Halloween.
Your Temple Owls will be undefeated when they play Notre Dame in the biggest game in the history of the program.
— Dan Gelston (@APgelston) October 23, 2015
When national college football writers are churning out stories declaring the American Athletic Conference’s trio of unbeatens (Houston, Memphis and Temple) as legitimate playoff contenders, with a few more losses by the Power Five’s elite, having your conference’s first ever Saturday night showcase change from “game with national implications” to “Notre Dame vs who again?” would’ve soured the AAC’s historic start for the conference commissioner.
But once Temple pulled away from the rebuilding Pirates late in the fourth quarter for a 24-14 win, Aresco could breath easy again — Temple-Notre Dame is still the most important regular season game in the AAC’s three-year history.
I’m careful, like all writers, not to bring myself into my stories, but making an exception is appropriate for this one. Writing for sports blogs is a passion of mine; it’s almost intoxicating. I enjoy writing about college sports. But when I’m not writing, I’m working as a sales rep for an ABC affiliate in my hometown.
Here is a quick summary of what I do: I sell commercial spots to local and regional businesses. The higher the rating on a particular program, the more I can charge per spot. Ratings fluctuate throughout the year, making for a convoluted sales process that is rarely consistent. However, while viewers eventually lose interest in a TV show, college football never loses its value as a hot program. Americans are, and will likely always be, crazy about their football.
Saturday Night Football on ABC is typically the most watched program on Saturdays during the fall. Believe me, I’ve read the data to back that statement.
Viewership for Temple-Notre Dame would still be high if the Owls had fallen at East Carolina last night for the reasons previously mentioned and because any game involving Notre Dame will always do well — Why do you think NBC gave Notre Dame an exclusive TV contract in the first place? But with undefeated Temple playing “America’s Team,” er, Notre Dame on national television in coveted primetime, people will now tune in for the game’s implications on the college football playoff (6-1 Notre Dame is also still in the mix) rather than to simply watch another football game.
This is why the AAC needed the Owls to reach 7-0. Memphis jumped from unranked to No. 18 in the latest AP poll after upsetting then-No. 13 Ole Miss at home. How high can the Owls fly in the polls if they defeat No. 11 Notre Dame on national television — in primetime?
Get this. The last time Temple Football was ranked, ESPN was just 3 months old. #TEMvsECU pic.twitter.com/TymycsW6TV
— ESPN College Football (@ESPNCFB) October 22, 2015
It’s up to the Owls to execute and play their best game against the Fighting Irish in order for the AAC’s time in the Saturday night spotlight to not be an embarrassment. But scraping by ECU gives Temple and the upstart AAC a one night opportunity to be on equal footing with the Power Five elite.
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