It's all laid out for the University of Cincinnati football team.
Cincinnati, which re-entered the College Football Playoff rankings Tuesday night at No. 25, is in a three-way tie atop the American Athletic Conference standings. The Bearcats (8-2, 5-1 AAC) are tied with Central Florida (8-2, 5-1) and Tulane (8-2, 5-1).
UCF (CFP No. 20) stands alone, owning the tiebreaker with wins over both Cincinnati and the Green Wave (CFP No. 21) in the past three weeks.
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If Cincinnati wins its last two regular-season games, it will earn a spot in the AAC championship game for the fourth straight season.
If the two-time defending AAC champion Bearcats go on to win a third straight AAC crown, they will play in the Cotton Bowl, which is part of the New Year’s Six bowl lineup this season. The game will be played Jan. 2 at AT&T Stadium in Arlington, Texas, the same place the Bearcats lost to top-ranked Alabama in last season's College Football Playoff semifinal.
But none of that matters if Cincinnati doesn't win Saturday at Temple (4 p.m. on ESPNU).
"The scary thing about them is they're playing their best ball in November, and that's what we pride ourselves on," Bearcats senior wide receiver and team captain Tre Tucker said.
Cincinnati is 3-8 all time when Temple hosts. The Bearcats' last visit to Philadelphia on Oct. 20, 2018, ended in a 24-17 loss to the Owls in overtime. Tucker was a senior at Cuyahoga Valley Christian Academy in northeast Ohio at the time.
"I know that Temple has always been a problem for us," he said. "Even before I was here. I can remember my senior year of high school, (the Bearcats) were undefeated and they went over there and played Temple away, and lost. That was one of their only losses other than UCF that year. Temple is always a tough place to play and they're always a tough team. So, I think everyone's going to be on high alert. Obviously, we know what we've got next week (No. 21 Tulane on Nov. 25 at Nippert Stadium), but this week is just as important, just because of how they play and who they are. So everyone's going to make sure they're focused and have a good week of practice."
Our first look at the Temple Owls
RECORD: The Owls are 3-7 (1-5 AAC) this season, with their only conference win coming Nov. 5 at home against South Florida (1-9, 0-6). Temple defeated the Bulls, 54-28.
Temple's other two victories also came at home against FCS Lafayette (3-7) and independent Massachusetts (1-9). The Owls lost by a touchdown (43-36) last week at Houston (6-4, 4-2) and suffered a one-possession defeat (27-20) Oct. 29 at Navy (3-7, 3-4).
HEAD COACH: Stan Drayton is in his first season at Temple and in his first stint as a head coach. The Owls hired the 51-year-old Cleveland native in December 2021 following Drayton's four-year run as the associate head coach, running backs coach and running game coordinator at Texas.
Drayton previously coached the running backs for most notably the Chicago Bears (2015-16), Tennessee (2008) and Florida (2005-07 and 2010). Cincinnati head coach Luke Fickell and Drayton were both on the staff at Ohio State from 2011-14.
KEY PLAYERS: Temple quarterback E.J. Warner leads the nation in passing yards in November with 830. The 6-foot, 190-pound freshman is one of just six quarterbacks with multiple 300-yard games this month.
Warner, who turned 19 years old on Nov. 3, passed P.J. Walker (2,084) for the most passing yards by a freshman in school history. Warner has 2,334 yards through the air with 13 touchdowns and nine interceptions. Warner has completed nearly 59% of his passes (202-for-344).
Warner's top target has been wide receiver Jose Barbon. The 6-foot, 185-pound graduate student leads the Owls in both receptions (54) and receiving yards (727). Barbon's five games with 100-plus receiving yards are tied for the most in a single season in program history.
Sophomore running back Edward Saydee has 575 yards on 126 carries and five touchdowns this season to lead the Temple rushing attack.
Defensively, the Owls rank second in the AAC in passing yards allowed (181.2) and first in the conference in both tackles for loss (79) and sacks (32, tied with Cincinnati). Temple has the No. 1 defense in the AAC for opponent conversion rate on third down (34.5%).
The Owls are led by linebacker Layton Jordan. The 6-foot-2-inch, 220-pound junior has 45 tackles (32 solo), 15 tackles for loss, 6.5 sacks, three forced fumbles, two interceptions and a fumble recovery through 10 games.
SERIES HISTORY: Cincinnati is 9-13-1 all time against Temple, including wins in each of the last two meetings. The Bearcats routed the Owls 52-3 at Nippert Stadium last season. Cincinnati is 2-2 against Temple under Fickell.
FUN FACT: A win Saturday would give Cincinnati nine victories for the fifth straight season, a feat that has never been accomplished in the 135-year history of the program.
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