If you think having Tommy Rees under center presents questions, try being Temple. Connor Reilly, a junior out of Ft. Polk, Louisiana, will be the least-known quarterback from SEC country the Irish have game-planned against in the last two games. Debate the merits of Rees all you want, ND fan, for Reilly has ZERO GAME EXPERIENCE. That means he has NO STATS. That means the first opponent he gets to face is Louis Nix, III. Connor? You’re a bowl of Cinnamon Toast Crunch. Connor? You’re a bike seat. As of this writing, Vegas has the Irish as 29.5 point favorites.

The Owls run a pro spread offense and utilize a 4-3 defense. 2012 was a lost season for the Owls, who were deprived of a twelfth game, and the chance for a fifth win (they finished 4-7) by conference realignment. Starting the season at 2-0 with wins over South Florida and Connecticut, Temple was mauled as it went through the slaughterhouse that is Rutgers-Pittsburgh-Louisville-Cincinnati, managing just 54 points and giving up 161 points over the four games. Temple’s got a ton of big bodies on the O-line, but right tackle seems to be the big question mark for them in the trenches. Irish fans should expect a big day from their defensive ends, with Stephone Tuitt, in particular, looking to make an early statement in this game.

Temple’s defense is undersized relative to the Irish and should have a world of problems contending with the likes of Niklas and Daniels and Jones and Notre Dame’s O-line.

Interestingly, there are no tropical systems threatening New Orleans this year, so the Bayou Barometer is NOT in play for this game. Still, it’s a true home game, so visions of USF are dancing around my head. To calm them, I watched this:

To vanquish them, I watched this:

Long story short, Irish fans, this should be a thumping by Notre Dame. Prediction: 63-14.

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Another thing I like to do to pass the time is read. And, seeing as how my thoughts turned to our first foe of the season, I did a little reading about Temple. Here’s what I learned:

Image Credit: Temple

We’re going to win this game. While Temple, 4-7 last season, is a program that’s probably moving in the right direction under first-year coach Matt Rhule (if you consider a move from the MAC to the Big East “the right direction”), they don’t have the talent, the size, or the speed to keep up with the Irish on August 31. USAToday recently (June 15) ranked the Owls 88th in their preseason countdown and predicted “four clear losses” on their 2013 schedule: Louisville, Cincinatti, Rutgers, and Notre Dame. For what it’s worth, I agree. At least insofar as that statement includes the Irish.

In the days before Crazy Train, the upstarts (Tulsa) and the hardworking (Navy) fared well in The House That Rock Built. No more. When the Owls silently fly into South Bend, they will have to contend with a retooled offensive line, a two-QB system (stop it), Louis Nix, III, and Stephon Tuitt. Apparently, what happened is that Temple’s number three quarterback, Connor Reilly, so impressed Coach Rhule in their Spring game, that he vaulted to the top of the depth chart. Evidently, the old starter, a senior named Chris Coyer, is a “run-first” QB and that’s not what Coach Rhule wants going forward. I wonder if Messers. Nix, Tuitt, et al. had anything to do with that. Run first! And your name isn’t Everett Golson? Please.

According to sources, Temple’s biggest issues for the coming season are its defense, and Rutgers. Man, they don’t like Rutgers. In case you didn’t know (and you didn’t), Rutgers considers Temple to be inferior, less good, you know, morons. Like Purdue. But if Tommy Rees can get the ball down field, and against Temple’s D-line and secondary, he should, Temple’s got no one who can hang with TJ Jones or Davaris Daniels.

Here’s how we lose: play like we did against USF in 2011. Barring injury or arrest, our two-deep should manhandle the Owls. But if Turnover Tommy gets under center…

Some other tidbits about Temple you might not have known: their APR is 963, their GSR is 66, and their FGR is 57. If you don’t know what that means, click here. Temple is in Philadelphia, where everyone thinks this is the best sandwich in town. Or this. But really, this is. Oh, and Bill Cosby played football there. And, if you clicked the Temple link earlier, you no doubt saw that you can buy two season tickets for $150. Suffice it to say, no Temple games make this list.

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