"We've come off three winning seasons, two bowl games, and a recent bowl victory - the first in [32] years at Temple," Owls second-year coach Steve Addazio said here at Tuesday's Big East media day. "It's a new Temple. It doesn't resemble anything where it was six or seven years ago."
Seven years ago, the Owls were about to start their 21st of 24 consecutive losing seasons.
While Temple has improved as a program, it might be hard-pressed to duplicate last season's success.
The Owls return just eight full-time starters from a squad that finished 9-4, including a 37-15 victory over Wyoming in the New Mexico Bowl. Also, the Big East's caliber of competition is considered by most to be higher than that of the Mid-American Conference, of which Temple was a football-only member for the last five seasons.
Louisville is considered the Big East's front-runner, with the Cardinals receiving 24 of a possible 28 first-place votes.
South Florida (four first-place votes) was picked to finish second, followed in the top five by Rutgers, Cincinnati and Pittsburgh. Connecticut and Syracuse were picked to finish sixth and seventh, respectively.
"I don't know where we'll be in this pecking order at the end of the season," Addazio said. "I have no idea.
"I do know this: We will show up. We will play really, really hard and we will represent the game the way it is supposed to be represented. That's what I will promise you."
Temple's players believe that these preseason rankings are a result of the media's unfamiliarity with the improvements to the program.
"I just see us as the entry team," offensive tackle Martin Wallace said. "They don't really know much about us. We haven't really had [much at] stake yet in the actual Big East. We had been playing at a lower conference.
"So when they put us there it was like: 'OK, you know what? We are going to have to show what we are.' But I understand the mentality where they put us at."
Noteworthy. Romond Deloatch will be eligible to play for the Owls this season, according to a source. There had been a thought that the freshman wideout would be forced to attend a prep school to work on his grades.
Contact Keith Pompey at 215-854-2939 or kpompey@phillynews.com. Follow him on Twitter @pompeysgridlock Read his blog at www.philly.com/OwlsInq
