Central Michigan

After his team opened its season Friday with an exhilarating victory over Villanova in the Mayor's Cup at Lincoln Financial Field, Temple football coach Al Golden slept in his office at Edberg-Olson Hall. "I watched film of the Villanova game - offense, defense, and special teams - and I slept well but not for long," said Golden, adding that his staff members who had gone home for the night were back at work at 6 a.m. There was no time to waste. Central Michigan, the defending Mid-American Conference champion, will visit 2009 MAC East cochampion Temple on Thursday.

MOUNT PLEASANT, Mich. - Sixty seems to be the magic number for Temple's basketball team. The Owls have yet to allow 60 in a game all season and have not lost a game in which they have scored 60. That was the case again last night as the Owls defeated Central Michigan, 65-53, in the Chippewas' home opener, in which the new McGuirk Arena was christened. "I think it is a very important win for us," coach Fran Dunphy said. "It is an important time for us. We didn't play particularly well in Orlando [in the Old Spice Classic last week]

In another blow to the diminished prestige of the Big Ten, Michigan State lost at home to Central Michigan, 29-27, yesterday afternoon. Handed a second chance to make the winning field goal because of an offside penalty on the Spartans' Colin Neely, Andrew Aguila kicked a 42-yarder with three seconds left for the winning points. Central Michigan star Dan LeFevour, who became the Mid-American Conference's all-time leader in total offense, threw an 11-yard touchdown pass to Paris Cotton with 32 seconds left.

The first Mid-American Conference game of the season will take place Thursday night at Lincoln Financial Field, where defending champion Central Michigan will visit Temple, which was the preseason choice to take the title this year. Both teams bring 1-0 records into the nationally televised game on ESPNU. Central Michigan, which opened with a 33-0 win over Hampton last week, has claimed the MAC championship three times in the last four years. The Chippewas, who compete in the MAC West Division, are playing under first-year coach Dan Enos.

The opening month of the season provides no shortage of advancement opportunities for Temple's ever-emerging football fortunes. First, the Owls had to get past that annoying Villanova hump. Nobody said by how much. Next Saturday, Connecticut comes here. The same UConn that beat them in 2007 in Stoors, when an apparent late Temple touchdown was not called one by either the officials on the field or those in the replay booth. The Huskies also took the 2008 rematch at Lincoln Financial Field, in overtime, after billboards had vowed to get JusTice.

The first Mid-American Conference game of the season will take place Thursday night at Lincoln Financial Field, where defending champion Central Michigan will visit Temple, which was the preseason choice to take the title this year. Both teams bring 1-0 records into the nationally televised game on ESPNU. Central Michigan, which opened with a 33-0 win over Hampton last week, has claimed the MAC championship three times in the last four years. The Chippewas, who compete in the MAC West Division, are playing under first-year coach Dan Enos.

Many obstacles stood in the way of a successful home opener for Temple: The loss of the Owls' inside presence, Micheal Eric, who is out for six weeks with an injured right kneecap. The inactivity of Temple's emotional leader, Scootie Randall, who has yet to play this season after surgery on his left knee. And the fact that without the 6-foot-11 Eric, the Owls only have two active players taller than 6-6. But none of that mattered Saturday. Undersized Temple still defeated the Central Michigan, 86-74, at the Liacouras Center.

The last time Temple's football team started 2-0 was 1981. Since then, 11 teams from North Broad Street were in position to change that and didn't. The last time the Owls had won seven consecutive home games was 1940-41, which is also the school record. The last time they'd won in overtime was . . . well, never, in six tries. Last night at Lincoln Financial Field, in front of 15,152, this Temple team took care of all three history lessons in one swing of a right leg. Last Friday, sophomore Brandon McManus beat defending FCS national champion Villanova with a last-second field goal, his fourth of the game.

The learning curve for Temple quarterback Chester Stewart just got a little steeper. The redshirt freshman, making his third start for the Owls, threw three interceptions as Temple lost to Central Michigan, 24-14, yesterday at Kelly/Shorts Stadium. He had 163 yards through the air on 15-of-32 passing "Those three interceptions were killers, because we gave Central Michigan a short field," Temple coach Al Golden said. "Overall, Chester was doing well, and then he panicked a couple of times and made some throws out there that I think he would like back.

PENN STATE granted guard Matt Glover a release from the program so he can transfer to a school closer to his home in California. Glover played in all 32 games and started 21 this year, his only season in Happy Valley. The sophomore came to Penn State after spending one season at Sheridan Community College in Wyoming. The scrappy, 6-foot-4 Glover averaged 23.5 minutes, 2.8 points and 4.2 rebounds. Coach Patrick Chambers said in a statement that Glover told him after the season that he wanted to move closer to his mother and family in Orange, Calif.

THE POWER conferences are taking the day off, but championship week rolls on. One mid-major league is just getting started, while four others wrap things up tonight. Here's the rundown: STARTING TODAY Mid-American Conference Regular-season champ: Akron (21-10, 13-3) is the No. 1 seed for the first time in school history. The Zips' leading scorer is Zeke Marshall (10.3 ppg). What is the likelihood a guy named Zeke would lead the Zips? MAC mites: Akron's biggest hurdle will be Buffalo, which beat the Zips twice.

The Mid-American Conference announced a new divisional alignment for football beginning in 2012. Massachusetts joins the conference, bringing the number of football schools to 14. UMass will compete in the East Division, while Bowling Green will move to the West. This alignment is for football only. UMass won't be eligible for the conference football championship or a bowl game until the 2013 football season. East Division: Akron, Buffalo, Kent State, Massachusetts, Miami (Ohio)

Elena Delle Donne, the nation's leading scorer, had 30 points and 13 rebounds to lead No. 22 Delaware to a 70-57 win over Wake Forest in Winston-Salem, N.C., on Sunday. Delle Donne, who averages 29 points per game, helped the Blue Hens (8-0) claim their first win over an Atlantic Coast Conference team and extend the best start in school history. Delaware held Wake Forest without a field goal for 111/2 minutes during the decisive 19-3 run. Delle Donne's jumper with just over 11 minutes left made it 48-46 and put the Blue Hens ahead to stay.

Many obstacles stood in the way of a successful home opener for Temple: The loss of the Owls' inside presence, Micheal Eric, who is out for six weeks with an injured right kneecap. The absence of Temple's emotional leader, Scootie Randall, who has yet to play this season after surgery on his left knee. And the fact that without the 6-foot-11 Eric, the Owls only have two active players taller than 6-6. But none of that mattered Saturday. Undersized Temple still defeated Central Michigan, 86-74, at the Liacouras Center.

IN JANUARY, THE NCAA granted the Houston quarterback a sixth season of eligibility, after the school argued that he'd redshirted as a true freshman because of a shoulder injury and not voluntarily. His 2010 season ended with a knee injury in the third game. Now he's putting a hurt on the record book. Last week Keenum became the FBS all-time total offense leader. He now has 17,173 yards. The mark belonged to Hawaii's Timmy Chang (16,910 from 2000-04). With 16,271 passing yards, Keenum needs 802 to pass another Chang standard.

MAC PRESEASON POLL Voted by the league media; first-place votes in parentheses: EAST DIVISION 1. Miami (4). . . 97 2. Ohio (8). . . 96 3. TEMPLE (4). . . 88 4. Kent State. . . 57 5. Bowling Green. . . 48 6. Buffalo. . . 37 7. Akron. . . 25 WEST DIVISION 1. Toledo (8). . . 83 2. Northern Illinois (5). . . 81 3. Western Michigan (2). . . 76 4. Central Michigan (1). . . 55 5. Ball State.

The Temple football team has been selected to finish third in the East Division of the Mid-American Conference. The preseason poll, determined by the league's media contingent, was announced at the annual MAC Football Media Day today at Ford Field in Detroit. Miami was selected to win the East by a single vote over Ohio. Miami received four first-place votes and Ohio got eight. Temple received four first-place votes and finished with 88 points, followed by Kent State, Bowling Green, Buffalo and Akron.

PITTSBURGH - With a bare-knuckle opening and a hanging-on-by-their-fingernails finish, the Pittsburgh Steelers earned a shot to put another ring on their fingers Sunday, beating the New York Jets, 24-19. "There are 32 teams that start this journey, and there are two left, and we are fortunate enough to be one of them," said Steelers head coach Mike Tomlin. "It's awesome. " The Steelers, who already have the most Super Bowl wins in NFL history, now have a shot to earn a seventh championship and a third behind 28-year-old quarterback Ben Roethlisberger.