Temple put to rest any chance of bowl-bid chaos on Saturday in a dominating 34-10 performance against Navy to capture the American Athletic Conference title in Annapolis, Md.
The Owls scored a touchdown on their first three possessions while forcing Navy to a turnover on downs, a fumble and a punt in their first three drives. Ahead 24-3 at halftime, Temple piled it on the second half, intercepting Navy quarterback Zach Abey for a second time and another turnover on downs while running out the clock with 5.3 average yards per carry.
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While Temple fans are celebrating a championship and their 10th win of the season, the College Football Playoff committee is breathing a sigh of relief. Here's why:
Navy was 19th in Tuesday's College Football Playoff rankings, two spots back of undefeated MAC champion Western Michigan. But Navy doesn't close the season until Dec. 10 with its traditional game against Army. An American title would have kept the Midshipmen in the running with Western Michigan for the Group of 5's New Year's Six berth in the Cotton Bowl and would have delayed bowls from selecting their schools until after the Army-Navy game.
The bowl season begins Dec. 17 with five bowls — all involving Group of 5 teams. Teams usually arrive to those bowl sites on Wednesday, Dec. 14, so those schools would have little more than a 72-hour turnaround between learning what bowls they are in and traveling to the sites, according to ESPN. The short time frame would also likely affect fans' ability to travel and potentially hurt the communities hosting those games.
Now, thanks to Temple's win, we can throw all the potential disarray out the window. The bowl selections will be announced, as scheduled, beginning at noon ET Sunday on ESPN.