But the Irish squad could probably use a little motivation to get excited about playing Temple. Temple's players will already be stoked to play Notre Dame at night on national television, I really think hyping this game up helps Notre Dame.
It's also a decent opportunity to smack them to the tune of 42-17 and start to earn some style points.
I think we dismantle Temple with a 50+ spot on the board. This bye week is huge and allows us to reflect and heal a bit. I'm crazy in saying this, but I believe VanGorderstache will call a gem.
I think you guys are right. Temple's record is nice, but they haven't really beaten anyone (which pains me to say, because I'm a UC fan). It's all smoke and mirrors to this point. Their best wins are against PSU, who is awful, and UC, who gifted them the game with 6 turnovers (only two of which Temple actually forced). They've struggled with or *handled* the other opponents on their schedule, who are all trash.
I watched them play in person. Their defensive front is disruptive, but only when their talented LB's blitz. A couple dump offs to CJ on a delayed release or a couple of quick hitters to Alize will solve that problem quickly.
Their QB is just absolutely awful as a passer. He throws a nice ball on deep corners and posts, but he can't throw a timing pass to save his life and his accuracy is questionable at best. He's a great athlete, but he didn't really show an understanding of when he should take off vs when he should stay in the pocket and just move around.
The biggest issue for ND may be trying to stop their speedster RB, especially if their QB has learned how to use his athleticism a bit better by then. They could hurt ND with the option and the screen game. But then I remember that we have Jaylon Smith, and I feel a bit better about ND vs Temple's biggest strength.
So basically: pick up the blitzers, don't get burned by the RB, don't turn the ball over, and you win by 35+.
Of course, all of this means that Temple's QB will probably put it all together for the ND game and ND will have to win in a dog-fight.