There was a Temple home-game record crowd of 69,029 at Lincoln Financial Field to witness Penn State's 31-0 victory on Nov. 10, 2007. A majority in attendance were Nittany Lions fans.
Though they might not be 68,000 strong, there's a chance Saturday's Penn State-Temple matchup will once again be heavily populated with Nittany Lions supporters. And Temple coach Steve Addazio said he could care less.
Actually, Addazio doesn't care where the game is played and who watches it.
"I'd like to play it on the practice field," he said Tuesday. "I don't care if there's a thousand people in there or 60,000 people. I would like to invite them to come play here on 10th and Diamond.
"So I'm not overly concerned about what the crowd is, who the crowd is. It doesn't really matter to me a whole lot."
Addazio just wants to see the Owls (2-0) play hard and passionately against the Nittany Lions (1-1).
He does, however, believe more Temple fans will be in attendance Saturday afternoon. He points to the close to 32,000 Owls fans attending the season opener against Villanova. A Temple record, close to 10,000 students, attended that game. The Owls are expecting more against Penn State.
"Temple, the students, and the Philadelphia community are in support of Temple," Addazio said. "I feel like we will have a great representation there.
"And the ones that are there are the only ones that matter, anyway. So it will be great."
Familiar with Penn State
Though in its first year at Temple, the Owls coaching staff is familiar with Penn State.Addazio and several members of his staff were assistant coaches on the Florida team that beat Penn State, 37-24, in last season's Outback Bowl.
Offensive coordinator Scot Loeffler, who came with Addazio from Florida, used to be a Big Ten rival of the Nittany Lions. He played quarterback at Michigan from 1993 to '96 and later coached at his alma mater from 1996 to 2001.
As an assistant at Indiana from 2002 to '04, Addazio coached against the Nittany Lions. And Matt Rhule, Temple's tight end coach and recruiting coordinator, is the person with the most Penn State knowledge. He played linebacker there from 1994 to '97.
