Temple vs. South Florida: Owls excited for 1st Big East test

The Temple Owls are getting ready for their first Big East contest of the year against the South Florida Bulls on Saturday at Lincoln Financial Field.

The Owls are looking forward to getting back into Big East conference play, which the program hasn't been a part of since 2004, according to Philly.com.

"It's what you want to do," said senior defensive end Marcus Green, one of the captains. "You always want to get into conference play, so we're real excited it's here. We want to get started."

To this point, Temple has had a slow start with defeats against the Penn State Nittany Lions and Maryland Terrapins. The Owls' only win was against Philadelphia rival Villanova, who is an FCS school in football.

Despite a 1-2 mark, Temple head coach Steve Addazio feels good about his club.

"We're developing, trying to grow. That's the focus. We've played two BCS teams. People forget that a little bit. And we weren't overmatched, per se. I'm hoping that helps us."

Addazio continued, talking about how pleased he is with the outlook for his program.

"For us to pound into the Big East right now is the more important thing for us. So whatever we have to deal with, we're going to deal with. In the big picture, this is exactly where we should be. I don't like the fact that we're 1-2, at all. But I do like the fact that we're in the Big East, in conference play, with a bright future."