Temple-Cincinnati football game canceled due to COVID-19 cases at both schools

Temple’s game on Saturday against Cincinnati won’t be played due to positive COVID-19 cases and the ensuing contact tracing of the athletes at both schools.

The American Athletic Conference said the game, which was scheduled for Lincoln Financial Field, will not be rescheduled and will be declared a no contest.

Because this was Temple’s season finale, this ended a miserable year, one marked by injuries and many players throughout the year spending time in COVID-19 protocol. The Owls finished 1-6 both overall and in the AAC.

This was the fifth game canceled this year. All four of the Owls’ nonconference games were also canceled.

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No. 7 Cincinnati is 8-0, 6-0, and was seventh in the College Football Playoff ratings so the Bearcats have plenty to play for.

“I have held firm that the health and safety of our student-athletes is the most important thing to me,” Temple coach Rod Carey said in a statement. “We were on the borderline of shutting down for the past few weeks but with an increase in COVID protocol cases in the past few days, the decision was made to shut it down.

“This COVID-19 pandemic is real and it affects us in many ways. I’m really proud of our team and this staff for all the work they put in to be ready to play each week. Our record is not indicative of how tough and relentless this group of young men are.

“I think it will be good to step away from football for a moment and let the players finish up the school semester strong. We all look forward to decompressing, learning from this experience, and coming back stronger in 2021.”

» READ MORE: NFL prospect Dan Archibong has made the most of a difficult season at Temple