PHILADELPHIA – For the second straight season, the Mid-American Conference East Division title is on the line when Ohio and Temple battle at Lincoln Financial Field on Tuesday night.

The Bobcats and Owls are tied with Miami atop the division standings at 5-1, and the winner will be in the driver’s seat for a spot in the MAC championship game.

Last year in Athens, Ohio came away with a 35-17 victory to earn its second MAC title game appearance in four years.

“They’re the king of the hill,” Temple coach Al Golden said. “They’ve gone to the championship game two of the last (four) years. They’ve done a great job against us all three years. We were fortunate two years ago to beat them, but the other two years, they really took it to us, so clearly this team is the team to beat.”

The Owls played last year’s game without leading-rusher Bernard Pierce. Even so, Temple ran the ball well, but struggled in its passing game and on defense.

Temple hopes to have its passing struggles corrected with freshman quarterback Mike Gerardi taking over at quarterback for Chester Stewart, who was inefficient. In eight games, Stewart had four touchdowns and five interceptions, while in eight games, Gerardi has thrown for eight scores with four picks.

“He has a lot of poise at shaking off his mistakes and moving on to the next play,” Golden said. “He’s got confidence, and right now, he’s got a short memory, in terms of error throws or his bad plays, which is positive. I think the receivers are responding to him.”

Still, running the ball has been the key to Temple’s offense that has produced 339.2 yards and 27.4 points per game.

Pierce, who has missed one game, has 728 yards rushing and 10 touchdowns, while Matt Brown has gained 702 yards and six touchdowns on the ground.

“Obviously, they’ve got a very stout defense, and excellent running game and do a very good job of play-action passes,” Ohio coach Frank Solich said. “There’s a reason they’re winning games like they’re winning and obviously it will be a huge challenge for us.”

Michael Campbell leads the Owls in receiving with 31 catches for 569 yards.

Defensively, safety Jaiquawn Jarrett and linebacker Elijah Joseph each have 65 tackles for Temple. M. Wikerson has 8.5 sacks.

Temple’s defense is allowing only 17.5 points and 312.2 yards per game.

Ohio’s offense should provide a challenge for the Owls. The Bobcats have averaged 346.6 yards and 29.9 points, and have scored 30 points or more in every MAC game.

However, quarterback Boo Jackson is questionable after being punched in the face in and uptown Athens incident last Friday.

Jackson has completed 62.9 percent of his passes for 1,477 yards and 14 touchdowns with 13 interceptions. He also has rushed for 315 yards and seven scores.

The good news for Ohio is that Phil Bates is more or less back to full health for the first time since early in the season. Despite only playing in parts of seven games, he leads the Bobcats in rushing with 423 yards and also has thrown for 178 yards and a touchdown.

Solich said the team would be prepared to start Bates and use freshman Kyle Snyder as a backup if Jackson cannot play.

“We have to be prepared for that possibility,” Solich said. “Phil was able to get through this last game without aggravating his injury, and that was a plus. I don’t know that he’ll yet be 100 percent, but he’ll be better with the longer layoff.”

Vince Davidson (394 yards), Ryan Boykin (213 yards) and Donte Harden (192 yards) have shared running back responsibilities for Ohio.

With 26 catches for 403 yards and nine touchdowns, Terrence McCrae is Ohio’s leading receiver. Steven Goulet has 21 receptions for 335 yards.

“They’re well-coached,” Golden said. “They don’t give up sacks. They have explosive receivers and an excellent offensive line, two quarterbacks that come in and out of the game on offense, and on defense, they’ve been as sound as can be. They always have a rugged group, and I’m impressed with the amount of experience they have.”

On the defensive side of the ball, linebacker Chad Clemens leads the Bobcats with 62 tackles. Defensive end Stafford Gatling has 6.5 sacks, and safety Donovan Fletcher has five interceptions.

Ohio’s defense has given up just 21.0 points and 335.0 yards per game.

“Coming down the stretch they have the most experience, and they have the most winning experience,” Golden said. “It’s more than just a challenge at this point. It’s going to be exciting.”

A loss would eliminate Ohio from contention for a spot in the MAC championship game. It also likely would set up a winner-take-all showdown in the Owls’ season finale against the RedHawks.

With a victory, the Bobcats would still need to beat Kent State in their finale or have the RedHawks lose one of their final two games to earn a second consecutive trip to the MAC title game.

Game time is 8 p.m. Tuesday at Lincoln Financial Field and will be shown on ESPN2.