As the Owls prepare to take on the Houston Cougars in Temple’s home football opener this weekend, members of the university community are ready to get their Cherry On.

The game, which kicks off at noon Saturday at Lincoln Financial Field, will be the team’s American Athletic Conference debut. To build school spirit among students, faculty, staff and alumni, Temple Student Government has launched Cherry On Fridays. All fans are encouraged to wear cherry and white each Friday — this week and every week throughout the academic year.

“Temple continues to rise nationally in every way possible,” said TSG President Darin Bartholomew. “This is just another way to show our pride.”

The notion is already gaining momentum. Promotions began during freshman orientation and continued as students moved in during Welcome Week. TSG distributed t-shirts and other swag, and spread word virally via social media.

During last week’s game vs. Notre Dame, the #CherryOn hashtag was trending on Twitter in the Philadelphia region. Students attending the watch party in the Temple Performing Arts Center were uniformly clad in Cherry and White. And despite the team’s loss to the national powerhouse, many were left with an appreciation for how far Temple has come.

“You could definitely notice that something was different on campus,” said Bartholomew. “There's that feeling that we belong on the national stage, and we’ll continue to get better every single week.”

Bartholomew envisions that wearing of school colors on Fridays will spread among Temple fans throughout the city. Over time, he hopes to establish the Cherry On phrase as a sort of rallying cry or secret handshake among students, alumni and other fans. The phrase complements the university’s overall branding effort, he said.

“Temple Made is who we are. Cherry On is our way of showing our pride in who we are.”