Temple Football Suffers 1st Loss of Season – Falls to Unranked USF

Report From Temple Unifersity

TAMPA, Fla. – USF used an explosive first half offense, handing visiting #22 Temple its first American Athletic Conference loss of the season, 44-23, Saturday night at Raymond James Stadium.  The Owls fall to 8-2 overall and 5-1 in conference play while the Bulls, who won for the fourth time in their last five games, improve to 6-4 and 4-2 in the conference.

The Bulls used big plays on three of their four first half touchdowns with the other being set up by an interception returned to the Owls five yard-line.

Trailing 31-10 at the half, Temple scored 10 quick points to cut the deficit to 31-20. USF tacked on two field goals and a late touchdown to hold off the visitors and move within one game of the Owls in the East Division race.

It was the sophomore tandem of QB Quinton Flowers and RB Marlon Mack that proved to be too much for the Temple defense.  Mack rushed for an American Athletic Conference-best 230 yards on 21 carries and two touchdowns. He also caught three passes for 42 yards and another score. Flowers completed 15 of 22 passes for 230 yards and two TDS.  He also rushed for 90 yards on 18 carries and a touchdown.

Junior RB Jahad Thomas became the 10th Temple player to rush for 1,000 yards in a season during the game.  He had 65 yards on 16 carries with one touchdown, his 15th rushing touchdown of the season, which ties him for third best on the Temple single-season list. Thomas also continues his streak of scoring at least one rushing TD in every game this year.

Junior P.J. Walker became the second Temple quarterback (Henry Burris, ’93-96) to pass for over 2,000 yards in three straight seasons, completing 20-of-48 passes for 259 yards and one TD.

Temple looked sharp to start the game as the Owls moved the ball to the USF 22 on a 17-play drive.   The drive was aided by a fake punt on a fourth-and-one at the Temple 40 with the snap going to junior LB Jarred Alwan, who rushed four yards for the first down.  When the drive stalled at the 22, normally reliable sophomore PK Austin Jones hit the upright on his 39-yard attempt.

The Owls capitalized on their next possession, taking a 7-0 lead on a one-yard TD run by Thomas.  Walker hit redshirt senior WRRobby Anderson on a 22-yard pass play before Thomas broke off a 35-yard rush that lifted him over the 1,000-yard mark for the season.  A pass interference call put the ball at the USF 5 and three plays later Thomas found the end zone.

It took USF just one play to answer as Flowers connected with Rodney Adams on a 68-yard touchdown pass.

That play swung the momentum to the Bulls as Deatri Nichols picked off Walker on the next play, the first of the second quarter, and returned it to the TU 5.  Again it took one play for USF to score, this time with Flowers rushing it in from five yards out to make it 14-10.

Freshman Jager Gardner, who broke off a record 94-yard TD run against SMU last week, returned the ensuing kickoff 54 yards to the Bulls 40.  The Owls picked up three straight rushing first downs before the Bulls held tight at their own 16.  Jones connected on his 33-yard attempt this time to cut the deficit to 14-10.

It was then all USF the rest of the half.  First Mack broke off a 57-yard TD run and followed that with a 20-yard TD reception from Flowers to make it 28-10.  Flowers set that score up with a 42-yard run of his own.  Emil Nadelman capped the scoring with a career-best 47-yard field goal just before intermission.

The Owls came out of the locker room like gangbusters.  Redshirt junior DL Praise Martin-Oguike forced and recovered a fumble on the first play to give Temple the ball at the USF 26.  Following a Thomas first down run, Walker hit Tampa native Ventell Bryant (5 catches, 86 yards) for a 14-yard TD reception.

Temple’s defense quickly forced a punt and the Owls offense was back in business.  Walker scrambled for a 38-yard first down run to the USF 22. Thomas then rushed seven yards to the 15, but Eric Lee sacked Walker on the next play and the Cherry and White settled on a 35-yard Jones field goal to cut the deficit to 31-20.

USF then went on a 14-play, 69-yard drive with Flowers and Mack accounting for 65 of the yards.  Temple’s defense dug in at the end, forcing a Nadelman 24-yard field goal to keep the deficit to two scores, 34-10.

Starting at its own 40 following a 25-yard Gardner return, Walker hit Anderson on a 30-yard connection to the USF 30.  The drive stalled with Jones missing wide right on a 45-yard attempt just before the end of the third quarter.

Samuel Benjamin blocked Matti Ciabatti’s punt, the sixth blocked kick of the season by the Temple special teams, at the start of the fourth quarter. The Owls, however, were unable to capitalize, going three-and-out on that possession.

The teams then traded field goals before Mack iced the game with a 48-yard TD run down the left sideline to make it 44-23.

Temple next hosts #21 Memphis (8-2, 4-2) Saturday at Lincoln Financial Field.  Kickoff is at noon.