Temple 39, USF 37
A week after failing to score a 2-point conversion in an attempt to tie Navy, Temple was the benefactor of a missed 2-point conversion as the Owls defeated the USF Bulls, 39-37, on Saturday.
After starting off with a quick 10-0 lead, Temple (1-1, 1-1 The American) allowed USF (1-4, 0-3 to go on a 31-10 run and appeared poised to fall to 0-2 on the season. Instead, the Owls managed to reel off 19 points of their own, including seven points off of a fumble recovery touchdown, to take a 39-31 lead off of a 13-yard touchdown pass from redshirt senior Anthony Russo to redshirt senior Randle Jones with 4:28 left in the game.
The Bulls went on a 12-play, 72-yard touchdown drive after that Jones touchdown, however, that culminated in a 1-yard touchdown rush from USF freshman running back Leonard Parker. Down by two, USF rolled Alcorn State transfer quarterback Noah Johnson, who scored a touchdown earlier in the game, out to the left in attempt to tie the game. Temple redshirt senior Amir Tyler read the play immediately and stopped Johnson from tying the game.
Russo, who finished with 270 passing yards, four touchdowns and two interceptions, tied PJ Walker for the most career games with at least 250 yards and four touchdowns in Temple history. Re’Mahn Davis led Temple with 25 carries for 83 yards while Jadan Blue (nine catches, 60 yards, two touchdowns), Jones (eight catches, 81 yards, one touchdown) and Branden Mack (three catches, 29 yards, one touchdown) paced the Owls through the air.
Redshirt-junior Arnold Ebiketie had 3.5 tackles for a loss, a strip sack and a fumble recovery for a touchdown in the most productive game of his Temple career. Linebackers Will Kwenkeu (seven tackles, 1.5 TFL, one sack) and George Reid (six tackles, two TFL, one sack, one fumble recovery) stepped up after Isaiah Graham-Mobley was injured in pregame warmups. Graham-Mobley played in the game and finished with five tackles but hobbled to the sideline multiple times.
USF sophomore quarterback Jordan McCloud completed 15 of his 26 passes for 182 yards and three touchdowns but was sacked four times in the loss. Sophomore running back Johnny Ford had 68 rushing yards, 54 receiving yards and a receiving touchdown but left the game on USF’s final scoring drive with an apparent ankle injury.
Next up for Temple will be a road game against the defending conference champion Memphis Tigers, a team that the Owls beat, 30-28, last season at Lincoln Financial Field. USF, meanwhile, will host Tulsa on Friday.
Listen to postgame interviews here.