Football Falls in Conference Opener to #21 USF

Thursday, September 21

Tampa, FL

7:30 p.m. EST

Temple University

2-2 , 0-1

USF

4-0 , 1-0

1st

2nd

3rd

4th

TEMPLE

USF

Photo by: Zamani Feelings

Football Falls in Conference Opener to #21 USF

9.21.17 | Football

Box Score Photo Gallery Box Score (PDF)

TAMPA, Fla. – #21 USF (4-0, 1-0) proved to be too much for the visiting Temple Owls (2-2, 0-1) Thursday night at Raymond James Stadium. Noted for their high-powered offense, it was the Bulls' defense that led the way in the lopsided 43-7 win in the conference opener for both teams.

Keys to the Game
> Temple struggled offensively all game, amassing just 85 total yards while turning the ball over six times.
> Temple's defense was tough, especially in the first quarter, holding the explosive USF offense to just 36 yards and an Emilio Nadelman 44-yard field goal. That score came after Logan Marchi's first interception of the season at the Owls' 26.
> Darius Tice exploded up the middle for a 47-yard touchdown run on the first play of the second quarter to give the Bulls a 10-0 lead.
> The Owls defense again came up big following Marchi's second interception, holding USF off the scoreboard on four plays from the TU six-yard line. Delvon Randall had the big stop on third down with a solo tackle of Mitch Wilcox at the two. The defensive front then stuffed the Bulls fourth down rush.
> USF quarterback Quinton Flowers broke free for a 22-yard touchdown following a short punt from Temple's end zone to make it 17-0.
> Redshirt junior QB Frank Nutile, seeing his first action of the season, completed his first pass to Adonis Jennings, but the Owls' wide receiver fumbled for TU's third turnover of the half.
> That fumble led to another Nadelman field goal (28 yds) to increase the Bulls lead to 20-0.
> Senior DL Jacob Martin gave the Owls life in the final minutes of the first half, stripping Flowers and then returning the fumble 44 yards for the touchdown.
> Temple's defense forced a three-and-out on the first USF possession of the second half, but Nutile was picked off on the Owls' opening drive. That led to a Tice three-yard touchdown to make it 27-7.
> Turnovers on consecutive drives led to two more Nadelman field goals, making it 33-7.
> Nadelman added a fifth field goal, coming from 44 yards out, on the Bulls first drive of the fourth quarter to extend the lead to 36-7.
> Flowers scored from one yard out, his second rushing TD of the game, to finish the scoring.

Game Notes
> Marchi's streak of pass attempts without an interception ended at 108 attempts with USF cornerback Deatrick Nichols' first quarter pick.
> The Owls utilized three QBs during the contest with Marchi starting, freshman Todd Centeio playing a series in the first quarter, and Nutile making his first appearance of the season.
> USF accumulated 408 total yards of total offense with Tice (117 yds, 2 TDs) and D'Ernest Johnson (106 yds) each eclipsing the century mark on the ground.
> Temple redshirt sophomore LB Chapelle Russell led all defenders with 13 tackles, including nine solo.

Up Next
> Temple hosts Houston Saturday, Sept. 30 at noon on ESPNU. It is a battle of the last two American Athletic Conference champions. Houston defeated Temple to win the 2015 title while the Owls took down Navy to capture the 2016 championship.

Box Score (PDF) | Photo Gallery