Temple University Athletics
TEMPLE AT MIAMI GAME NOTES
10.29.01 | Football
The last time Temple played the country's No. 1-ranked team was on Sept. 13, 1997. Ron Dickerson's Owls dropped a 52-10 decision at Penn State. Current seniors' Chris Pitt and Akeiff Staples saw action in that defeat. Six other Owls on the active roster (Raheem Brock, Kyron Johnson, Greg Muckerson, Philip Shepard, Taylor Suman and Brian West) were with the program but did not play during the 1997 season.
Temple (2-5, 1-3) is coming off a 33-7 loss to Pittsburgh last Saturday at Veterans Stadium. Freshman quarterback Mike McGann was sacked nine times by a Panthers' defense that limited the Owls to 204 total net yards. McGann, who completed 27 of 52 passes for 240 yards, was one throw away from tying the school mark for passing attempts in a game (53, Henry Burris vs. Syracuse in 1994). The Owls' set both school and conference records for negative rushing yardage, with a minus 36 total (39 of those negative yards were attributed to an errant snap on a punt that is scored as a negative team rush). Junior Sean Dillard, who leads the Big East Conference in receptions per game (4.43) and receiving yards (482) caught nine passes for 72 yards. Pittsburgh kicker Nick Lotz tied a school record by converting four field goal attempts.
Miami (6-0, 3-0) is coming off a 45-3 defeat of West Virginia at the Orange Bowl on Thursday, Oct. 25. The Hurricanes are one of three (Nebraska, Brigham Young) undefeated Div. I-A programs after Oklahoma, UCLA, Virginia Tech, Maryland and Washington State suffered defeats this past weekend. Miami, under the direction of first-year head coach Larry Coker, leads the Big East in nine statistical categories and has outscored opponents 269-65. Heisman Trophy candidate Ken Dorsey has thrown for 1,607 yards in six games and leads the league in passing average/game, total offense and pass efficiency. The Hurricanes have yet to allow a sack this year. The last player to sack Dorsey in a regular season game was Akeiff Staples on Oct. 21, 2000.
Saturday's game will be broadcast by ESPN Plus Television and can be seen in the Philadelphia region on WWAC-TV (Ch. 53).
