Temple University Athletics
OWLS POST 17-16 BIG EAST WIN OVER SYRACUSE
10.12.02 | Football
Although the Owls (2-4, 1-1 Big East) may have been fortunate with the botched extra point, Temple deserved the hard-fought win, rallying from a 10-3 deficit in the fourth quarter. For the game, the Owls rolled up a season-high 500 yards of total offense and made 21 first downs to 383 yards and 20 first downs for Syracuse (1-5, 0-2). Senior tailback Tanardo Sharps paced the attack with 225 total yards, including 124 rushing on 29 carries and 91 on three pass receptions. Sophomore quarterback Mike McGann recorded his best day ever as an Owl, connecting on 20-of-38 passes for 340 yards and two touchdowns without an interception.
"I felt all week long we could win the game, said Temple Head Coach Bobby Wallace. "I even told the people at the pep rally Thursday I thought we would win. That's because I knew we were playing as good of football as this program has played in a long, long time. We didn't have the results to show for it...At the same time, I could see some things. I knew we were healthy. I knew we were rested. I believed in our players, and I believed they could get the job done. They did."
Sharps became the second-leading career rusher in Temple football history with his performance, boosting his four-year total to 2,657 yards. He surpassed Anthony Anderson, who ran for 2,610 between 1975 and 1978 to trail only Paul Palmer, the greatest Temple ground-gainer ever with 4,895 yards between 1983 and 1986.
Temple opened the scoring with a 37-yard field goal by Cap Poklemba at the 7:06 mark of the first quarter. The kick capped an eight-play, 68-yard drive on Temple's second possession. The big play was a 39-yard pass from McGann to Terrence Stubbs that gave the Owls a first-and-goal at the Syracuse eight. Two consecutive losses and an incomplete pass brought on Poklemba and the field-goal team. The Owl defense held its own throughout the remainder of the half, limiting the Orangemen to a game-tying field goal by Barber from 33 yards out at the 2:01 mark of the second period.
Syracuse took the lead on its first possession of the third quarter, when wide-receiver Jamel Riddle took a mid-range pass from quarterback R.J. Anderson and broke away from a pack of Owl defenders to complete a 60-yard pass-and-run touchdown. Barber's PAT put the Orangemen up 10-3 with 13:05 remaining in the third period. Temple missed a golden opportunity to tie the game on its first possession of the fourth quarter, as McGann guided the Owls on a 10-play, 63-yard excursion that wound up in frustration. On fourth-and-goal from the Syracuse one, Sharps appeared to score around left end, but the play was nullified by a holding penalty. On the ensuing play, Poklemba's 28-yard field goal attempt was blocked by O'Neil Scott.
The Temple defense stiffened, but a 51-yard punt by Syracuse's Mike Shafer pinned the Owls back at their own six-yard line. From there, McGann guided a 94-yard scoring drive, which culminated seven plays later, when he connected with Sharps for a 65-yard touchdown that tied the score 10-10. On the ensuing kickoff, Syracuse's Walter Reyes was tackled at his own seven-yard line. The Owl defense provided another three-and-out, and Temple got the ball at its own 42 with 5:41 remaining. After picking up two first downs, McGann found Makonnen Fenton alone over the middle and the speedy Owl slotback turned on the jets to complete a 53-yard touchdown with 3:40 remaining. Although unknown at the time, Poklemba's second PAT provided the winning margin.
Not to be overlooked in the win was the performance of back-up signal-caller Mike Frost at punter. The senior, at the position for the first time in his collegiate career, punted four times for 136 yards (34.0 avg.) against a troublesome Syracuse return team. The threat of the pass kept the Orange punt return unit unbalanced. Two of Frost's punts were downed inside the 20, at the 17 and two-yard lines.
The win over Syracuse was Temple's first since 1983, breaking a 16-game drought versus the Orangemen. The last Time the Cherry & White defeated the Orange was by a 17-6 score at Franklin Field. The victory also gave fifth-year head coach Bobby Wallace a win over every Big East Conference team but defending national champion and No. 1-ranked Miami.
"I told our players to come to the game today expecting to win," added Wallace. "I'm not shocked. It's a very happy win for our program -- a satisfying win, but not anything like five years ago when we beat Virginia Tech. That was a miracle. This was not a miracle. This was a good football team playing another good football team."
