Temple University Athletics
OWLS HOST NO.12-RANKED HOKIES SATURDAY AT LINCOLN FINANCIAL FIELD
11.10.03 | Football
Temple and Va. Tech are meeting for the 17th time in a series that dates back to 1934, with Tech holding a 13-3 advantage. Last season, the No. 3-ranked Hokies defeated the Owls 20-10 at Lane Stadium.
Temple is coming off at 41-17 loss at Syracuse last Saturday, as the Owls could not recover from a first half in which the Orangemen held the ball for nearly 21 minutes. SU, which entered the contest with the nation's 14th-ranked rushing attack, carried the ball 51 times for 232 yards. Starting QB Mike McGann watched the game from the sidelines with an injured right elbow. Walter Washington made his second career start under center. Washington finished with 60 yards on 14 carries to lead the Owls in rushing for the second straight game. The sophomore also completed 19-of-34 passes for 183 yards. Zamir Cobb led TU's aerial attack with five catches for 31 yards. The senior is second in the Big East with 6.56 receptions per game and second in the league in receiving yards with 77.7 per contest. Senior LB Troy Bennett and sophomore LB Rian Wallace paced the defense with 12 tackles apiece. Wallace has had double-figure tackles in eight consecutive games, including 69 in his last five outings.
Cobb, Temple's all-time reception leader with 150 career grabs, now has 59 catches this year, four shy of the single-season mark (63) set by Clint Graves in 1972.
Temple and Virginia Tech are tied for the Big East lead with Miami posting 20 sacks. The Owls also lead the league in opponent fourth down conversions (21.4 pct.) and kickoff coverage (13.4 avg.).
Saturday's game marks the homecoming of Virginia Tech junior RB and Heisman Trophy candidate Kevin Jones, a Chester, Pa. native and Cardinal O'Hara High School graduate. Jones, the nation's seventh leading rusher (122.67 ypg.), is the Big East Offensive Player of the Week after carrying for a school-record 241 yards and a career-high four TDs against the Panthers. The Hokies lead the conference in scoring (37.7 ppg.), rushing (222.8 ypg.) and rushing defense (117.3).
Jones is the first of two consecutive Heisman hopefuls coming to the "City of Brotherly Love" as Pittsburgh WR Larry Fitzgerald arrives in Philadelphia for a 1:00 p.m. kickoff Saturday, November 22. The game against the Panthers will also feature the Owls' annual "Senior Day."
