PHILADELPHIA - Temple (1-4) was unable to slow down a potent Bowling Green State (2-2) offense in a 70-16 loss to the Falcons at Lincoln Financial Field on Saturday afternoon. One of few bright spots for the Owls was the return of senior quarterback Mike McGann, who saw his first action in nearly a year and completed his first five passes for 106 yards. He finished the day 7-for-12 for 165 yards and a touchdown, which moved him into fourth place on the career total offense chart with 4,639 yards.
Bowling Green State controlled both sides of the ball and especially imposed its will on offense. The Falcons compiled 639 yards of total offense, compared to 294 for the Owls, and scored on all but a handful of series. BGSU pulled off quite the trifecta, posting a 300-yard passer, 100-yard runner and two 100-yard receivers. Quarterback Omar Jacobs connected on 21-of-26 passes for 367 yards and four TDs before being pulled in the third quarter, while P.J. Pope had a career day on the ground, rushing for 106 yards and three scores. Receivers Steve Sanders and Charles Sharon each posted 103 yards receiving.
"I have not been through a day like today defensively in my career," head coach Bobby Wallace said. "They executed extremely well and we could just not make a play. Right now when we play an outstanding offense it is a struggle for our defense."
For the Owls, it was the most points allowed in a game since a 76-0 loss to Pittsburgh on Sept. 24, 1977 and the worst loss since a 55-0 defeat at the hands of Miami on December 4, 1999. Junior quarterback Walter Washington struggled, posting season lows in passing (32 yards) and rushing (-17 yards). It was also the first time since November 15, 2003 against Virginia Tech that Washington had not rushed for a touchdown. He posted 13 scores on the ground in the six games since then.
First-year junior Brian Allbrooks had a career day with six receptions for 94 yards. He came into the game with two catches for nine yards. Freshman Travis Shelton also had a memorable day, as his first career catch was a 56-yard touchdown from McGann early in the fourth quarter. Junior Tim Brown rushed for 50 yards on 14 carries and a touchdown.
TU got on the board first when senior Troy Bennett intercepted a Jacobs pass on Bowling Green's first possession and returned it 22 yards to the BGSU 14-yard line. The offense was unable to take full advantage, settling for a 25- yard Ryan Lux field goal after three straight runs by Brown fell short of a first down.
Lux's ensuing kick-off caromed out of bounds, giving the Falcons good field position at the Temple 35 yard-line. A 30-yard run by Pope was called back for holding, but BGSU rebounded with gains of eight and seven yards to set up a 23-yard screen pass to Pope for a first down. The very next play, Jacobs found an open Sanders for 15 yards and the touchdown.
After Temple went three-and-out, the Falcons drove 57 yards on nine plays capped by a 2-yard touchdown run by Pope. Bowling Green connected on three passes for more than 10 yards to three different receivers during the drive to take a 14-3 lead.
Head coach Bobby Wallace's plan went exactly as outlined earlier in the week as McGann saw his first action of the game in the third series. He wasted no time getting back in the swing of things, hitting Goodman for a first down before lofting a 63-yard pass to Brian Allbrooks to put Temple inside the 5-yard line.
Just as he illustrated in his weekly press conference, Wallace went back to Washington once the Owls were in the red zone. Two runs by the quarterback set up a critical third and goal from the one. Brown dove up the middle for his second touchdown of the season to bring TU within five points. Lux's extra-point attempt bounced off the goal post, keeping the Falcon lead at 14-9.
From that point on, it was all Bowling Green. The Falcons owned the second quarter, scoring 28 unanswered points to take a 42-9 lead into the locker room. BGSU scored on six straight series before Temple forced a punt with 45 seconds remaining in the first half. The visitors compiled a school record 442 yards of total offense in the half, including 306 through the air as Jacobs (19-for-24) surpassed a career high for passing yards and completed straight 16 passes at one point.
The Owls threatened early in the second quarter, as McGann methodically drove the Cherry & White 57 yards down to the 16 yard line. He completed three passes on the drive to remain a perfect 5-for-5 on the game. Wallace inserted Washington once the Owls were inside the 20, but a holding penalty pushed TU back to the 26. The junior fumbled on the next play and Temple could not muster any offense the rest of the half. It was just the second time all season that the Owls failed to score inside the red zone.
Three of the Falcon scoring drives in the quarter were under two minutes. Receiver Cole Magner scored on a fourth and two from the 40 yard line with just under four minutes left. After BGSU forced a Temple punt, Pope sprinted 77 yards on the first play of the drive to produce the 42-9 halftime score.
The second half started the way the first half ended. Bowling Green drove 33 yards on 3 plays in just over a minute, capped by a Pope 7-yard touchdown scamper to give the Falcons a 49-9 lead. It was Pope's third touchdown of the game, which tied a career high set in the 2003 season opener against Eastern Kentucky. Bowling Green added to its lead on a 2-yard run by B.J. Lane to finish off a 52-play drive with 6:16 remaining in the third quarter.
Temple's offense sputtered on its next drive and a short punt and 33-yard return gave the Falcons good field position late in the third quarter. Jason Washington replaced Jacobs at quarterback and BGSU did not miss a beat. His two-yard run capped a three-play, 21-yard drive to put the Brown and Orange ahead, 63-9.
The Owls showed signs of life for the first time since early in the first quarter, as McGann connected with Shelton for a 56-yard touchdown. It was Shelton's first touchdown of his young career. For McGann, it was his first touchdown pass since hitting Goodman for a score at Middle Tennessee State on October 4, 2003. Bowling Green reached the 70-point mark and finished the scoring on a Dan Macon 11-yard drive with 6:38 to go in the contest.
"I can not predict the future, but I think these kids will bounce back. I do not think they will quit," Wallace said. "They feel bad about what happened, there is no question. You can see it in their eyes."
Temple returns to Lincoln Financial Field for homecoming next Saturday, October 9, to open the BIG EAST schedule against Pittsburgh. Kick-off is set for noon.
