PHILADELPHIA -- Maryland used a balanced offensive attack and a stingy second half defense to defeat host Temple 38-7 Saturday afternoon at Lincoln Financial Field. The Terps posted 38 unanswered points while amassing 472 yards of total offense in the winning effort. The Owls, slowed by four turnovers, collected 226 yards offensively and were led by senior running back Umar Ferguson's 96 yards on the ground.
"I thought we came out and challenged them in the first half," said head coach Bobby Wallace. "I thought we were physical on both sides of the ball. It was obvious our game plan was to run the ball and throw it when we had to. I thought Umar (Ferguson) was running good and our offensive line was blocking good, but twice we came up a yard short and a yard and a half short. We put our defense on a short field so much this year, and I thought the longer we kept it close, the better chance we had to win."
Following an opening kickoff that resulted in excellent field position at the Temple 44 yard line, the Terrapins failed to convert a 4th and 2 turning the ball over to the Owls at the Maryland 23 yard line. The Owls put together five plays, headlined by 28 Ferguson rushing yards before the Terps forced fourth down and a Mike McLaughlin punt.
Terrapin junior quarterback Sam Hollenbach dashed for 12 yards before his third pass attempt of the day, a completion to senior wide receiver Danny Melendez, was fumbled and recovered by the Owls at the Maryland 38 yard line. Owls senior cornerback Ray Lamb was credited with forcing the fumble before senior defensive tackle Antwon Burton pounced on the ball giving the Temple prime scoring position.
Senior quarterback Mike McGann, making his 32nd career start for the Cherry and White, completed two passes to senior wide receiver Brian Allbrooks and junior wide receiver Jamel Harris for eight and 23 yards, respectively, before Ferguson plunged into the endzone from 2 yards out. McGann hooked up with Allbrooks four times on the day for a team-leading 63 yards.
Maryland and Hollenbach responded with an eight-play, 73-yard drive that lasted exactly four minutes and resulted in a Dan Ennis 24-yard field goal. Hollenbach began the drive with a 27-yard strike to junior tight end Vernon Davis that was topped off by a Temple 15-yard roughing the passer penalty. Hollenbach scrambled for 12 yards before a four-yard completion to senior Derrick Fenner set up Ennis with 15 seconds left in the first stanza.
The Owls started the second quarter going four and out before McLaughlin's punt started Maryland at their own 26 yard-line. Hollenbach found Davis, Melendez, and Fenner on three passes for 59 yards before his fourth attempt of the drive was intercepted by Lamb in the end zone, preserving a 7-3 Temple lead.
Following McLaughlin's third punt of the afternoon, Hollenbach led his troops on a 7 play, 66 yard drive setting up senior tailback Mario Merrills from six yards out giving the Terps the lead, 10-7. The touchdown was Merrills first of three on the afternoon to complement 74 yards on 12 carries. Merrills is the first Terp tailback since current Philadelphia Eagle Bruce Perry (11/9/03) to score three touchdowns in a game. On the two and a half minute drive, Hollenbach completed four passes for 54 yards before Merrills' 24 yard gain set up his second touchdown of the season.
Temple's ensuing drive only lasted five plays and saw McGann complete just one pass to Allbrooks before McLaughlin's fourth appearance. Hollenbach led his third drive of the afternoon amassing 65 yards or more before Merrills' second touchdown from a yard out. The drive lasted two minutes and forty second while supplying Maryland with a 10-point half-time advantage.
Hollenbach totaled 186 yards on 15 completions in the first half. Friedgen utilized three halfbacks in sophomores Lance Ball, Keon Lattimore, and Merrills, all combining for 77 yards on 15 touches and two scores. Melendez hauled in five catches for 78 yards while Davis grabbed four balls for 74 yards. Umar Ferguson scampered for 83 first half yards in conjunction with McGann's 46 passing yards to complete the Owls offensive attack through the first 30 minutes.
The Owls could only muster one-yard on the opening drive of the second half before McLaughlin's punt was blocked by junior Josh Wilson. The Wilson block started the Maryland drive at the 45 yard-line. Just a minute and a half later, Merrills' third score in the game gave the Terps a 24-7 lead. Merrills touched the ball four times on the drive while collecting 26 yards after Derrick Fenner's 19-yard catch.
Following another three out offensively by the Owls, Hollenbach led a seven-play drive capped off with a one-yard push by the junior signal caller. With a 31-7 lead to begin the fourth quarter, Maryland finished the scoring following a five-yard touchdown run by Ball. After an 11 carry day for 58 yards, the touchdown was the sophomore's third this season. The Terps took advantage of 46 carries and a total of 248 yards on the ground, 74 from Merrills, while Hollenbach finished his day midway through the fourth after 19 completions for 228 yards, a rushing touchdown, and one interception.
McGann's day ended after eight completions for 116 yards before being replaced by true freshman Colin Clancy. Ferguson's output was the majority of the ground game for the Owls that finished with 110 yards.
Defensively, the Owls were led by 14 (seven solo) tackles from junior defensive back Garrett Schultz. Lamb, whose interception was the second of his career, and senior Justin Johnson each tallied 11 tackles. Senior defensive end Mike Mendenhall recorded his second and third sack of the season. The two sacks are a new career game-high for the South Jersey native.
The Terps got nine tackles each from senior William Kershaw and sophomore Wesley Jefferson. Senior Milton Harris added eight tackles and a sack to complement the four turnovers forced by the Maryland defense.
On a side note, senior offensive tackle Nehemiah Ingram becomes just the fourth player in the John Chaney's Era to appear in both a football and basketball game. Previous, only James Harris, James Spears, and Lamond Adams could say the same.
Temple returns to the gridiron next Saturday at 1:00 p.m. versus Miami (FL) at Lincoln Financial Field in the Owls' annual Homecoming game. The game will be televised nationally on Fox SportsNet and will air locally on Comcast SportsNet.
