Temple University Athletics
Second Half Charge Too Late in 42-26 Loss To Central Michigan
11.4.06 | Football
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Nov. 4, 2006
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PHILADELPHIA - Central Michigan's Ontario Sneed scored four touchdowns to lead the MAC frontrunners over Temple, 42-26, on Saturday at Lincoln Financial Field. The sophomore RB rushed for a season-high 140 yards and had 93 yards receiving to pace the potent Chippewa attack, which compiled 499 yards of total offense. Redshirt sophomore QB Adam DiMichele threw for three scores and caught another, while sophomore WR Bruce Francis caught a pair of touchdown passes for the Owls.
Senior RB Tim Brown surpassed the 100-yard mark for the second straight game, rushing 23 times for 101 yards. He also threw his first career touchdown pass, completing a three-yard pass to DiMichele early in the fourth quarter. DiMichele was effective when he had protection, completing 24-of-35 passes for 228 yards.
Redshirt sophomore Travis Shelton did not reach the endzone for the first time in three games, but did lead the Owls with eight catches for 76 yards. Francis had seven grabs for 66 yards and a pair of touchdowns.
For CMU (6-3), redshirt freshman QB Dan LeFevour threw for 268 yards and four touchdowns. He also had a six-yard touchdown run, his fifth rushing score of the season.
Trailing 35-7 early in the second half, Temple easily could have thrown in the towel. Instead, the Cherry and White offense got on track and outscored Central Michigan, 19-7, for the remainder of the contest. DiMichele played a part in all three second half scores, completing touchdown passes to freshman TE Marcus Brown and Francis and making an acrobatic catch on Tim Brown's third quarter scoring pass.
The deficit proved to be too much to overcome as Central Michigan was able to run out the clock after Francis' second score made it 42-26. The Chippewas did fumble twice on their final drive, giving the hosts a glimmer of hope for a dramatic comeback, but both times were able to recover.
Unlike its performance in the second half, the Temple offense struggled early on, compiling only 10 yards of total offense over its first five series. CMU pressured DiMichele, sacking him three times and hurrying him on the few passing plays that TU attempted.
After a sophomore Georg Coleman interception on the first series of the game gave TU the ball on the CMU 13-yard line, Temple looked to continue the momentum from last week's 28-14 win over Bowling Green. But a short run and two sacks later, the Owls were forced to attempt a 50-yard field goal by redshirt freshman Jake Brownell. The snap sailed over his head, however, and the Chippewas recovered on the Temple 40-yard line.
Central Michigan scored on four of its next five possessions to open up a 28-0 lead. Sneed accounted for three of the touchdowns, more than doubling his total on the year. The first was an 11-yard scamper and he caught a pair of 30-yard catches, the last grab coming with 2:44 to play before halftime.
The Owls moved to a no-huddle offense on its final drive of the half and put the Chippewas defense on their heels for the first time all game. DiMichele orchestrated a 10-play, 72-yard drive in just 2:38 to put the Owls on the scoreboard. The redshirt sophomore completed nine passes on the drive, including a 10-yard scoring aerial to Francis with six seconds on the clock, cutting the CMU lead to 28-7 at the half.
In its final home game of the season, the Cherry and White honored 28 seniors who were making their final appearance in front of the home crowd. Redshirt sophomore Marcques Henderson, who walked onto the program last spring, was promoted to Staff Sergeant in the United States Marines at halftime. Temple honored military personnel as part of Armed Forces Appreciation Day at Lincoln Financial Field.
Temple (1-9) travels to Penn State next Saturday at 3:30 p.m. The game will be broadcast by ESPN Regional and televised locally on WPVI-TV6. It will be a homecoming of sorts for several members of the coaching staff, including head coach Al Golden, who played for the Nittany Lions from 1989-91. Defensive coordinator Mark D'Onofrio, running back coach Jeff Nixon and defensive line coach Matt Rhule are also former PSU players.
