Temple University Athletics
DiMichele Leads Football To Comeback Win Over Akron, 24-20
10.13.07 | Football
Oct. 13, 2007
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AKRON, OH - Adam DiMichele threw for three fourth quarter touchdowns, the last a 19-yarder to Dy'Onne Crudup with 27 seconds to play to lead Temple to a 24-20 come-from-behind win over Akron at the Rubber Bowl Saturday night. It marked the first time the Owls posted consecutive wins since 2002 and the first consecutive victories in conference play in 40 years when the Cherry and White played in the old MAC (Middle Atlantic Conference). It was also the team's first road win since 2003, snapping a string of 24 straight road defeats.
Crudup's catch capped a nine-play, 81-yard drive that started with just under two minutes remaining. The Owls (2-5, 2-2), who had not scored an offensive touchdown in nine quarters heading into the final quarter, overcame a 20-3 deficit over the final 15 minutes.
DiMichele, who set a new career high with 62 rushing yards, set up the first Temple touchdown with his legs. The red-shirt junior signal caller rushed for a career-high 34 on a second-down play to put the ball at the Akron 23. Three plays later he connected with junior tight end Kevin Armstrong for a two-yard TD, his first collegiate score, to make the score 20-10 with 13:22 remaining.
Two possessions later DiMichele engineered a six-play, 66-yard scoring drive. The Owl quarterback hit freshman wide receiver Marquise Liverpool on a 22-yard gain with a 15-yard personal foul call moving the ball to the Akron 19. On the next play DiMichele hit junior WR Bruce Francis for a 19-yard touchdown, his team-high fourth of the season, to cut the deficit to 20-17 with 5:15 on the clock.
"That was exciting. Our defense kept us in the game," DiMichele said. "Whenever we run the two-minute drill, special things happen. I can't say enough about our guys, we know we had our backs against the wall and overcame some early turnovers. The defense was able to get us the ball back at the end of the game."
Temple's defense, which put the clamps on the Zips in the fourth quarter, came up with a big third-down stop with just under two minutes remaining to give the offense the ball back.
That was all DiMichele needed as he worked his magic for the team's third scoring drive of the period. Again it was his legs that started things going as he rushed for two consecutive first downs to move the ball to the Temple 49-yard line. He then hit Francis for a key first down on a third-and-seven play. He followed that with another first down pass to Francis, who ended the day with seven catches for a team-high 94 yards, to put the ball at the Akron 19. That set up Crudup's game-winning reception.
It was a career day for Crudup, who made eight receptions for 74 yards, both career-highs. The touchdown was the second of his career.
DiMichele, who completed 23-of-34 passes, threw for 112 of his 242 yards in the fourth quarter. He also rushed for 37 yards over the final 15 minutes.
"I've told my team we're slaying demons won by one," head coach Al Golden said. "Win one MAC game, win one MAC road game ... slay them one by one. Many other times I've said and thought we could have won four or five games already, but that's my fault. I didn't get them to believe that from the beginning of the season so that we could bring that to fruition."
Akron opened the scoring with a 29-yard first quarter field goal by Igor Iveljic. Red-shirt sophomore Jake Brownell tied the game with a 20-yarder early in the second quarter.
Senior wide receiver Jabari Arthur, who set an Akron record for career receptions in the game, made it 10-3 with a 49-yard touchdown catch from quarterback Chris Jacquemain (12-21-2, 145 yards).
Brownell, the hero of last week's 16-15 win over Northern Illinois, missed a 42-yarder on the Owls' next possession. It was the first of two misses for the Temple kicker on the night.
Iveljic then capped a seven-play, 47-yard drive with a 46-yard field goal to give the Zips a 13-3 lead at the half.
Akron picked off a DiMichele pass at the Temple 35 and made the Owls pay. Jacquemain hit Alphonso Owen for a 15-yard touchdown to give the Zips a 20-3 advantage with 2:32 remaining in the third quarter.
Then the Temple offense finally awoke, scoring on three of its final four possessions to pull off the victory.
Sophomore ATH Daryl Robinson made his first start, and carried the ball a career-high 20 times for 58 yards.
Freshman FS Jaiquawn Jarrett led the defense with a nine tackles, eight solo, and a pass breakup that led to freshman RE Morris Blueford's first career interception. Sophomore SS Dominique Harris made six tackles (five solo), including a touchdown saving tackle on Bryan Williams 25-yard rush midway through the third quarter. Williams led all rushers with 114 yards on 22 carries.
Temple hosts Miami (4-3, 3-0) next Saturday at Lincoln Financial Field. Kick-off is slated for noon in the game that will be televised by ESPN Regional and aired locally on myphl17.
