Temple University Athletics
Owls Upset Bid Thwarted In 22-17 Loss At UConn
9.15.07 | Football
Sept. 15, 2007
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EAST HARTFORD, CT - A 4th-and-6 pass from sophomore WR Dy'Onne Crudup to junior WR Bruce Francis with 40 seconds remaining was called incomplete and was not reversed on replay thwarting Temple's upset bid of host Connecticut at Rentschler Field Saturday afternoon. Connecticut ran the clock out on the ensuing play to hold on for a 22-17 win.
"What happened? I don't know what happened. I just saw the video. He's in," TU head coach Al Golden said. "I don't know what to say. I just saw the video. I just feel bad for the kids."
The Huskies off to their best start since 1998, improve to 3-0 while the Owls fall to 0-3.
A heavy underdog heading into the contest, Temple was much improved on both sides of the ball from last week when the Owls fell 42-7 to Buffalo in their inaugural Mid-American Conference game.
The Owls amassed 189 yards on the ground against a UConn defense that was ranked sixth nationally in rushing defense (39.50 ypg.) entering the contest. Sophomore RB Jason Harper, who entered the contest with 39 rushing yards in two games, carried 22 times for a career-high 114 yards and a touchdown.
Redshirt junior Adam DiMichele completed nine of 18 passes for 143 yards and one touchdown while Francis had four catches for 84 yards and a touchdown.
Defensively the Owls recorded six sacks with sophomore DT Andre Neblett accounting for two. Redshirt sophomore DB Dominique Harris making a career-high 12 tackles (4 solo) and freshman LB Amara Kamara and redshirt junior LB Omar McDonnaugh-Hales recording 10 each.
Connecticut was led by redshirt sophomore Andre Dixon who ran for 129 yards on 21 carries while redshirt sophomore Donald Brown has two TD runs and 54 rushing yards.carries Junior QB Tyler Lorenzen completed 19 of 29 passes for 222 yards.
UConn got off to a quick start, scoring 10 points on its first two possessions. After the Huskie defense stifled the Owls on their opening drive, Connecticut took over at its own 49. Lorenzen then mobilized the offense on a seven-play, 51-yard drive ending with eight-yard touchdown run by Brown.
Lorenzen found redshirt junior WR D.J. Hernandez on a third-and-nine play for a key 18-yard reception to keep the opening drive alive. That gave UConn a first down on the Temple 13. Brown then carried twice, his second straight up the gut of the Owl defense to paydirt.
The Owls' offense got on track on their next possession. First DiMichele found Crudup for a 16-yard gain. Then Harper rushed 18 yards for another first down to the Temple 46. On a third-and-one play, the Owls utilized a backfield of redshirt sophomore linebackers Lamar McPherson (9 tackles, 2.5 for loss), and McDonnaugh-Hales and senior FB Josh Bundy. McPherson gained four yards and a first down on his first collegiate carry, moving the ball inside UConn territory to the 45.
Harper then fumbled on the next play with the ball being recovered by redshirt freshman LB Lawrence Wilson on the Huskie 28.
Lorenzen then engineered an eight-play 43 yard drive that was capped by a 47-yard field the first of three by Ciaravino, to give the Huskies a 10-0 lead. The UConn signal caller connected on three consecutive passes, the last to Hernandez for 16 yards to the Temple 31. Sophomore DE Brian Sanford drilled Lornezen for a nine-yard loss, the first of the six sacks recorded by the Owl defense.
The Owls defense, led by Neblett, then clamped down on the Huskies. Neblett recorded his career high two sacks in the second quarter.
Temple, on the other hand, found the end zone as DiMichele connected with Francis for a 57-yard touchdown. It was Francis' longest catch of his career and made the score 10-7 with 2:49 remaining.
UConn ended the half with an 11-play drive capped by a 24-yard Ciaravino field goal to make it 13-7 as time expired.
Temple jumped out quickly in the third quarter, with McDonnagh-Hales forcing a fumble and Kamara recovering on the UConn 45.
Redshirt junior Travis Shelton, who 127 yards on kickoff returns, rushed for 31 yards on the first play to the 14 yard-line. Harper then carried twice with his second run a 13-yard TD to give the Owls their first lead, 14-13, since the team's 28-14 win over Bowling Green last year.
The Huskies quickly answered, with Ciaravino besting his previous career high set in the first quarter with a 50-yard field goal with 8:59 remaining in the quarter to make it 16-14.
Temple then put together an 11-play, 64-yard drive with redshirt sophomore Jake Brownell connecting on a 20-yard field goal to give the Owls the lead again, 17-16.
Again the Huskies answered, marching down the field on the ensuing possession with Brown scoring his second touchdown of the day on the first play of the fourth quarter to make it 22-17.
Then both teams defenses came up with some big plays. The Owls stopped the Huskies twice on fourth down conversions in the final quarter. First the Owls defensive front held a fourth-and-one rush by Lorenzen at the UConn 32 and then again, on a fourth-and-one on the Temple 28, Dominique Harris and Terrance Knighton stopped Lou Allen on a fourth-and-one with 2:41 to play.
Robert Vaughn came up with the big play on the Huskie defensive side, intercepting DiMichele at the UConn 10 to halt a Temple drive with 10:13 remaining.
Following that play, DiMichele marched the Owls down the field, completing a big third down pass to Crudup for 13 yards and then hitting Harper for a 26-yard reception to the UConn 15. Harper then rushed for four yards before DiMichele tossed two incomplete passes, setting up the final play.
DiMichele handed off to Harper on a reverse, who then handed off to Crudup. The Owl receiver under heavy pressure, tossed it into the back of the end zone to DiMichele. The ball was tipped and Francis hauled it in going out of bounds. The pass was originally ruled incomplete and then, after review, was upheld.
The Owls now travel to Bowling Green Saturday, September 22 for a noon start. The game will be televised by ESPN Regional and broadcast locally on myphl17. It will be on The Big Talker, 1210 AM WPHT.
