Temple University Athletics
Comeback Is The Cure For Owls In 14-10 Win Over Ohio
10.22.08 | Football
Oct. 21, 2008
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PHILADELPHIA - If Tuesday's nationally televised football contest would have ended after three quarters, the Temple faithful would have left Lincoln Financial Field with a sour taste in its mouth. But a rollercoaster fourth quarter, complete with big plays and costly mistakes on both sides, included two Cherry and White touchdowns in a 14-10 come-from-behind victory over Ohio University in a MAC East showdown on ESPN2.
The Owls offense struggled mightily through three quarters in the return of redshirt senior QB Adam DiMichele, who had missed the previous three games with a shoulder injury. Temple compiled just six total yards of offense in the second and third quarters alone and could not move the football.
During the University's "Owl for the Cure" initiative, in which a minimum of 10% of ticket sales would be donated to the Philadelphia Chapter of the Susan G. Komen Foundation, the cure for the Owls was a rejuvenated running attack in the final stanza led by freshman Kee-ayre Griffin (22 carries, career-high 85 yards).
Trailing 10-0, Griffin scampered for a 37-yard run down to the eight-yard line with 11 minutes remaining to ignite the Owls offense. The play gave life to a Temple crowd that had little to cheer about to that point and the hosts used the energy to put its first points on the board.
Griffin then scored for the third straight game after taking over as the team's starting running back. His one-yard run with 10:53 to go cut the Ohio lead to 10-7.
The Temple defense, which kept the Bobcats off the scoreboard for the final 37 minutes of the contest, then forced a three-and-out to give the hosts field position on the Ohio 46. The Owls drove to the two-yard line but could not punch it in as two incomplete passes and a DiMichele run for a loss of five gave senior Anthony Perlozzo a 25-yard field goal attempt with 4:43 to play.
The La Salle transfer's kick was barely wide left, deflating the crowd and potentially killing the momentum that had clearly switched sides over the previous nine minutes. For a team that has caught nary a break in its first seven contests, the very next play would prove to be just the turn of events that the Owls needed.
Ohio QB Boo Jackson fumbled the snap and Temple senior DT Terrance Knighton fell on the ball to give the Owls the ball on the 20-yard line with 4:39 left. Two runs by Griffin left the Cherry and White with a third-and-10 with under four minutes to play and still trailing 10-7.
DiMichele connected with his favorite target, senior WR Bruce Francis, for a 17-yard reception down to the one-yard line. On second down, DiMichele hit junior TE Steve Maneri in the back of the endzone to give the Owls their first lead of the contest with 1:51 to play. It would be all they needed to improve to 3-5 overall and 2-3 in the bunched-up MAC East standings.
But the game was far from over, as Ohio got the ball back with 1:46 to play. The Bobcats converted on a fourth-and-five to Chris Garrett, who eluded defenders for a 31-yard reception down to the Temple 37. A big sack by junior DE Junior Galette forced OU back 12 yards to near midfield and with 20 seconds left on fourth down, it appeared that Jackson found WR Brandon Peterson for 17 yards and a first down on the TU 27. But an official's review ruled that the ball had hit the ground before Peterson could corral it, giving Temple its second win in three games.
Francis extended his school-record reception streak to 34 games with four catches for 50 yards. DiMichele completed 9-of-22 passes for 79 yards and a touchdown. Sophomore Jeff Wathne averaged 45 yards on six punts for the Owls.
Defensively, sophomore Elijah Joseph had eight tackles and classmate Amara Kamara added seven.
Ohio (2-4, 1-3 MAC) was led by Jackson, who completed 23-of-40 passes for 220 yards. Garrett caught eight passes for 82 yards and rushed for 48 more and a score.
The Bobcats opened the scoring with 8:15 to play in the first quarter on a 25-yard field goal by Barrett Way. They extended the lead to 10-0 on Garrett's two-yard run with 7:19 to play before halftime.
The Temple fourth quarter come-from-behind victory was the third for DiMichele. He also quarterbacked the Owls to victories at Akron last season (24-20) and at home versus Kent State (24-14).
Actor and comedian Bill Cosby, a former Owl letterwinner, presided over the coin toss as part of the "Owls for the Cure" festivities. The Temple student body was clad in pink t-shirts to help promote breast cancer awareness.
The Cherry and White return to action on Saturday, November 1 at Navy. Kickoff is set for 3:30 PM and the game will be broadcast on CBS College Sports.
