Temple University Athletics
Temple University
EagleBank Bowl vs. UCLA
UCLA Comes Back To Defeat Temple, 30-21, In EagleBank Bowl
12.29.09 | Football, Owl Bowl
Bruins score final 23 points to spoil Owls first Bowl in 30 years
Photo Gallery by Joseph V. Labolito/Temple University
WASHINGTON, DC – UCLA scored 23 unanswered points to pull off a come-from-behind win over Temple, 30-21, Tuesday evening in the EagleBank Bowl. The Bruins (7-6) spoiled the Owls' (9-4) first appearance in a bowl since 1979, but not a remarkable season that included a school-record nine-game win streak and a co-regular season Mid-American Conference East Division Championship.
“We are obviously disappointed in the outcome, but I don't want to diminish what these seniors have accomplished in their careers,” Temple head coach Al Golden aid. “Unfortunate ending but definitely have to give credit to how UCLA finished the game.
We had an excellent game plan. I thought we came out with a lot of energy and a lot of passion…We went after them. I was proud of our kids for doing that, but we made too many mistakes.”
A crowd of 23,072, with more than half donning Cherry and White, braved the frigid weather and blistery winds. The Owl had plenty cheer about in the first half as the offense, directed by junior QB Vaughn Charlton and featuring the freshman backfield combination of Bernard Pierce and Matt Brown, found the end zone three times in building a 21-7 lead.
Making his first start since the Navy win on Oct. 31, Charlton (13-23, 159 yds., 1 TD) completed seven of his first eight passes for 95 yards, none bigger than the 26-yard TD to senior TE Steve Maneri that capped the Owls six-play, 80-yard opening drive.
“He had 15 great practices leading up to the game and he played really well tonight. I was very pleased with how he conducted the game,” Golden said about Charlton.
UCLA answered two possessions later. After Terrence Austin returned a Jake Brownell punt 47 yards to the TU 46, freshman QB Kevin Prince (16-31, 222 yds, 2 TDs) found sophomore SE Nelson Rosario streaking down the left sidelines on the first play for a 46-yard score to tie the game, 7-7.
Temple, which controlled the ball on offense for 21:27 of the 30 minutes of the opening half, started to get its running on track with Pierce and Brown playing tag-team to combine for 94 yards, 61 coming in the second quarter.
Playing his first game since suffering a shoulder injury on the first play of the Kent State game, Pierce gained 86 total yards, 53 rushing on 12 carries and 33 on three receptions. He looked like his old self, especially on the Owls' second scoring drive. He barreled 13 yards up the middle for a first down to midfield and capped it with an 11-yard TD run around right end.
With Temple leading 14-7, junior DB Marquise Liverpool picked off Prince at midfield and returned the ball 21 yards before being pulled down by his facemask.
Starting at their own 15, Temple quickly marched it in with Pierce moving the ball five yards before giving way to Brown, who made three straight rushes, the last up the middle for a two-yard touchdown to give Temple a 21-7 lead with 1:25 remaining in the half.
Both teams exchanged three-and-out possessions that gave the Bruins the ball with 17 seconds left and at their own 47. Prince made two quick first down strikes, the second for 19 yards to Chane Moline, who went out-of-bounds at the Temple 22 with one second on the clock.
Junior PK Kai Forbath, the 2009 Groza Award winner given to the nation's top kicker, converted his 36th straight field goal from within 50 yards to cut the margin to 21-10 at intermission.
Senior Terrence Austin returned the opening kickoff 30 yards to the UCLA 47 and then he capped a six-play Bruin scoring drive with a 32-yard TD reception to cut the margin to 21-17.
When the Owls took the field for their first possession of the second half, Pierce was not with them. Instead he was standing on the sideline in a Temple parka, as he injured his left shoulder and would sit out the half.
Temple had its only real opportunity to score in the half on its opening possession. Two big plays, the first was by Charlton – a 21-yard first down scramble, and the second by Brown, who broke a 29-yarder to the UCLA 18. Three straight rushes by Brown made it fourth-and-one at the UCLA 9. The Owls elected to go for it, but with their big back sidelined, Brown was stopped short, ending the drive.
After that, the Bruins defense, which features three Associated Press All-Americans, were able to put the clamps on the Owl attack. After gaining 242 yards of total offense and 12 first downs in the first half, Temple managed just four first downs and 40 yards of offense over the final 30 minutes.
The Owls only first down the remainder of the contest came on a roughing the kicker penalty that gave TU the ball at UCLA 40. Charlton then was picked off by first team All-America sophomore FS Rahim Moore, who recorded his nation's leading 10th interception on an acrobatic play defending junior WR Michael Campbell down the right sidelines.
Still, the Cherry and White defense, led by all-MAC performers Dominique Harris, Andre Neblett and Jaiquawn Jarrett, kept the Owls in the contest.
Temple held UCLA without a first down the remainder of the third quarter, and bent at the start of the fourth, before holding the Bruins to a 42-yard field goal by Forbath to make it 21-20 with 12:31 remaining to play.
The Owls defense stopped UCLA on its next possession as Alex Joseph and Muhammad Wilkerson corralled Prince in the backfield on a third and long at midfield. Temple took the ball at its own 18 and after Brown was stopped for a three-yard loss, Charlton was called for intentional grounding setting up a third and 20 from the TU 8. Charlton then was picked off at the line of scrimmage while looking for a short pass on the flat to Joe Jones by Akeem Ayers. Ayers, who would be named the MVP of the game, ran it in from two-yards out to give UCLA its first lead, 28-21.
“I didn't see him in the whole play,” Charlton said. “Kid came out of nowhere; actually he has done that twice this year.”
Things went from bad to worse on Temple's next possession. James Nixon was tackled for a nine-yard loss on the first play. Brown, who finished with a game-high 83 yards on 20 carries, picked up three yards on the next play. Following an incomplete pass Brownell went back to punt, but the ball from center sailed over his head for a safety, making the score 30-21.
UCLA ran out the clock on the ensuing punt to end Temple's best season in three decades.
“We only started six seniors and some of our best players are young players,” Golden said. “I am excited for the direction of the program. Our guys will get confidence from this game, which will carry over into next year.”
Pierce, who set the school record for touchdowns in a season (16) with his TD run tonight, and freshman Brandon McManus, who had three extra points, tied for the school single season scoring record with 96 points. They eclipsed the previous mark of 95 points set by PK Don Bitterlich in 1975.
