Temple University Athletics
Saturday, December 5
Houston, Texas
12:00 p.m.
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Houston
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#22 Football Falls to #19 Houston, 24-13, in American Athletic Conference Championship Game
12.5.15 | Football
HOUSTON -- An early 17-0 deficit proved to be too much for #22 Temple football, as #19 Houston upended the Owls, 24-13, to capture the American Athletic Conference crown on their home turf. The title game, the first ever for Temple, was played in front of 35,721 at Houston's TDECU Stadium.
The Owls, who are also ranked 20th in the AP poll and 21st in the Coaches poll, fall to 10-3 with the loss, but will make their first bowl appearance since 2011. Houston (17 AP/18 Coaches) improves to 12-1, winning its first conference title since nabbing the top spot in Conference USA in 2006.
On the legs of Houston QB Greg Ward Jr., the West Division Champion Cougars rushed for 253 yards. Temple held Ward to 88 yards in the air, but the QB rushed for 148 yards, becoming the only quarterback in Houston history to accumulate over 1,000 yards on the ground in a season.
Temple QB P.J. Walker finished the game 26-of-44 for 287 yards with one touchdown and an interception, and in the process became the Temple career leader in pass completions (559). He passed Henry Burris for the honor. Owls' WR Robby Anderson became the 10th Temple player in program history with 100 catches in a career, notching a season-best 150 yards receiving on 12 catches with a score.
The Owls started the game with a 17-yard drive before Walker's pass was intercepted by Houston's Tyus Bowser. The Cougars then mounted a 10-play, 36-yard drive, which ended on a 1-yard TD run by Javin Webb, to take a 7-0 lead with under five minutes elapsed.
After RB Jager Gardner took the kickoff 24 yards, Temple put together a 47-yard drive down to the 11-yard line. However, Houston's Trevon Stewart punched the ball out of Anderson's hands after a 14-yard pass inside the red zone, giving the Cougars another possession.
Houston took the turnover 39 yards, including a 27-yard pass from Ward to Chance Allen, but the Owls forced the Cougars to punt. Temple LB Stephaun Marshall got the key stop on the drive, as he tackled Demarcus Ayers causing him to drop what would have been a first down conversion.
After the teams exchanged punts, Houston took a 10-0 lead when Ty Cummings finished off a nine-play, 42-yard drive with a 24-yard field goal.
The Cougars then extended their lead to 17-0 following another Temple punt. Ward got the score for Houston on a 47-yard quarterback keep, making it a 17-point lead for the hosts with 5:32 left in the first half.
Temple put points on the board with less than two minutes to go in the half on a 40-yard field goal by PK Austin Jones. The field goal gave Jones his 19th of the year, tying him for second with Bob Wright for field goals made in a season. The kick also notched his 100th point as an Owl, passing former Temple great, Brandon McManus.
Temple's defense forced the Cougars to punt to start the third quarter. On the Owls' first possession of the frame, Walker completed a 41-yard pass to Anderson down to the Houston 35-yard line. However, facing a 4th and 4, Walker's pass was batted down to give the Cougars possession at their own 29-yard line.
The Cougars then marched the ball down the field 71 yards, using an 25-yard rush by Ward and a 18-yard reverse pass from Linell Bonner to Tyler McCloskey. That play set up a 10-yard touchdown rush from Ward to put Houston up 24-3.
On their next possession, the Owls used a 10-play, 75-yard drive that ended on a 13-yard pass from Walker to Anderson, cutting the lead to 24-10.
The Owls defense forced a Houston three-and-out and a punt from the end zone that landed at the Temple 49. After converting a fourth-and-one from the Houston 30, the Owls settled for a 39-yard field goal from Jones to bring the score to 24-13.
The Temple defense forced another three-and-out, giving the Owls just half a field to play with after the punt. A pass interference call on Houston's William Jackson III gave the Owls a first down at the Cougars 45 to start the drive, but from there, the Owls turned the ball over on downs after a ball floated behind WR Adonis Jennings on fourth and third.
Temple got the ball back one more time on offense, starting on their own 17 with 5:14 on the clock. The Owl drive got to the Houston 33 yard-line, thanks to 19+ yard plays from both RB Jahad Thomas and WR Romond Deloatch. However, a 4th-and-11 scramble from Walker fell two yards shy, as Houston took over on downs, sealing the victory.
The Owls will now await their Bowl fate, which will be announced on Sunday on ESPN. The College Football Playoff Selection Committee will announce the playoff semifinal pairings and site assignments live on ESPN starting at 12:30 p.m. At 3 p.m. the final top 25 rankings of the season will be released, as will the New Years Six bowl pairings.
Box Score (PDF) | Photo Gallery | Matt Rhule Press Conference
The Owls, who are also ranked 20th in the AP poll and 21st in the Coaches poll, fall to 10-3 with the loss, but will make their first bowl appearance since 2011. Houston (17 AP/18 Coaches) improves to 12-1, winning its first conference title since nabbing the top spot in Conference USA in 2006.
On the legs of Houston QB Greg Ward Jr., the West Division Champion Cougars rushed for 253 yards. Temple held Ward to 88 yards in the air, but the QB rushed for 148 yards, becoming the only quarterback in Houston history to accumulate over 1,000 yards on the ground in a season.
Temple QB P.J. Walker finished the game 26-of-44 for 287 yards with one touchdown and an interception, and in the process became the Temple career leader in pass completions (559). He passed Henry Burris for the honor. Owls' WR Robby Anderson became the 10th Temple player in program history with 100 catches in a career, notching a season-best 150 yards receiving on 12 catches with a score.
The Owls started the game with a 17-yard drive before Walker's pass was intercepted by Houston's Tyus Bowser. The Cougars then mounted a 10-play, 36-yard drive, which ended on a 1-yard TD run by Javin Webb, to take a 7-0 lead with under five minutes elapsed.
After RB Jager Gardner took the kickoff 24 yards, Temple put together a 47-yard drive down to the 11-yard line. However, Houston's Trevon Stewart punched the ball out of Anderson's hands after a 14-yard pass inside the red zone, giving the Cougars another possession.
Houston took the turnover 39 yards, including a 27-yard pass from Ward to Chance Allen, but the Owls forced the Cougars to punt. Temple LB Stephaun Marshall got the key stop on the drive, as he tackled Demarcus Ayers causing him to drop what would have been a first down conversion.
After the teams exchanged punts, Houston took a 10-0 lead when Ty Cummings finished off a nine-play, 42-yard drive with a 24-yard field goal.
The Cougars then extended their lead to 17-0 following another Temple punt. Ward got the score for Houston on a 47-yard quarterback keep, making it a 17-point lead for the hosts with 5:32 left in the first half.
Temple put points on the board with less than two minutes to go in the half on a 40-yard field goal by PK Austin Jones. The field goal gave Jones his 19th of the year, tying him for second with Bob Wright for field goals made in a season. The kick also notched his 100th point as an Owl, passing former Temple great, Brandon McManus.
Temple's defense forced the Cougars to punt to start the third quarter. On the Owls' first possession of the frame, Walker completed a 41-yard pass to Anderson down to the Houston 35-yard line. However, facing a 4th and 4, Walker's pass was batted down to give the Cougars possession at their own 29-yard line.
The Cougars then marched the ball down the field 71 yards, using an 25-yard rush by Ward and a 18-yard reverse pass from Linell Bonner to Tyler McCloskey. That play set up a 10-yard touchdown rush from Ward to put Houston up 24-3.
On their next possession, the Owls used a 10-play, 75-yard drive that ended on a 13-yard pass from Walker to Anderson, cutting the lead to 24-10.
The Owls defense forced a Houston three-and-out and a punt from the end zone that landed at the Temple 49. After converting a fourth-and-one from the Houston 30, the Owls settled for a 39-yard field goal from Jones to bring the score to 24-13.
The Temple defense forced another three-and-out, giving the Owls just half a field to play with after the punt. A pass interference call on Houston's William Jackson III gave the Owls a first down at the Cougars 45 to start the drive, but from there, the Owls turned the ball over on downs after a ball floated behind WR Adonis Jennings on fourth and third.
Temple got the ball back one more time on offense, starting on their own 17 with 5:14 on the clock. The Owl drive got to the Houston 33 yard-line, thanks to 19+ yard plays from both RB Jahad Thomas and WR Romond Deloatch. However, a 4th-and-11 scramble from Walker fell two yards shy, as Houston took over on downs, sealing the victory.
The Owls will now await their Bowl fate, which will be announced on Sunday on ESPN. The College Football Playoff Selection Committee will announce the playoff semifinal pairings and site assignments live on ESPN starting at 12:30 p.m. At 3 p.m. the final top 25 rankings of the season will be released, as will the New Years Six bowl pairings.
Box Score (PDF) | Photo Gallery | Matt Rhule Press Conference
Team Stats
TEM
HOU
Total Yards
385
339
Pass Yards
287
106
Rushing Yards
98
233
Penalty Yards
15
40
1st Downs
19
16
3rd Downs
5
5
4th Downs
1
2
TOP
32:58
26:01
1st Quarter
TEM 0, HOU 7
HOU - WEBB, Javin 1 yd run (CUMMINGS, Ty kick), 10 plays, 36 yards, TOP 2:55
2nd Quarter
TEM 0, HOU 10
HOU - CUMMINGS, Ty 24 yd field goal 9 plays, 42 yards, TOP 2:59
TEM 0, HOU 17
HOU - WARD Jr., Greg 47 yd run (CUMMINGS, Ty kick), 5 plays, 71 yards, TOP 1:59
TEM 3, HOU 17
TEM - JONES,Austin 40 yd field goal 9 plays, 51 yards, TOP 3:46
3rd Quarter
TEM 3, HOU 24
HOU - WARD Jr., Greg 10 yd run (CUMMINGS, Ty kick), 7 plays, 71 yards, TOP 3:38
TEM 10, HOU 24
TEM - ANDERSON,Robby 13 yd pass from WALKER,Phillip (JONES,Austin kick) 10 plays, 75 yards, TOP 4:14
4th Quarter
TEM 13, HOU 24
TEM - JONES,Austin 39 yd field goal 10 plays, 29 yards, TOP 4:47
Game Leaders
Passing Leaders
CMP
26
TD
1
YDS
287
INT
1
Players Mentioned
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