Football Celebrates Homecoming with Thrilling 30-28 win over #23 Memphis

Saturday, October 12

Philadelphia, Pa.

12:00PM

Temple University

5-1 , 2-0

#23 Memphis

5-1 , 1-1

1st

2nd

3rd

4th

Memphis

Temple

Photo by: Zamani Feelings

Football Celebrates Homecoming with Thrilling 30-28 win over #23 Memphis

10.12.19 | Football

Box Score Full Schedule Buy Tickets Rod Carey Press Conference Branden Mack Press Conference Harrison Hand Press Conference Shaun Bradley Audio 10/12 Amir Tyler Audio 10/12 Sam Franklin Audio 10/12 Jacob LaFree Audio 10/12 Mike Norvell Audio 10/12 Brady White Audio 10/12 Kenny Gainwell Audio 10/12

PHILADELPHIA – Temple used a big-play defense and a well-rounded offense to defeat #23 Memphis, 30-28, in front of a Homecoming crowd of 34,253 fans at Lincoln Financial Field. Temple, which has now defeated two nationally-ranked opponents in a season for the first time in program history, improves to 5-1, 2-0 in the American Athletic Conference. Memphis loses for the first time this season and falls to 5-1, 1-1 in AAC play.

How it Happened

Temple's defense allowed 467 yards, including 346 through the air, but made big plays throughout the contest to stymie the Tigers attack. The Owls forced four Memphis turnovers and added two more turnovers on downs.
Redshirt sophomore Ifeanyi Maijeh, who has had at least one sack in all six Owl games, pressured Tiger QB Brady White (23-34, 346 yds, 2 TDs, 1 INT) on a fourth and nine play with 1:50 remaining. The pressure forced his pass to TE Joey Magnifico to be incomplete following review.
Following a three-and-out where Temple ran the clock down to 48 seconds, the Tigers had one last chance, but the Owls defense stayed strong.
Offensively, Temple rushed for 193 yards on the day with redshirt senior Jager Gardner (77 yds, 1 TD) and freshman Re'Mahn Davis (72 yds) leading the way behind the work of the team's veteran offensive line of sophomore Isaac Moore, graduate student Jovahn Fair, reshirt junior Matt Hennessy, redshirt junior Vincent Picozzi and sophomore Adam Klein. The unit also did not allow a sack during the contest.
Redshirt junior QB Anthony Russo completed 20 of 33 passes for 224 yards and two touchdowns while redshirt sophomore QB Todd Centeio spotted Russo for a few series and completed all three of his passes (32 yards) while rushing for a career-high 44 yards on seven carries.
Redshirt junior WR Branden Mack had a career-high nine receptions for 125 yards and also completed a pass to Centeio for seven yards, but it resulted in a fumble to end a Temple drive.

Recapping the Game

For the fourth time this season, the Owls scored on their opening drive. Following a facemask penalty that put the ball at midfield, Russo found Mack for a 38-yard pass play to the Memphis 12.
After Davis made three rushes to put the ball at the one his backfield mate, redshirt Gardner took it in for the score to make it 7-0.
Temple's defense then took over, forcing consecutive turnovers on three Memphis possessions which led to three field goals by redshirt sophomore kicker Will Mobley.
Junior CB Harrison Hand intercepted White at midfield to set up the first Mobley field goal, a 31-yarder to make it 10-0.
Next was graduate student DE DeAndre Kelly sacking White and forcing a fumble that senior LB Sam Franklin recovered and ran back 32 yards to the Memphis 12.
The Tigers defense held strong with Mobley connecting on a 29-yarder for a 13-0 lead.
Following a 43-yard pass play from White to Kedarian Jones that put the ball on the Temple 15, redshirt senior DE Dana Levine stripped Tiger RB Austin Hall with redshirt junior DE Quincy Roche recovering the fumble at the Owls 19.
Temple then marched 54 yards on 14 plays with Mobley hitting from 44 yards out to make it 16-0 with 12:43 left in the half.
The Owls drove the ball to the Memphis 28 on their next offensive possession, but this time t was the Cherry and Whites turn to cough the ball up. A missed exchange in the backfield gave the Tigers the ball on their own 33.
It took White just four plays to lead his team down the field with a 36-yard pass to Magnifico leading to a 14-yard TD reception by Damonte Coxie, making it 16-7.
Temple answered with a nine-play, 75-yard drive capped by a 12-yard touchdown catch by senior Isaiah Wright to make it 23-7.
Russo was four-of-six on the drive for 39 yards and the touchdown while Gardner (11 yards) and Davis (10) each had big first down rushes.
Memphis was not done, however, as the Tigers took little time to add another touchdown, marching 75 yards on seven plays in a little over a minute. White completed four of five passes on the drive that was capped by a Kenneth Gainwell 25-yard touchdown.
That would end the scoring for the half with Temple leading 23-14.

Second Half

Memphis cut the Owls lead to two points, 23-21, on their opening possession of the second half. The Tigers used their longest drive, an 11-play, 95-yard possession that was capped by a 23-yard run to paydirt by Kaylan Watkins.
After a three and out offensive possession by the Owls, the Temple defense came up with another fourth down stop. With the Tigers at their own 49, Hand and Maijeh stopped all-purpose back Gainwell (198 yards) to turn the ball over.
The Owls marched down to the Memphis 11 following a 30-yard shuttle pass from Centeio to redshirt sophomore Jadan Blue. The next play, however, was a gadget play where Mack through back to Centeio but the Tigers TJ Carter stripped the Owls QB and recovered at the 7.
Memphis again drove the ball down the field, moving it to the Temple 36 before Hand stripped White with redshirt junior safety Amir Tyler recovering at the Temple 45.
Temple capitalized quickly, using five plays to increase its lead to 30-21 on a Russo 12-yard pass to Mack in the left corner of the end zone with 12:48 remaining. Gardner's 24-yard run set up the touchdown pass.
The Tigers answered right back as White directed his offense on a seven-play, 75-yard drive ending with a three-yard White to Tyce Daniel touchdown pass.
Russo led the Owls on a 12-play drive on the ensuing possession, but this time it was the Memphis defense that stood tall. The Tigers stopped Davis just short on a fourth-and-two from the Tigers 31.
With momentum apparently on their side, the Tigers quickly moved the ball across midfield. The Temple defense then held, and on a fourth-and-nine, Maijeh hurried White on his pass to Magnifico, which at first was ruled a catch and first down, but upon review it showed the ball hit the ground for an incomplete pass.
The Tigers had one more chance with less than a minute to play, but again Temples defense was up to the challenge, and the Owls held on for the 30-28 win.

Notes

First career strip sack for DE DeAndre Kelly.
Ifeanyi Maijeh has at least a half sack in every game this season.
Second career interception as an Owl for CB Harrison Hand, he also had the game ending tackle.
The last Temple head coach to start 5-1 was Wayne Hardin in 1979.
This is the first time that Temple has beat two ranked teams in a season.