Football Falls Short of Comeback at USF, 27-23

Saturday, November 11

Tampa, FL

12:00 PM

Temple University

3-7 , 1-5

South Florida

5-5 , 3-3

Team	1st	2nd	3rd	4th	Final F
Temple	0	10	0	13	23
South Fla.	17	3	7	0	27

Football Falls Short of Comeback at USF, 27-23

11.11.23 | Football

Box Score Game Book Stan Drayton Press Conference E.J. Warner Press Conference Yvandy Rigby Press Conference Photo Gallery

TAMPA, Fl. — Temple (3-7, 1-5 AAC) dropped on the road to the South Florida Bulls (5-5, 3-3) 27-23. The Owls overcame an early 17-point deficit, but came up just shy of a come-from-behind victory.

Temple's defensive line had one of its best days of the season, setting season-highs with six sacks and 13 tackles for loss. TE David Martin-Robinson moved up the list to second all time in career receiving yards by a Temple tight end, recording his second career 100-yard receiving game.

How It Happened

South Florida found its way onto the scoreboard first, as QB Byrum Brown rushed in a seven-yard touchdown with 13:14 remaining in the first half. The Bulls capitalized off a 40-yard pass on the first play of the game to move the ball into Temple territory.
The Bulls added a 41-yard field goal with 7:48 remaining in the first quarter to extend the lead to 10-0.
Temple fell behind 17-0 after USF scored on a 32-yard passing touchdown from Brown to WR Khafre Brown with 3:03 remaining in the first quarter.
With 11:27 remaining in the first half, Temple scored its first points of the game off a 16-yard touchdown pass from QB E.J. Warner to TE Jordan Smith.
The Owls cut the lead to 17-10 with a 42-yard field goal by K Camden Price with 7:59 remaining in the second quarter.
In the second frame, Temple's defense held South Florida to just three points, forcing one punt, one interception, and one turnover on downs in the quarter. The Owls went into halftime trailing 20-10.
South Florida DE Tramel Logan intercepted a pass and returned the ball 22 yards for a touchdown to give the Bulls a 27-10 lead with 3:09 remaining in the third quarter.
With 13:15 remaining in the game, Temple cut the lead to 27-17 with a 20-yard touchdown pass from Warner to WR Zae Baines.
The Owls trimmed the deficit to 27-23 with 7:03 remaining in the game, as Warner connected with WR Dante Wright for a 12-yard touchdown.
Temple's defense played a big role in the team's comeback efforts, limiting South Florida to zero offensive points and 144 total yards in the final two quarters. Warner threw for 199 yards in the second half to help the Owls close the gap.
South Florida managed to run the clock out on the final drive of the game, securing a 27-23 final score.

Statistically Speaking

LB Yvandy Rigby led Temple with 16 total tackles, tying a career high. SAF Alex Odom also recorded a career high in tackles with 12.
TE David Martin-Robinson totaled 102 receiving yards, his second 100-yard receiving game this season.
DL Tra Thomas recorded two sacks against South Florida, a new career high for sacks in a game.
DL Tyrese Whitaker recorded his first career tackle, a sack in the second quarter.
SAF Tywan Francis recorded his second interception of the season midway through the second quarter.

Notes

TE David Martin-Robinson's eight-yard catch in the second quarter put him over the 1,000 receiving yard total for his career, making him just the third tight end in Temple history to eclipse the 1,000-yard mark. Martin-Robinson's 102 receiving yards against USF increased his career total to 1,097 yards, which passed Jeff Stempel (1,034) for second most career receiving yards by a Temple tight end. Randy Grossman (1,505) leads all Temple tight ends in career receiving yards.
Temple's 13 tackles for loss as a team is the most recorded in a game this season and the most since the Owls recorded 15 tackles for loss in Week 2 of the 2022 season against Lafayette.
The Owls' defense totaled six sacks, which is the most in a game this season and the most since Temple recorded seven sacks in Week 7 of the 2022 season against Tulsa.
WR Zae Baines has recorded at least one reception in all nine games he has played in during the 2023 season.
OL Chris Smith made his appearance and start as an Owl.
K Camden Price has hit field goals from at least 40 yards in consecutive games.

Up Next

Up next, the Owls head south to face the University of Alabama at Birmingham at Protective Stadium on Nov. 18. The game will kick off at 3:00 p.m. ET and broadcast on ESPN+, while airing on radio at 97.5 The Fanatic.