Offense Surges in 45-29 Win Over Utah State

Saturday, September 21

Philadelphia, Pa.

2:00 PM

Temple University

Utah State

Photo by: Zamani Feelings

Offense Surges in 45-29 Win Over Utah State

9.21.24 | Football, General

Box Score Game Book Stan Drayton Press Conference Maddux Trujillo Press Conference Jones/Simon/Wright Press Conference Keaton/Morton/Woodbury Press Conference Photo Gallery

PHILADELPHIA - The Temple Owls (1-3, 0-1) defeated the Utah State Aggies (1-3, 0-0) at home on Saturday afternoon. WR Dante Wright led the Owls with 116 receiving yards, including a 91-yard touchdown reception. LB Tyquan King added 13 tackles in an impressive defensive effort.

Utah State RB Rahsul Faison led the game in all-purpose yards, racking up 148 rushing yards in a losing effort.

How it Happened

After trading punts to begin the game, Utah State drove down the field to the Temple one-yard line. However, the Owls defense stood strong, successfully completing a goal line stand to force a turnover on downs with 5:28 left in the first quarter.
Utah State RB Herschel Turner Jr. started the scoring on a four-yard rushing touchdown thirty seconds into the second quarter, giving the Aggies a 7-0 advantage.
The lead was extended to 14-0 on the next Utah State drive. QB Spencer Petras found WR Jalen Royals for a 26-yard touchdown with 11:19 left in the first half.
Temple cut the lead in half on the next drive, going 78 yards in three minutes of action. The drive was capped off by a 32-yard touchdown rush from WR Antonio Jones. The redshirt junior capitalized on a clever misdirection play, taking the touch pass from Simon to the endzone with 7:50 remaining in the second quarter.
The Owls evened the score at 14-a-piece with 1:10 left in the first half, as Antwain Littleton caught a 17-yard touchdown pass from Simon.
Utah State responded quickly with a 20-yard rushing touchdown from RB Rahsul Faison on the next drive.
With only 10 seconds left on the first-half clock, the Owls offense picked up eleven yards giving K Maddux Trujillo the opportunity for a 64-yard field goal. Trujillo's kick bounced off the bottom of the upright and through, converting on the longest field goal in Temple and Lincoln Financial Field history.
Temple took their first lead of the game with 4:10 left in the third quarter once Simon connected with WR Dante Wright for a 91-yard catch and run touchdown.
TE Daniel Evert caught a 16-yard touchdown pass from Simon with 11:57 remaining in the game, extending the Owl's lead to 31-21.
After forcing a three-and-out, Temple added on with a 2-yard touchdown reception by TE Peter Clarke, making the score 38-21 Owls with 6:02 left in the fourth quarter.
Aggies WR Jack Hestera caught a 28-yard touchdown pass from Petras, and after the successful two-point conversion attempt, the Temple lead was cut to 38-29.
Following an unsuccessful onside kick from Utah State, Temple scored another touchdown just 26 seconds later, as Simon took the direct snap into the endzone for a 1-yard rushing touchdown. This made the score 45-29 Temple with 3:22 left in the game.
Owls CB Torey Richardson sealed the game for Temple, intercepting Petras with 2:04 remaining. The offense ran out the rest of the clock, giving Temple a 45-29 win.

Statistically Speaking

Saf. Javier Morton set a new career-high in tackles with ten.
Temple's 91-yard touchdown in the third quarter set multiple new career highs. Evan Simon set a new mark for the longest completion of his career, while Dante Wright bested his previous 75-yard reception set in 2019.

Notes

Maddux Trujillo set a few records with his 64-yard FG.
- He broke the school record of 56 previous set by Don Biterlich in 1975 (at Akron)
- He set the record for longest FG in a game at Lincoln Financial Field. The previous mark was 61 set twice by Philadelphia Eagles' Jake Elliott.
- He now is tied for the eighth longest FG in NCAA history and the longest since 2009
  - 69 - Ove Johnson, Abilene Christian, 1976
  - 67 - Tom Odle, Fort Hayes State, 1988
  - 67 - Joe Williams, Wichita State, 1978
  - 67 - Steve Little, Arkansas, 1977
  - 67 - Russell Erxleben, Texas, 1977
  - 65 - Martin Gramatica, Kansas State, 1998
  - 65 - Tony Franklin, Texas A&M, 1976

Not only was TE Daniel Evert's touchdown reception his first career touchdown, but it was also the freshman's first career catch.
Evan Simon, Demerick Morris, Latrell Jean and D.J. Woodbury Sr. served as game captains.

Up Next
A short week lies ahead for Temple, with a Thursday night match-up against new AAC conference foe Army on Thursday, September 26. Kickoff is set for 7:30 pm ET and will air on ESPN.

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