Temple Suffers First Loss of Season Against No. 13 Oklahoma

Saturday, September 13

12:00 p.m.

Temple University

2-1 , 0-0

Oklahoma

3-0 , 0-0

1st

2nd

3rd

4th

Oklahoma

Temple

Temple Suffers First Loss of Season Against No. 13 Oklahoma

9.13.25 | Football

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PHILADELPHIA - The Temple Owls (2-1, 0-0 American) fell to the No. 13 Oklahoma Sooners (3-0, 0-0 SEC) 42-3 in front of 24,927 at Lincoln Financial Field.

How It Happened

After a three-and-out to start the game for the Owls, Oklahoma started fast on offense. The Sooners marched down the field for the early lead. OU had a fast start on both the ground and through the air but ultimately punched it in with the running game. Running back Jovantae Barnes scored the early touchdown for the Sooners. Oklahoma stayed aggressive early and converted a two-point conversion to go up 8-0. Another quick Temple offensive possession resulted in a punt by the Owls, but Temple held strong on the next OU drive. A big sack by Charles Calhoun on quarterback John Mateer put the Sooners behind the sticks on third down. On third and 17 Sekou Kromah stuffed a run, forcing Oklahoma to kick a 52-yard field goal that put them up 11-0 with 4:05 remaining in the first quarter.
Continuing a drive from the end of the first quarter, Mateer and the Sooner offense had the ball to start the second in Temple territory. Once in the red zone, OU relied on the ground game and found the end zone thanks to running back Tory Blaylock. The Sooners held an 18-0 lead with 12:11 left in the second half. A backed-up Temple offense was unable to get a drive going and gave the Sooners the ball back at the Temple 45-yard line. After a holding penalty kept the drive alive for the OU offense, they connected again on the ground for a touchdown by Blaylock. His second score of the afternoon gave Oklahoma a 25-0 lead. A stand on defense by Temple gave the offense the ball back with 7:16 remaining in the half. Running back Jay Ducker provided a spark for the Owls, bursting through the line for a 20-yard gain. The second sack of the day for the Sooners, however, ended the drive for Temple. On the first play of the ensuing possession, Temple snagged the first turnover of the game. Linebacker Ty Davis ripped the ball away from the wide receiver and came away with the turnover for Temple. Temple would not convert a touchdown on the next drive, but kicker Carl Hardin added three for the Owls with 2:33 left in the half. A late field goal by Oklahoma put the score at 28-3 going into halftime.
Cam'Ron Stewart and Sekou Kromah started strong coming out of the break in the third quarter. The duo combined to stop the Mateer and the Sooner offense on third down, forcing an early punt from OU. After a three-and-out from Temple, the Oklahoma offense was stifled yet again. Kromah and Ben Osueke teamed up to force Mateer out of bounds on a third-and-ten, forcing the Sooner's punt team to enter the game. The first passing score of the day for Oklahoma was hauled in by Xavier Robinson. The sophomore got open in the flat and ran it in for a six-yard score to extend the Sooner lead to 35-3 with 7:57 left in the game. Mateer hadn't used his legs to beat the Owls from a yardage perspective, but a 51-yard run for a touchdown further extended the Sooner's lead. The fourth rushing score of the season for Mateer put OU up 42-3 with 5:04 remaining in the third.
The fourth quarter remained scoreless with both teams exchanging punts throughout the final frame.

Statistically Speaking

Temple linebacker Ty Davis recorded his first interception as a member of the Owls. Davis had previously notched four interceptions while at Delaware.
Charles Calhoun recorded his first career sack at the Division I level. Calhoun previously played at Division II Gannon.
Single-digit wearer Sekou Kromah had an impressive individual performance against high-level competition. The senior defender notched 2.5 tackle for losses. This sets a career-high for Kromah at the Division I level.
Today's game was the first game that Oklahoma has played in the City of Brotherly Love since November 21, 1942. That game took place at Temple Stadium 30,247 days ago.

Up Next

Temple will hit the road for week four to take on the Georgia Tech Yellow Jackets on Saturday, September 20. The game is scheduled to kick off at 4:30 pm from Bobby Dodd Stadium and will be broadcast on The CW. Fans can also tune in and listen at owlsports.com/listen.