This will be Temple’s first Thursday night ESPN kickoff contest and they square off against conference foe East Carolina Pirates at Dowdy-Ficklen Stadium in North Carolina.
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East Carolina’s Chris Hairston (22) tries to break away from…
A team with a bevy of weaknesses in addition to several strengths, the Owls first and foremost need to continue to not only win, but to learn and get better as the season continues along. A few timely passing will help the Owls stay there.
The Temple Owls are ranked 22 in the country and they are on the road, taking on the East Carolina Pirates in college football action Thursday. The team is 4-3 with a 2-1 mark in the conference, and a win by the Owls can all but lock up first place in the American Conference’s East Division – and a berth into the conference title game in December.
“We just haven’t thrown it a ton”, coach Matt Rhule said.
“We ran that play when I had the big catch and it was wide open and I looked the ball in and said I am scoring right here”, Anderson said.
Temple is 7-0 for the first time in school history.
That wasn’t the first time Summers has stepped in to a game and led his team to victory, either.
Last time the East Carolina Pirates were on the field, they established a balanced attack that defeated the Tulsa Golden Hurricane. So we’re all making mistakes. East Carolinas Blake Kemp was 31 of 48 for 272 yards with a 7-yard touchdown pass to Quay Johnson.
Yet Pirates coach Ruffin McNeill is downplaying the revenge angle. “Temple did a lot of good things tonight”. With just two wins to go to become bowl eligible it’s nearly a certainty that East Carolina will be in a bowl game this season. On the ground, Jahad Thomas rushed for 199 yards and three touchdowns in 31 attempts. He averaged 161.8 yards rushing a game, and entered the fourth quarter with just 50 yards. The over/under for this game is 51.5 total points. ECU’s hopes for a late comeback were then dashed when after a three-and-out on its next possession, Temple blocked a Worth Gregory punt deep in Pirates’ territory. Two plays later, Thomas scored on a 14-yard scamper to boost the lead to 10 with 2:18 remaining.
Down 14-10, Tyler Matakevich’s fourth interception this season gave the Owls a chance to take the lead in the third quarter at the East Carolina 27. Including the forfeit, the Pirates have triumphs in five of the seven meetings in Philadelphia, but only own a narrow 3-2 edge in Greenville.
22 Temple is one of three American teams that has yet to lose, averting disaster last week versus UCF.
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“We are a work in progress”, Rhule, 40-years-old and in his third season with Temple, said.
