CHESTNUT HILL, Ma.– Temple traveled to Boston College last year and left without their bowl hopes. They came in at 4-4, two wins away from going to their first bowl in recent memory.
They left Boston College with a loss and a loss in confidence. Next came a loss to Syracuse and then to Pittsburgh. The bowl hopes, strong at the start of the season, were gone.
Temple traveled to Boston College this year hoping to revive those same bowl hopes. With two losses already, and the Big East schedule starting, a loss would severely damper the chance to go to a bowl.
Both times they’ve left with blowout losses. Dragging losses that end with bowl hopes between legs and the outlook for the remainder of the season bleak.
Boston College (4-1, 2-0 Big East) running back William Green rushed for 120 yards and quarterback Brian St. Pierre passed for 141 yards and two touchdowns as the Eagles beat Temple (1-3, 0-1) 33-10.
Temple’s rushing game picked up a bit from recent weeks- Tanardo Sharps had 94 yards on the ground- but the total offense continued its woeful play. Starting quarterback Mike McGann passed for 50 yards on 4-of-10 passing before leaving with a thumb sprain.
Backup Mac DeVito threw for 101 yards on 11-of-22 passing.
“I was mighty proud of the football team for fighting for 60 minutes like they did,” Coach Bobby Wallace said. “There were a lot of odds against them. I’m dissapointing in losing (but) I think our kids showed a lot of character.”
Temple’s defense, like they have been all season, was stuck picking up the pieces of the offense.
“We just pray with the hopes that our offense is coming around,” defensive tackle Dan Klecko said. “We know they are. They’re hitting a few bumps right now, they have to start gelling and eventually it’s going to happen. And when it happens we’re going to take off.”
The team hopes that happens sooner than later, and before it’s too late.
“We’re really fighting injuries right now, but that’s not an excuse,” Wallace said. “The guys who are out there should still do their job.”
Half of the offensive and defensive lines missed the game due to injury including defensive end Raheem Brock and tackle Russell Newman. Three starters on the offensive line missed the game due to injury.
Temple’s defense gave the offense a chance to get back into the game in the fourth quarter down 26-10. Jamal Wallace intercepted a St. Pierre pass and returned the ball to the 7-yard line.
Sharps rushed twice up the middle for 2-yard gains before a DeVito touchdown pass was recalled by a holding penalty. The penalty put Temple on the 13-yard line. A Cap Poklemba field goal attempt sputtered and went wide.
“Defensively you couldn’t ask more from your team,” Wallace said. “They gave us an oppportunity to score their at the end, they played hard the whole game…”
Said DeVito: “I felt that we did have a little momentum a couple of times (but) there were some holding penalties here and there that set us back. We just have to make plays, I really think we were very close in the second half to coming back.”
Temple hosts Rutgers Saturday at Noon at Veterans’ Stadium for Homecoming.
Be the first to comment