Through the first quarter and a half, Temple looked overmatched by North Texas in every aspect of the game. The Mean Green had jumped out to a 21-point lead and were on the brink of blowing the doors off Temple.
However, the Owls simultaneously found momentum on both sides of the ball at the end of the first half. Quarterback Evan Simon led two straight touchdown drives to end the half to bring the deficit to seven entering halftime. The defense was just as good, forcing five punts and a fumble on the last six Mean Green possessions of the first half.
The Owls carried the defensive momentum into the second half, but the offense trailed behind.
The defense held North Texas scoreless for the entire second half. But while the defense did its part, the offense did not. Temple gained just 125 yards the entire half and failed to score a single point. The Owls had a chance to tie the game on the final drive of the game but Simon was intercepted with 13 seconds left to seal the Owls’ fate.
Temple (3-9, 2-6 American Athletic Conference) lost to North Texas (6-6, 3-5 AAC) 24-17 Saturday afternoon at Lincoln Financial Field in the final game of the 2024 season. The Owls have now finished with just three wins in four straight seasons.
“I’m pretty disappointed in that ending,” Simon said. “Looking back at it right now, it seems like that would have been a great way with a two-minute drill to send those seniors out who had been here through a lot for four years.”
The Owls looked completely overmatched from the opening kick. North Texas started with the ball and immediately proved why they entered the game with the top passing offense in the AAC. Mean Green quarterback Chandler Morris completed all six of his passes on the opening drive, which was capped off with a touchdown to wide receiver DT Sheffield to give North Texas a 7-0 lead.
On the ensuing kick-off, multiple Temple players muffed the ball and it was recovered by North Texas deep in the Owls’ territory. However, the Owls’ defense forced three straight incompletions and held the Mean Green to a field goal to make it 10-0.
The Owls’ offense struggled on its first two drives but they finally put together a decent possession behind a 28-yard rush by wide receiver Tyler Stewart. The run set up kicker Maddux Trujillo for a 44-yard field goal to get Temple on the board.
Temple’s defense forced North Texas to two straight punts following the quick 10 points, but the Mean Green started to utilize the run and immediately rediscovered their offense. Running back Makenzie McGill II entered the game averaging just 26 yards per game but he dominated the Owls in the first half.
“This was the first game we were really in a three-down look,” said interim head coach Everett Withers. “We were a four down team. So it took our guys a quarter and a half to adjust to the overlapping gaps and doing some stuff that they hadn’t done all year long.”
McGill scored rushing touchdowns of 39 and 51 yards on back-to-back drives to balloon North Texas’ lead to 24-3. McGill entered halftime with 146 yards on seven carries. After those two drives, the Owls’ defense began to lock down and the offense finally woke up.
Temple forced five punts and a fumble, which was caused by cornerback Jamel Johnson after another big run from McGill on the final six North Texas drives of the first half. Johnson played a crucial role in the Owls’ defensive success, breaking up three passes.
“[Jamel] Johnson is a really good football player, maybe the best player on our team,” Withers said. “I’ve seen that every day since he got here from Charleston Southern.”
After Temple struggled initially to convert on offense, the final two drives of the half both resulted in touchdowns. Simon led two drives deep into Mean Green territory and both ended in one-yard rushing touchdowns.
The first came from running back Joquez Smith and the second from Simon. The consecutive touchdowns helped Temple enter the locker room trailing just 24-17 despite giving up 200 rushing yards.
The Owls’ strong defensive play carried into the second half as they forced punts on both North Texas drives in the third quarter. However, Temple was unable to bring its offensive momentum into the second half as it also punted on both of its drives in the third quarter. North Texas gained just 53 total yards and Temple just 50 in the third quarter.
North Texas looked to end its offensive dry spell and put the Owls away for good on its first drive of the fourth quarter. Morris completed a 30-yard pass to Sheffield on the first play to put the Mean Green deep in Temple territory. But the Owls’ defense stepped up again and stopped North Texas after it decided to go for it on fourth down.
The remainder of the fourth quarter was the same as the third quarter, the defenses were dominating and the offenses were stagnant. Neither team scored a point in the remainder of the game and the offenses combined for 302 second-half yards.
The Owls held Morris to just 180 passing yards and one touchdown, but they allowed 253 rushing yards. Simon recorded 268 passing yards but did not have a passing touchdown and was without leading wide receiver Dante Wright.
“How I look at it, I couldn’t tell you what my numbers are,” Simon said. “I could give you a range, but I’ve been a part of three wins. It’s not enough wins. That’s how I look at it.”
The Owls will now enter an offseason with major questions all around the roster, including who will be the team’s head coach for the 2025 season.
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