With less than four minutes left in the fourth quarter of Temple’s game against UConn, the Owls were down by three points and marching down the field after looking lifeless on offense for most of the game.
Temple quickly found the red zone after just two plays and had an opportunity to kick a field goal to tie the game or try to score a touchdown. Head coach Stan Drayton chose to go for the win and swapped Forrest Brock out with third-string quarterback Tyler Douglas, who had been used throughout the game as a runner.
Temple attempted to push Douglas into the endzone on a quarterback sneak with three seconds remaining but it backfired. Douglas fumbled the snap while trying to score the winning touchdown and Huskies’ defensive back Jordan Wright scooped up the ball and ran down the field to clinch the win.
Temple (1-5, 0-2 American Athletic Conference) fell to UConn (4-2) 29-20 Saturday afternoon. The loss extended Temple’s road losing streak to 17 games, the longest active streak in college football.
Brock made his return under center because of a shoulder injury to starter Evan Simon. But like their first two games under Brock, the Owls weren’t able to get the gears churning to begin the game. Brock was sacked on the Owls’ first drive before punting it back to the Huskies.
The Owls gained 146 yards in the final 15 minutes after very little offensive production during the first 45. Brock was able to find a hole in the defense and strolled into the endzone to take a 20-16 lead on Temple’s only offensive touchdown of the game early in the fourth quarter. The Huskies matched its opponent’s energy and struck back with a touchdown of their own six minutes later to retake the lead — one they never surrendered
The offense continued to put the defense behind the eight-ball. After a UConn punt in the first quarter, wide receiver Dante Wright fumbled the ball, giving the Huskies another drive in Temple territory. The Owls’ defense spoiled the Huskies’ chance for a touchdown after defensive end Diwun Black hurried Fagnano to force a field goal attempt with six minutes left in the first quarter.
Five minutes into the second quarter, the Owls were looking for anything to go their way. They had been dormant up to that point with 37 total yards and punted on every possession. However, the defense kept pace with UConn’s offense and only allowed three points, hoping for the offense to find life to take the lead.
The Huskies were forced to punt inside their own 10-yard line and it looked as if the Owls were going to get decent field position. Instead, Temple linebacker Antwone Santiago blocked the punt and wide receiver John Adams pounced on the ball to score the game’s first touchdown. It was the only touchdown of the half, but Temple went into the locker room trailing 9-7.
Temple struck first in the second half when kicker Maddux Trujillo, who nailed a program record 64-yard field goal against Utah State, hit from 60 yards out to put the Owls up 10-9.
It seemed as if Temple snatched all the momentum the next drive when cornerback Jaylen Lewis intercepted a Fagnano pass and traveled 12 yards, putting Temple in a prime scoring position. But Temple again couldn’t gain traction on offense and settled for another Trujillo field goal. However, he missed the 32-yard chip shot attempt.
Trujillo redeemed himself on a 42-yard field goal with two minutes left in the third quarter, but the lead did not last long. The Huskies scored a touchdown of their own when Fagnano threw a rocket to a streaking TJ Sheffield for a 58-yard pitch and catch for a touchdown 42 seconds later.
The Huskies came into the matchup sixth in the country with 1223 rushing yards but were unable to get the best of an Owls unit that allowed 1296 yards on the ground. Temple stifled UConn for 99 rushing yards, holding the three-headed monster of Durell Robinson, Mel Brown and Cam Edwards in check.
The defense was able to force takeaways as well – a previous Achilles heel of the unit. The Owls had three takeaways all game with two interceptions and a fumble. However, the offense had three turnovers of their own and Robinson found the endzone in the fourth quarter for the go-ahead touchdown.
Temple will have a break this week with a bye and return to action against Tulsa (2-4, 0-2 AAC) on Oct. 19 for its homecoming game.
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