On the first play of the fourth quarter, Southern Methodist senior quarterback Shane Buechele dropped back to pass and faked a short throw to the right side of the field before pivoting to throw the ball to senior tight end Kylen Granson for a 24-yard touchdown.
The touchdown put the Mustangs up 26-16 after trailing Temple University football 13-10 at halftime.
The Owls (1-4, 1-4 The American Athletic Conference) lost 47-23 to the Mustangs (7-1, 4-1 The American) at home on Saturday afternoon. Temple kept the game close until the fourth quarter despite missing 15 players due to COVID-19 protocols.
Temple also missed starting quarterback graduate student Anthony Russo due to a shoulder injury and starting running back Re’Mahn Davis who opted out of the season earlier this week.
The Owls kicked off the game with a 75-yard touchdown pass to graduate student wide receiver Randle Jones on a bubble screen by redshirt-sophomore quarterback Trad Beatty. Jones broke a tackle before running free to the endzone.
Beatty finished the game completing eight of 12 passes for 129 yards and one touchdown. Beatty got hurt at the end of the first half after a sack on Temple’s last offensive drive and did not play in the second half.
Redshirt-sophomore Re-al Mitchell played sparingly in the first half but played the whole second half. He finished the game with nine completions on 18 attempts for 82 yards and one touchdown. He also carried the ball 17 times for 66 yards.
Temple’s defense kept the Mustangs in check during the first half by only allowing 10 points, but SMU broke the score open in the second half scoring 37 points, including 27 in the fourth quarter alone.
In total, the Mustangs recorded 549 total yards with 194 coming on the ground and 355 coming through the air.
Buechele finished the game with 24 completions on 35 attempts for 355 yards and four touchdowns. Senior wide receiver Tyler Page led the Mustangs in receptions with nine and finished the game with 131 yards and two touchdowns.
Granson led the team in yards with 149 while also finishing with six catches and one touchdown.
One of Page’s touchdowns came with 12 minutes and 58 seconds remaining in the third quarter when he caught a pass from Buechele in the middle of the field and then ran untouched for a 44-yard touchdown, putting SMU ahead 17-13.
Temple graduate student linebacker Will Kwenkeu led the team in tackles with 10 and in tackles for loss with two. Redshirt-junior defensive end Arnold Ebiketie finished the game with one sack and one tackle for loss.
Temple’s next game is Nov. 14 on the road against Central Florida (4-2, 3-2 The American).
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