Midway through the third quarter of Temple Football’s game against Utah State, the Owls trailed 21-17 and needed a spark to pick up their first win of the season. Temple had battled back from a 14-point deficit, looking to avoid starting 0-4 for the first time since 2013.
Quarterback Evan Simon drew his second straight start and had an opportunity to put a stranglehold on the starting quarterback job. On the Owls’ third drive of the half, Simon sent a lightning strike that gave Temple the spark they needed.
Simon delivered a perfect ball to wide receiver Dante Wright, who outran the entire Aggies defense for a 91-yard touchdown to put Temple ahead 24-21 for its first lead in a game all season. The Owls’ offensive onslaught continued from there, coasting by Utah State to pick up their first win of the season.
Temple (1-3, 0-1 American Athletic Conference) took down Utah State (1-3, 0-0 Mountain West) 45-29 Saturday afternoon at Lincoln Financial Field. The win marks Simon’s first as a starting quarterback since he defeated Temple while quarterbacking Rutgers on Sept. 17, 2022.
“I’m just proud of those guys man,” said head coach Stan Drayton. “They earned this victory. We got to get back to work and flush this one and get ready for Army. But these guys come hard and I’m gonna let them celebrate this one tonight.”
Temple’s offense appeared to turn a corner against Coastal Carolina last week, but it wasn’t seen during the first quarter. The lack of early offensive success was due in part to poor starting field position.
The Owls were pinned inside their own 10 on each of their first four drives, resulting in four punts and a 14-0 hole early in the second quarter. Once the offense had respectable field position they began to march down the field.
“It’s simply staying the course and trusting your training,” Simon said. “The coaches put us in incredible positions today and we made them count. I am really proud of this team.”
Temple’s first drive of the second quarter ended with a 32-yard misdirection touchdown run by wide receiver Antonio Jones to get Temple on the board. The Owls tied the game at 14 on their next drive when a pressured Simon found running back Antwain Littleton, who broke off for a 17-yard touchdown.
The Aggies broke Temple’s defense down in a two-minute drill and scored a touchdown in just 53 seconds to retake the lead with 17 seconds left before halftime. Running back Terrez Worthy took the ensuing kickoff to the Owls’ 43-yard line, giving the offense a chance to get into field goal range. Simon managed to do just that, and with five seconds left, kicker Maddux Trujillo trotted on the field to attempt a 64-yard field goal.
Trujillo barely snuck the ball above the crossbar to trim the Utah State lead down to 21-17 heading into halftime. The kick broke the record for longest field goal in Lincoln Financial Field history, surpassing Eagles kicker Jake Elliot’s 61-yarder on Sept. 14, 2023. It was also the longest field goal in college football since 2008.
“You’re not really counting it off. You just go out there and look at the uprights and I was like ‘Well that’s kind of far away,’” Trujillo said. “I have no choice but to kick the football so you might as well try to make it while you’re there.”
Temple took control of the game once the second half commenced. Simon followed up his score to Wright by slinging two more touchdown passes, this time to tight ends Daniel Everet and Peter Clarke. Utah State went down and scored one more time, cutting the score to 38-29 but the Owls responded. Temple worked the ball down to the one-yard line and Simon snuck past the goal line on a quarterback sneak for the touchdown.
The Owls’ defense held strong at their own one-yard line on the Aggies’ second drive of the game. Utah State worked the ball down to the Temple one-yard line, and on fourth and goal linebacker D.J. Woodbury made the stop to force a turnover on downs.
The Owls secured their first turnover of the season on cornerback Torey Richardson’s fourth-quarter interception. The defense allowed 300 first-half yards, but clamped down in the second half, giving up just 179 yards and eight points.
Simon showed the “moxie” that Drayton described following last week’s loss to Coastal Carolina. He went 17-27 for 271 yards and five touchdowns. Most importantly, he did not turn the ball over once — a problem that plagued Temple through the first three weeks.
The Owls only mustered 27 yards in the first quarter but turned it around in the second quarter, racking up 165 yards. The rushing attack also continued to show improvement, as Temple ran for 180 total yards, led by Simon with 49 yards.
The Owls have a short week ahead of them as they remain home to take on Army (3-0, 2-0 AAC) on Sept. 26 at 7:30 p.m.
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