It took Tulane just five minutes to assert its dominance on Temple, cruising down the field and capping off a scoring drive when running back Makhi Hughes found the endzone on a four-yard run on the Green Wave’s first possession.
Temple entered Saturday’s game needing to win out in order to qualify for a bowl game, but those hopes were quickly put to rest when the Green Wave followed up their game-opening touchdown with three straight scoring drives to balloon their to four scores heading into halftime.
Temple (2-7, 1-4 American Athletic Conference) was blown out by Tulane (8-2, 6-0 AAC) 52-6 Saturday afternoon at Yulman Stadium. The Owls have now given up more than 50 points in two straight games and have been eliminated from bowl contention for the fifth straight season.
The Owls’ offense never managed to get the wheels turning, accumulating just 72 yards in the first half. The second half was the same script and Temple never stood a chance against the Green Wave, dropping its second straight game.
Tulane entered the game with the eighth-best scoring and 11th-best rushing offense in the country. The Green Wave showed why when Hughes ripped off a 27-yard run on the second play of the game. Hughes finished the drive eight plays later with the game-opening touchdown to give Tulane a 7-0 lead.
Temple appeared to respond with a quick start of their own when quarterback Evan Simon found tight end Landon Morris for a first down on their first offensive play of the game. But Temple’s offense went downhill after that. Tulane forced Temple to a fourth and one. Temple attempted to go for it but a false start by tight end Peter Clarke pushed the Owls back five yards and they were forced to punt.
Both teams struggled offensively from there, with the next four drives ending with punts and the first quarter lulled to a finish. The Green Wave got their offense back on track early in the second quarter with a 53-yard touchdown pass from quarterback Darian Mensah to wide receiver Shazz Preston. Tulane forced two more Temple punts and continued to march the ball down the field.
Hughes and running back Arnold Barnes III added rushing touchdowns for the Green Wave to extend their lead to 28-0 heading into halftime. Tulane racked up 310 yards in the first half alone, with 170 coming on the ground. Temple was limited to just 72 yards and only picked up four first downs.
Tulane continued to hold Temple’s offense in check to open the second half, forcing the Owls to punt on their first drive. The Green Wave picked up right where they left off and marched down the field in ten plays, capped off with their fourth rushing touchdown. Mensah added another score for the Green Wave shortly after with a six-yard touchdown pass to tight end Alex Bauman to extend the lead to 42-0.
Tulane forced Temple to punt for the ninth straight time on the following possession, but Temple’s defense made a stop and held Tulane to a field goal. The Green Wave took their foot off the gas in the fourth quarter, running down the clock and taking out their starters.
The Green Wave offense still kept marching with their backups in. Backup quarterback Ty Thompson ran for a 50-yard touchdown on third down to put Tulane up 52-0. Temple finally got on the board late in the fourth quarter when running back Terrez Worthy ran 75 yards to score the Owls’ only points.
Tulane racked up 589 yards from scrimmage, with 327 coming on the ground. The Owls were held to just 158 yards and were 1-13 on third down attempts. Simon finished with his worst passing game of the season, throwing for just 56 yards.
The Owls will look to get back in the win column in their next matchup when they return home to play Florida Atlantic (2-7, 0-5 AAC) on Nov. 16 at 2 p.m.
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