Temple Wins Its First Game of the Season 45 – 29 Over Utah State
September 21, 2024 –
The Temple Owls were looking for their first win of the season. The start of the game indicated that this may not be the day. The Utah State Aggies took and early 14 – 0 lead on touchdowns on their first two possessions. Later in the game the Owls would benefit on two explosive plays that would trend the game in their direction. The Cherry and White took the lead and would not look back in a 45 – 29 win at the Linc.
Big Plays Went to Temple
The direction turned after Utah State took a 21 – 14 lead with 17 seconds to play to halftime driving 75 yards in 53 seconds. Just a few ticks of the clock later Temple got a 64-yard field goal from Maddux Trujillo, the longest field goal in the history of the program and the Linc. The ball hit the crossbar and bounded over. He broke the stadium record set by Jake Elliott of the Eagles. This is the 8th longest field goal in NCAA history. Ove Johnson of Abilene Christian was good from 69-yards away in 1976 to rank at the top.
Then the key play came late in the third quarter. Quarterback Evan Simon got the ball to Dante Wright for a 91-yard touchdown. It gave the Owls a 24 – 21 lead, their first lead of the season. This was the longest career completion for Simon and the longest career reception for Wright. It felt good and got better as the Cherry and White crossed the goal line on their next three consecutive possessions.
Reasons for the Win
Big Reason: Turnovers. Temple did not turn the ball over, and the defense recorded their first take away of the season when Torey Richardson intercepted a pass with 2:05 remaining in the game. The trend of penalties stopping the offense ended as the Owls were on the positive side of that statistic. Field position played a huge role in the turnaround. The Owls were forced to start drives from their own one yard line twice, the three yard line, and the eight. Those drives resulted in punts and favorable field position for Utah State. As the field position improved and so did the Temple offense.
Team Contributions
Simon completed 17 of 27 passes to nine different receivers for 271 yards. He had 5 touchdowns including the long one to Wright which was the longest Owls scoring toss since 2019. Additionally, Antwain Littleton II caught a 17-yard pass for his first touchdown as a Temple player and wiped out the early Aggies lead. Antonio Jones scored on a 32-yard pass that started the scoring for Temple. Daniel Evert, and Peter Clarke recorded their first scoring catch of the year. It is the first college catch for Evert. Wright, who was injured coming into the game, had 3 receptions for 116 yards and added 21 return yards. Nine Owls carried the ball totaling 180 yards with Simon leading the way with 49 yards.
Explosiveness from Utah State
The Aggies from the Mountain West Conference have an explosive offense. The three key players did give the Temple defense trouble especially early. Quarterback Spencer Petras threw for 293 yards and 2 touchdowns. Jalen Royals caught 10 passes, collegiate-best, for 112 yards and a score. Running back and native of Pottstown Rahsul Faison ran for a game-high 148 yards with one score. Utah State could have had a touchdown off a fake punt that would have given them the lead back after the long touchdown. But two outside coverage players jumped offsides. A penalty that was very costly. The Aggies gained 479 total yards 315 of which came in the first half.
Next Up
Temple (1 – 3) have a short week as Army comes to the Linc on Thursday. The Owls get win number one of the year.
Written By: Glenn Papazian
Contact: Glenn@PhillyCollegeSports.com
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