By John McMullen
Philadelphia, PA (The Phan) - Temple a two touchdown favorite?
Things have sure changed on North Broad Street.
The MAC may not be the Big Ten, the SEC or even the Big East, but in the past two years Al Golden has attempted to turn the Owls from an also-ran into a conference bully.
Golden and Temple swaggered into the Linc Thursday night as a 14- to 17-point favorite over a struggling Miami-Ohio team but couldn't live up to the role of MAC heavyweight.
The Owls built a 31-13 lead late in the third quarter but couldn't hold it as RedHawks quarterback Zak Dysert shredded an overmatched secondary.
Dysert threw for 427 yards and three touchdowns as he led Miami-Ohio on a furious fourth quarter comeback, culminating with a two-yard TD run by Thomas Merriweather with 2:36 left to put the RedHawks on top for the first time in the game, 32-31.
Needing just a field goal, Temple was up to the task, however. Freshman sensation Bernard Pierce ripped off an 18-yard run before quarterback Chester Stewart hooked up with James Jones on a 31-yard pass play to put the ball at the Miami 15. Two plays later, Pierce gashed up the middle for 11 yards, setting up a chip shot for Brandon McManus with six seconds left. The freshman kicker was up to the task, booting an 18-yard field goal and lifting Temple to
its seventh straight win, 34-32.
Pierce has been the catalyst in the Owls (7-2, 5-0 MAC) run that has already made the team bowl eligible for the first time since 1990. An Ardmore native, Pierce ran for 172 yards and three TDs on 40 carries against Miami (1-9, 1-5) and has amassed a school freshman record 1,205 yards and 14 TDs since being inserted in the starting lineup. The rookie also came into Thursday's contest ranked third nationally in rushing at 129.12 yards per game.
Stewart, a redshirt sophomore, got the start at quarterback for Vaughn Charlton and completed 6-11 passes for 142 yards, while Charlton scored a TD on a fake field goal attempt late in the first quarter.
Owl Droppings: Temple has won its last six MAC games at the Linc and is a league-beat 9-2 in conference play at home since 1997...Golden was named to the watch list for the Paul "Bear" Bryant coach of the year award and is a semifinalist for the 2009 George Munger and Liberty Mutual coach of the year awards...Pierce has shattered Paul Palmer's freshman rushing record. The former Kansas City Chief ran for 628 yards as a frosh in 1983...Scouts from the New York Jets and Indianapolis Colts were on hand.
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