Phanatic Magazine
Freshman signal caller Perry Hills passed for 190 yards and the first two touchdowns of his collegiate career on 11-of-21 efficiency and an abysmal first half by the hosts led to a 36-27 Maryland triumph over the Temple Owls on Saturday afternoon at the Linc.
Justus Pickett rushed for 69 yards and the deciding score with 2:51 remaining, all on 21 carries for the Terrapins (2-0), who were coming off a 7-6 victory over William & Mary in their season opener last week.
Playing through a 101-degree fever, quarterback Chris Coyer totaled 178 yards and two scores through the air, adding 53 yards on 17 carries for Temple (1-1), which got a rude awakening from an ACC opponent following a 41-10 thrashing of Villanova last week.
"We created our adversity today," said Temple head coach Steve Addazio, sweating at the podium as he pontificated. "We are a young team and I have let them know that it's gonna be a dog fight every Saturday. This time we created our own."
It's not often that a first-half safety proves to be the pivotal point in a football game, but that's what happened in the heat and humidity of South Philadelphia.
Down 17-3 late in the second quarter, a second bad snap from center caused Coyer to chase down the ball in the end zone for a Maryland safety. Nine plays later, Hills burst through the line for an 11-yard score and 26-3 contest -- a touchdown that loomed large in light of Temple's second-half explosion.
Collateral damage from the play which created the safety came in the form of a sprained ankle suffered by running back Matt Brown, who was pressed into service following the stunted progress of starter Montel Harris who is hampered by groin issues.
It would have been the perfect time to test out how far the BC transfer progressed, but Addazio felt otherwise: "He was better. I made the decision to not put him in harm's way. Best thing for him is to go into this bye week (before a September 22 matchup against Penn State) and rehab 100 percent."
The Owls clawed their way back to 29-27 thanks to a fumble recovery off a muffed punt that turned into a 35-yard connection from Coyer to Jalen Fitzpatrick with 7:04 remaining, but the comeback ended there.
Stefon Diggs totaled 59 yards on three receptions, putting a dagger into the hearts of the faithful when he beat two defenders and hauled in a 38-yard pass at the right sideline to give Maryland the ball inside the Temple 10-yard line on the following possession. Pickett added his score a short time later to lock up the victory.
It was an inelegant game from the outset. Temple lost the football twice within the first five minutes but was lucky to only be behind 3-0 after a 45-yard field goal from Brad Craddock less than three minutes in -- on a series that saw Temple's defense buckle down and hold the Terrapins to negative yardage. That was soon countered by a 36-yard make by Brandon McManus on the Owls' ensuing series.
Things took a positive turn for the Terps in a 23-point second quarter, beginning with a perfectly-thrown ball to the left pylon by Hills that found tight end Matt Furstenburg for a 22-yard touchdown and 10-3 game. Marcus Leak -- who led all receivers with 90 yards on just three catches -- then outraced coverage for a 32-yard TD strike which left the visitors up 17-3 with 6:19 to play in the first half.
Down by 23 and backed into a corner, the Owls roared out of the gate in the third quarter looking much like the club which throttled their FCS brethren from the Main Line.
After forcing another Terps turnover, Kenny Martin capped a quick 35-yard, four-play series with a one-yard plunge up the middle to make it 26-10.
Craddock added a 26-yard make to push the Terps' advantage back up to 19, but Temple roared back only two plays Later, as Coyer caught the Maryland secondary napping and lofted a pass deep along the left side to C.J. Hammond for a 62-yard score and 29-17 contest with 5:12 left in the third.
McManus booted a 40 yarder to finish off a series which bled into the early stages of the fourth and the hosts were within 29-20 with most of the quarter remaining.
Notes: Maryland has won seven of the eight all-time meetings, including all games played in Philadelphia, and avenged a 38-7 home loss last September 24...Temple picked up just nine first downs, two of which came in a first half which saw the Owls post only 28 yards rushing and six total yards passing...Despite walking away with the win, the Terrapins fumbled four times and lost all four...Temple didn't fare much better, coughing up the football five times and losing it twice...Maryland held onto the football for 33:33 and converted 7-of-16 third-down chances...The Terps defense limited Temple to 52 rushing yards, and have given up only 156 this year.
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