Temple comes through on Homecoming

Philadelphia, PA -- Jahad Thomas carried 14 times for 152 yards and caught a touchdown pass, as the Temple Owls outlasted Tulsa on Homecoming Day, 35-24, on Saturday from Lincoln Financial Field.

P.J. Walker threw for 294 yards and two touchdowns and also ran for a score for the Owls (4-1, 2-0 AAC), who were coming off a bye following a 26-point win at Connecticut.

Jalen Fitzpatrick had five catches for 107 yards and a score, while Jamie Gilmore also finished with 100 yards on two catches.

Dane Evans threw for 260 yards and two TDs for the Golden Hurricane (1-5, 1-1). Keevan Lucas caught nine passes for 109 yards and a score, while Zack Langer headlined the ground game with 113 yards and a TD on 30 carries.

Thomas broke loose for a 68-yard run on the game's first play from scrimmage, which set up an 8-yard touchdown run by Kenneth Harper two plays later.

Tulsa evened the score at 7-7 on Langer's 19-yard touchdown run with 3:17 to play in the opening frame.
The teams continued to trade blows in the second quarter. Connor Reilly put the Owls back on top with a 3-yard run at the 14:19 mark of the second quarter.

Tulsa answered with a nine-play, 62-yard drive, capped by Evans' 9-yard TD pass to Mandel Dixon to make it a 14-14 game.

Following a goal line stand by the Owls defense, the offense got the ball back and put together a five-play, 99-yard drive just before the half. Walker completed a key 64-yard pass to Gilmore and then finished off the drive with a 5-yard touchdown run to send the Owls into the locker room with a 21-14 lead.

Tulsa scored the only points of the third quarter on a 29-yard touchdown pass from Evans to Lucas.
The Golden Hurricane began the fourth quarter with a 44-yard field goal from Carl Salazar to make it a 24-21 game.

However, the Owls regained the lead on a 30-yard scoring strike from Walker to Fitzpatrick with 10:38 remaining in regulation. They tacked on an insurance touchdown late in the fourth quarter on a 20-yard pass from Walker to Thomas.

Temple entered the week as the nation's leader in turnover margin (+2.5) but failed to generate any takeaways while losing a fumble and an interception.

The Owls, who are just two wins away from bowl contention for the first time since going 9-4 in 2011, take on Houston next week.