Nearing the Bowl Bid!

(Bernard Pierce has a career day in Michigan-- photo by Daryll Rule)


Temple Football is (5-2)(4-0) at the midpoint of the season. That's all there is to it.

The Owls defeated the Toledo Rockets to claim sole possession of 1st place in the MAC East. Along with this, Temple continues their winning streak to 5 games.

Several players made crucial plays to help get the Owls this important in-conference win. These players were

1) Bernard Pierce - a week after leaving the Army game on a stretcher, the freshman sensation ran for 212 yards and 3 touchdowns.

2) Alex Joseph - the senior linebacker had a key interception that gave the Owls excellent position to score.

3) Matt Brown - the freshman receiver averaged 36 yards per kick return, his longest a 47 yarder putting the Owls in Rocket territory.

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Here's the quarter-by-quarter breakdown of Temple's performance on the scoreboard against Toledo:

1st Quarter

(WR) Michael Campbell 11 yard TD catch [6-0]
(RB) Bernard Pierce 1 yard TD run [13-0]

2nd Quarter

(RB) Bernard Pierce 39 yard TD run [20-7]
(K) Brandon McManus 30 yard FG [23-7]

3rd Quarter

(RB) Bernard Pierce 2 yard TD run [30-17]
(K) Brandon McManus 29 yard FG [33-17]

4th Quarter

(WR) Jason Harper 36 yard TD catch [40-17]

Final Score: 40-24 TEMPLE.

A great sigh of relief can be shared by Temple fans, as Bernard Pierce's return (stylish, I might add) only continues the momentum this team has had. Bernard Pierce is now 14th in the country for Rushing Yards per Game.

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Area of Improvement

As with every game, there is always room for improvement. Here are several areas that we noticed Temple needs to work on when they face the Navy Midshipmen. This week we focus on several areas of Temple's offense and special teams:

- Passing Game: Bernard Pierce dominated the running game once again, compiling 212 yards and 3 touchdowns in last night's outing. It would be helpful and extremely significant if the Owls could finally utilize the talent they have in the air. Both wide receivers Jason Harper and Michael Campbell got in the mix with touchdown receptions, but this team could still take advantage of the long ball once in a while.

- Special Teams (Kickoff Coverage) This is the first time that we have brought this up, and hopefully it will be the last. Toledo's first score of the game occurred on an 85 yard kick return that was taken to the house. Whether this was a matter of missed tackles, or just great blocking by the Rockets, it is not something that cannot be allowed when facing a running game such as Navy's.

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Temple's record improves to (5-2)(4-0) overall, and they will stay on the road to taken on Navy.

Toledo's record moves to (4-4)(2-2) overall, and they will head out to play Miami (OH).

The Owl's Nest will preview Temple's upcoming game against Navy as the week progresses, as well as keep you updated on what is going on in the Mid-American Conference..