A pair of third quarter fumbles killed the Temple football team in a 48-35 loss to Bowling Green on Saturday afternoon at Doyt Perry Stadium in Bowling Green, Ohio. The Owls dropped to 0-4 this season, including an 0-2 mark in Mid-American Conference games.
With the score tied at 21-21, the Owls got the ball to start the second half. On their third play, fullback Josh Bundy powered through the middle, trying to pick up one yard. He got five, but as he continued to fight through a gang tackle, the ball was ripped from Bundy’s grasp by Bowling Green cornerback Kenny Lewis.
Lewis took the prize and raced 35 yards for a touchdown.
Bundy’s momentum appeared to be stopped on the play, but there was no whistle, so the play was upheld after a review by the replay official.
Two possessions later, the Owls got the ball at their own 9-yard line. On second down, Owls quarterback Adam DiMichele was sacked on the 3. On third down, DiMichele dropped back into the endzone and was hit again, only this time he dropped the ball, and nose guard Orlando Barrow pounced on it for another BGSU defensive touchdown.
Afterward, Coach Al Golden lamented that play call as “a terrible decision.”
Considering the trouble that the Owls have had protecting DiMichele this season, it was very risky. Facing 3rd-and-16, they could have simply run it up the middle, punted the ball, and played defense.
Golden may have been emboldened by a 4th-and-8 conversion late in the second quarter. That gamble paid off when DiMichele completed a 20-yard pass to freshman wide receiver Mike Campbell.
But the Falcon defense might not have been expecting the Owls to snap the ball on that play. They didn’t put any pressure on DiMichele.
However, when they had the Owls pinned inside the five-yard line, they came with serious pressure.
DiMichele said the play call was a screen pass to tailback Jason Harper (also rather curious since the Owls needed 16 yards for the first down). But the defensive linemen on Harper’s side read the screen and prevented DiMichele from throwing it. Then came the pressure, and the hit, from the blind side.
Just as troubling as the costly turnovers was the fact that the Cherry and White offense then fell apart – completely. On their next five possessions, the Owls couldn’t manage a single first down.
After a solid first half, Harper was shut down. And DiMichele was pressured nearly every time he tried to throw the ball. The Owls surrendered just one sack in the first half. In the second half, DiMichele was dropped five times.
And what about the Temple defense?
All things considered, they didn’t do a bad job. Bowling Green’s first three possessions in the second half went punt, field goal, punt. But the Owls never posed an offensive threat and the Falcons eventually added a touchdown and a field goal to make it 48-21.
Finally, with the game out of reach, the Temple offense re-appeared. The Owls picked up their first first down of the second half with less than eight minutes to go in the fourth quarter. It didn’t hurt that the Falcons backed off their constant blitz pressure.
Given time to throw, DiMichele completed five straight passes on a 73-yard drive that culminated with a 17-yard scoring toss to Harper. The next drive went for 89 yards and finished with DiMichele’s 14-yard touchdown pass to senior wideout Bruce Francis with 19 seconds to go.
But all those last two drives did was make the final score respectable.
Temple’s second half collapse was hard to explain, especially considering the way the Owls fought back to tie the score at halftime.
The first half was filled with big plays for both sides. The biggest play for the Falcons was when they knocked the ball away from Temple speedster Travis Shelton on a second quarter kickoff return. BGSU quarterback Tyler Sheehan threw a 13-yard TD pass on the next play, and the Falcons grabbed a 21-7 lead.
Golden fumed afterward about Shelton’s fumble, which happened because he tried to ad lib on the play. For the afternoon, Shelton posted returns of 21 yards, nine yards, and seven yards.
But the Owls recovered from the deficit nicely.
DiMichele went 3 for 3 on a 69-yard drive that wrapped up with a perfectly-executed screen pass to wideout Dy’Onne Crudup for a 21-yard score. On the play, Shelton lined up wide right and sprinted at the snap to get the defense on its heels. Crudup then slipped into Shelton’s original spot and caught the pass. He dodged the initial tackler and had just enough room to squeeze between two BGSU defenders and the sideline on the race to the goal line.
Temple scored again on its next possession, this time in dramatic fashion.
Getting the ball near midfield with 3:13 to go, DiMichele put the team in scoring position with a 17-yard scramble. But the next three plays produced little and the Owls faced 4th-and-8 at the BGSU 34 with less than a minute remaining.
Trailing 21-14, with the Owls getting the ball to start the second half, the safe call for Golden would have been to punt. But he decided to go for it and DiMichele connected with Campbell on a 20-yard crossing route. The Falcons grabbed Campbell’s facemask on the play and the penalty moved the ball to the BGSU 7.
The Owls got a little lucky on the next play, as Harper picked up six yards before fumbling the ball as he tried to slip between two tacklers. Harper was able to fall on the ball, and then twisted into the endzone for an apparent touchdown. But a review by the replay official placed the ball on the one-yard line.
Golden called for his three-back power set on the next play, but sophomore Lamar McPherson was stopped short of the goal line. (McPherson was later stopped on another short yardage carry.)
On 3rd-and-goal, the Owls looked to throw the ball. It looked disastrous as DiMichele was sacked for an eight-yard loss. But the reason he wasn’t able to throw the ball is because his intended target, Harper, was held by a BGSU defender. The penalty put the ball back inside the one-yard line, and DiMichele nosed into the endzone on the next play – with five seconds to go in the second quarter – and the score was tied at the half.
Temple’s defense did its job in the first half, forcing three turnovers while surrendering two sustained touchdown drives to the pass-crazy BGSU offense. Junior safety Georg Coleman had an early interception and the next two turnovers led to Temple scores.
Sheehan was able to complete a lot of passes, and was also able to escape from pressure and scramble for positive yardage. But the Owls never appeared to be at the mercy of Bowling Green’s spread offense.
Midway through the first quarter, after Temple sophomore Jake Brownell missed a 44-yard field goal attempt, Owls defensive tackle Andre Neblett popped the ball loose from BGSU tailback Willie Geter. Cornerback Jamal Schulters recovered and the Owls took possession at the BGSU 40.
Four plays later, DiMichele hit sophomore tight end Steve Maneri for a 21-yard score.
Down 7-0 and having committed two turnovers, the home team showed some resolve. On a 77-yard drive, Sheehan made two key completions to wide receiver (and former quarterback) Freddie Barnes on comeback routes along the sideline. Golden challenged the second reception, seemingly just to get a timeout and instruct the defense on how to stop that particular play. The call was not reversed.
Sheehan then scrambled for a 14-yard gain and followed with a 21-yard TD pass to Barnes.
On the ensuing kickoff return, Shelton tried and failed to beat the Falcons across the field. He was tackled at the 13-yard line. The Owls went backwards as right tackle Andre Douglas drew a holding penalty. So even after netting 40 yards on freshman Jeff Wathne’s punt, the Owls gave the ball back to the Falcons near midfield.
Again, Sheehan made the biggest play with his feet, scrambling up the middle for a 12-yard gain on 3rd-and-10. Four plays later, he threw another TD pass to Barnes.
Shelton followed with his kickoff return fumble and the Owls fell into a 21-7 hole. They were able to overcome that 14-point deficit before halftime, but were unable to repeat that feat in the second half.
Next week, Temple visits Army.
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