Back In The Hunt

Senior quarterback Adam DiMichele made a triumphant return to the Temple lineup, throwing the game-winning touchdown pass with 1:51 remaining as the Owls defeated Ohio, 14-10, in a nationally-televised game on Tuesday night at Lincoln Financial Field.

DiMichele's five-yard pass to tight end Steve Maneri on 2nd-and-goal gave the Owls their first lead of the game. All of Temple's points came in the fourth quarter.

The Owls improved to 3-5 overall, 2-3 in the Mid-American Conference. Ohio fell to 2-6, 1-3.

"We were trying to get Bruce (Francis) the ball, but they were kind of bracketing him with two guys," DiMichele said of the game-winning play. "I did my scrambling around thing and Maneri stopped in the back of the endzone and just came back. I just threw it. I didn't see it because I took a shot, but I saw it on the big screen. He made a nice play, one of those things that just sort of happened."

The score came after Ohio quarterback Boo Jackson and tailback Chris Garrett misconnected on a handoff on their own 18-yard line, and Temple defensive tackle Terrance Knighton recovered the loose ball. The Bobcats had taken over when Anthony Perlozzo's potential game-tying 25-yard field goal attempt sailed wide left with 4:43 to play.

"It was a basic front and I just saw the bad (exchange)," Knighton said. "The ball just fell, and I just fell on it."

The Owls held on for the win when Brandon Peterson's 20-yard catch at the Temple 26 on 4th-and-17 with 20 seconds to go was overturned by the replay official, who correctly ruled that the ball hit the ground before the catch.

The Owls haven't had a good recent history with replay officials, including a memorable game-winning touchdown that wasn't awarded after review against UConn last year.

"I clearly saw the ball hit the ground, but the way things have gone in the past you never know," Knighton said.

DiMichele started at quarterback for the first time since injuring his throwing shoulder against Penn State on Sept. 20. But a porous offensive line was one of many problems.

The senior quarterback finished 9 of 22 for 79 yards, and he was sacked five times and constantly hurried.

"Tomorrow morning I'll feel pretty bad, but right now I can't feel any better than this," DiMichele said. "When I'd come off the field, (the trainers) were just following me, and I was like, 'God, leave me alone.' I felt fine out there, and I feel even better now."

Trailing, 10-0, Temple took over at the Ohio 45 with 12:45 left in the game. On first down, Jason Harper slipped behind the defense, but DiMichele's throw was just long. That seemed like it might have been the Owls' last chance, but Kee-ayre Griffin broke a 37-yard run on the next play and went in from a yard out three plays later to cut the deficit to 10-7.

The defense held and Temple took over again on the Bobcat 46, driving to the 2 before stalling. Then came Perlozzo’s missed field goal.

The Temple defense played bend-but-don't-break but the Bobcats controlled play in taking a 10-0 halftime lead. Ohio converted 5 of 8 third downs in the first half.

Meanwhile, Temple ran just five offensive plays in the second quarter for minus-8 yards.

"The offense struggled early in the game, but we know they're going to have our backs and finish every game," said safety Jaiquawn Jarrett, who had five tackles and just missed a pair of interceptions. "We just talked about overcoming adversity and finishing. Since we were down, we wanted to force the quarterback to make some plays, force some turnovers. That was the gameplan in the second half."

A 25-yard Barrett Way field goal and two-yard Garrett touchdown run accounted for Ohio's first half points.

Griffin ran for 85 yards on 22 carries in his first start at running back for the Owls. Junior Galette posted two sacks to lead the defensive effort.

"They got tired, and the plays they took off gave us the opportunity to make big-time plays," Galette said.

Golden Postgame: Listen to Audio

DiMichele Postgame: Listen to Audio