Owls Bury Buffalo With Big Plays

The Temple football team picked up arguably the most significant victory in Coach Al Golden’s four-year tenure Saturday, using five turnovers to vanquish defending Mid-American Conference champion Buffalo, 37-13, at Lincoln Financial Field.

“Obviously they’re the reigning MAC champs, so from that standpoint it’s significant,” Coach Al Golden said during his postgame press conference, as sounds of his team’s locker-room celebration echoed through the walls. “But when we wake up tomorrow morning, it’s just one win. It’s a good win, but it only counts once.”

Temple picked off Buffalo quarterback Zach Maynard four times, none bigger than Peanut Joseph’s interception and school-record 95-yard return for a touchdown with seven seconds remaining in the first half. The Owls junior linebacker stepped in front of a Maynard pass intended for top wide receiver Naaman Roosevelt, stopped for a second, then took off down the right sideline, keeping his feet after a diving tackle attempt by running back Brandon Thermilus on his way to giving Temple a 20-6 halftime lead.

“I just wanted to do my assignment,” Joseph said. “We wanted to make a play when it counted. We needed a big play and that’s what we did.

“We’re coached to get to the nearest sideline and get to the end zone (after a turnover). I just had to keep my feet moving and my eyes on the end zone.”

It was the Owls’ second big play of the first half. James Nixon erased Buffalo’s only lead of the game with a 92-yard kickoff return for a score following A.J. Principe’s 32-yard field goal that put the Bulls up, 6-3.

Nixon took a few steps to his left, then sprinted down the left sideline for a touchdown that put Temple ahead to stay.

“He’s fast, that’s all I can tell you,” Golden said. “I’ve been a player and coach for 21 years and he’s the fastest kid I’ve ever seen.”

Temple scored on the first drive of the second half for a 27-6 lead, quarterback Vaughn Charlton setting up a five-yard TD pass to Evan Rodriguez with a 48-yard throw to Nixon. Maynard then turned the ball over on the next two drives on a fumble and interception by Marquise Liverpool in the end zone as the Owls put the game away.

“They’re the MAC champs and they have what we want,” Joseph said. “We just wanted to keep our poise. In the past, we’ve had problems with teams coming back when we got a lead. We had to step on their throat this game.”

Temple improved to 1-2 overall and 1-0 in the MAC. Buffalo is 1-3, 0-1 in the MAC and has lost three straight.

“They executed better, that’s really the bottom line,” Buffalo Coach Turner Gill said. “On offense, defense and special teams they made plays, and we didn’t make plays when the opportunity presented itself.”

The Owls came out and established the run on the first drive of the game, running the ball on 10 straight downs to set up the first of Brandon McManus’ three field goals.

True freshman Bernard Pierce ultimately carried the load for the Owls with 20 carries for 116 yards and his first career touchdown, an 18-yarder for the final score of the game.

Temple finished with 198 yards on 40 carries.

“We’ve been working three years to get that (running game),” Golden said. “It’s not the Xs and Os, it’s the Jimmies and the Joes. The true freshmen (offensive linemen) we played with last year are all bigger now. Our offensive linemen look like men.

“All three (running backs – Pierce, Lamar McPherson, and Kee-ayre Griffin) really complement each other. It will be interesting to see how it shakes out, but I don’t think Bernard gets the runs he gets if Lamar doesn’t go after those safeties early. He had a couple knockout blows.”

Postgame Comments

Joseph: Listen to Audio

Liverpool: Listen to Audio

Charlton: Listen to Audio