Ventell Bryant snags one of his three catches on the night. (Courtesy: The Courant)
Temple Football (7-3, 5-1) sprinted out of the gates on Rentschler Field Friday night, and took down the Huskies of the University of Connecticut (3-7, 1-6) by a final of 21-0. This marks the 4th straight win for the Owls, and they have just 2 more must-win games on their 6-game conference stretch to win the AAC East division.
Phillip Walker became the first quarterback in Temple Football history to reach 2,000 yards passing in 4 straight seasons just over 4 minutes into game action. He drove the Owls 75-yards on the opening drive that ended in a 23-yard touchdown reception from Jahad Thomas. Walker went 3/3 on the drive, accounting for all 75 yards.
It took 170 yards, 3 touchdowns, and 8 straight completions before Walker threw his first incompletion (an interception), and he finished 12/18 with 215 yards and 2 INT’s, along with his 3 TD’s.
Temple’s 21 points on its first three drives were the only points on the evening by either team.
The first 3 drives for Temple resulted in touchdown passes from Walker; Two to Thomas, and one to senior TE Romond Deloatch.
The Owls rushing attack of Jahad Thomas and Ryquell Armstead was effective once again, totaling 216 yards on 37 carries. In all of Temple’s 7 wins this season, the offense has rushed for at least 150 yards. Jahad Thomas was also dynamic in the pass game, hauling in 4 passes for 72 yards and 2 TD’s- all in the first half. Sophomore wide receiver Ventell Bryant led the Owls in receiving for the 4th game in a row, tallying 82 yards on 4 receptions.
The Temple defense held UConn’s top receiver, Noel Thomas, to four catches for 32 yards (Courtesy: The Courant)The defense was swarming all night. (Courtesy: The Courant)
Lucky for the offense, there wasn’t much urgency to score the ball as the Temple defense continued to prove why they are one of the top units in the conference. Phil Snow’s group held the Huskies to just 160 total yards. UConn came into the night averaging just over 235 yards passing and 126 yards rushing. They were held to 69 passing yards, and 90 rushing yards.
It was the first ever shutout for Temple Football against an AAC team.
The Owls are heading into their first bye week of the year next week, and will resume action November 19th in New Orleans against Tulane (3-5, 0-4).
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