Mike Kern: College football wrap
Players of the Weekend
National
Andre Dixon, who scored on a 4-yard run in the second overtime to give Connecticut a 33-30 win at Notre Dame. UConn had lost three straight close games since cornerback Jasper Howard was stabbed to death.
Local
Temple freshman Matt Brown, who is 5-5, stepped in for injured freshman Bernard Pierce, who's been the man, and rushed for 156 yards and two touchdowns in the 47-13 win over Kent State.
Around Town
Win, win, win. It's been that way most of the season. Why change now?
Temple 47, Kent State 13
About a month ago we wondered if the Owls would ever lose again. They still might not.
They trailed, 10-9, at halftime. They scored the next 38, a week after scoring the final 49 at Toledo.
A team that lost 20 straight from 2004-06 while it went through the transition of Big East to Independent status to the Mid-American Conference has won its last nine. The Owls (9-2, 7-0) won 14 in a row in 1973-74.
The announced crowd was 21,046, the largest since the opener against Villanova. As it should have been.
The Owls, who were picked to finish second in the MAC's East division, will play at Ohio University (8-3, 6-1) Friday morning. The winner meets West champion Central Michigan (9-2, 7-0) for the MAC title on Dec. 4 in Detroit's Ford Field. Temple is going to a bowl for the first time in 3 decades. The most likely destinations are Detroit on Dec. 26 (Little Caesars Pizza Bowl), Toronto on Jan. 2 (International Bowl) or Mobile, Ala., on Jan. 6 (GMAC Bowl). But it could be the North Pole and nobody would complain.
The only bad news was that Bernard Pierce carried only once before leaving with a shoulder injury that coach Al Golden termed "fairly significant."
Kent State (5-6, 4-3) quarterback Spencer Keith left in the third quarter, also with an injured shoulder.
Kee-Ayre Griffin, who was moved to defense when Matt Brown emerged, returned his first career interception for a TD. Delano Green scored twice, once on a punt return, the first Owl to do that in back-to-back games.
The Owls rallied in the fourth quarter to beat Ohio at home last season, 14-10. They lost in Athens in 2007, 23-7.
Villanova 30, Delaware 12
The Wildcats (10-1, 7-1 Colonial Athletic Association), ranked second in FCS, beat the visiting Blue Hens (6-5, 4-4) for the fourth consecutive season, the first time that's happened since 1996-99.
Yesterday the Wildcats learned they're the No. 2 seed in the 16-team NCAA tournament. On Saturday they'll be home against Patriot League champ Holy Cross (9-2). If they win, they'd host either New Hampshire (9-2) or McNeese State (9-2) in the second round on Dec. 5. Should they keep winning they could get three home games.
