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Two freshmen spark Temple's ground attack
Temple football coach Al Golden settled on a new running back combination Friday night, when his fledgling squad scored seven unanswered touchdowns to put away host Akron, 56-17, in a Mid-American Conference contest.
To their Owls teammates and coaches, freshmen Bernard Pierce and Matt Brown are now "Bernie and the Bug."
The 6-foot, 212-pound Pierce has established himself as one the top ballcarriers in the country on his way to setting Temple freshman records with 1,308 yards rushing and 15 touchdowns.
Brown, all 5-5, 167 pounds of him, has risen steadily on the depth chart to become the chief backup for Pierce, whose touchdown total also ties him with Paul Palmer (1986) and Walter Washington (2004) for the single-season school record.
As Temple extended its winning streak to eight against Akron, Pierce ran for 97 yards on 19 carries and scored on a 2-yard run. Brown had 68 yards on 17 attempts, and his 5-yard touchdown completed the Owls' scoring with 11 minutes, 31 seconds left to play.
The quick and speedy Brown, a native of Baltimore, has stepped into a spot that was marked for sophomore Kee-ayre Griffin. The shifty Griffin scored a touchdown in each of Temple's first five games in '08 and wound up leading the team in rushing with 394 yards.
This fall, Griffin has been limited by nagging injuries, opening the door for Brown to make an impression on Golden and his staff.
Griffin has been moved to cornerback, where he was in the game for 25 plays Friday.
"He is one of the best 22 players on the team, and he deserves to be on the field," Golden said. "That's what makes big programs great. You have so many pieces to the puzzle, and avenues you can take."
Next up for Temple is Kent State on Saturday at Lincoln Financial Field, where the Owls have gone 9-2 to put together the best home record in the MAC since the Owls became full members of the league in 2007.
At 8-2 overall, Temple leads the MAC East Division with a 6-0 mark. Kent State (5-5, 4-2) is tied with Bowling Green (5-5, 4-2) behind second-place Ohio (7-3, 5-1).
Ohio, which hosts Northern Illinois (7-3, 5-1) of the MAC West Division on Saturday, will face visiting Temple on Nov. 27 in the regular-season finale for both teams.
A Temple win and an Ohio loss Saturday would give the Owls the division title and a berth in the MAC title game.
Notes. The Kent State game will be the 1,000th football game in Temple school history. It will be seniors day at the Linc.
Contact staff writer Kevin Tatum at 215-854-2583 or ktatum@phillynews.com.
