Owls run over Wyoming, 37-15
Temple college sports - basketball, football and more - covered by the Philadelphia Inquirer's Keith Pompey.
Owls run over Wyoming, 37-15
ALBUQUERQUE, N.M. - Temple defeated Wyoming, 37-15, in Saturday’s New Mexico Bowl at University Stadium.
Temple quarterback Chris Coyer completed 8 of 12 passes for 169 yards and a touchdown. He also finished with 71 rushing yards to be named the game's offensive MVP. Temple tailback Bernard Pierce added 100 yards and two touchdowns as the Owls won their first bowl victory in 32 seasons. Temple linebacker Tahir Whitehead (11 tackles) was the defensive MVP.
The Owls scored on seven of their eight possessions en route to compiling 424 yards of offense. They racked up 255 of those yards on the ground.
Temple's first two touchdowns came on Pierce’s 1-yard runs. Then the Owls went ahead 21-0 on Matt Brown's 1-yard score with 10 minutes, 21 seconds left in the half.
Wyoming (8-5) finally got on the scoreboard when quarterback Brett Smith completed a 21-yard touchdown pass to Josh Doctson on a fourth-and-third play 37 seconds before intermission.
But Temple responded 18 seconds later.
Coyer completed a 61-yard touchdown pass to Rod Streater on the first play of the ensuing drive. That gave the Owls a commanding 28-7 halftime cushion.
Temple placekicker Brandon McManus booted three second-half field goals to make it a 37-7 game. Wyoming scored a on a touchdown pass and two-point conversation with three seconds left to close the gap to 22 points.
Temple ended the season with a four-game winning streak.
I almost shed a tear watching the trophy presentation. Congrads to the team.— franknbeans- Way to go, Owls. Hope they keep it now. And that Pierce stay for his senior year. Brown is good, but he needs the big back Pierce to set him up.— mike l
- Way to go, Owls. Hope they keep it now. And that Pierce stay for his senior year. Brown is good, but he needs the big back Pierce to set him up.— mike l
- Way to go, Owls. Hope they keep it now. And that Pierce stay for his senior year. Brown is good, but he needs the big back Pierce to set him up.— mike l
- Couldn't be prouder of my alma mater. Thank you Coach Adazio and the entire Temple football program. GO OWLS!— riles1875
- Addazio was villified in gainesville. Love to see it. Keep it up owls.Wear temple stuff all the time in in gatorland. Joe Bob, the alumnus !76.— jrsbarfarm
- Way to make Philly proud playing Temple Tuff.— The One Who Knows
- Nice to see the program continue to make strides w/a decisive win.— Northcountry
- Didn't know if I'd live long enough to see Temple win another bowl game. I'm going to savor this for a long time. Congratulations to the Owls.— JackJLewis
- This is a great QUALITY win. Wyoming lost 4 games in the regular season and all those teams are bowling this year. Additionally, Wyoming beat 2 teams going to a bowl this year. Addazio was a real smart hire. Did anyone see what happened in Gainesvile this year?— JerseyOwl
- To remember how dreadful this program was not very long ago is amazing. Hoping they can keep Addazzio and his staff for a long run.— tommazza
Comment removed.- Great win. Very proud how far this program has come.— Gowl
- It was a great game to watch. I got my masters at Temple and undergrad at Utah, saying that just to say I've seen a lot of Wyoming over the years since Utah played them every year, and they can be tough at times. It was great to see the Owls whomp the Cowboys the way they did.— uteowl
- As I spent my four undergrad years at Temple, Owls football won eleven games combined. I still haven't stopped smiling! Way to go!!!— spd17
- It was a great way to kick off the Bowl season.— KRM76
- Congrats to the Owls on their win from a Nova alum.— StorminNorman
- Nice way to finish off a great season! Congratulations Owls, you deserve this.— xxx
Pompey is a native Philadelphian and a University of Pittsburgh graduate. Follow him on Twitter @pompeysgridlock. Reach Keith at kpompey@phillynews.com.
