Deep passes from Walker open up Temple's offense

The Connecticut Huskies were determined to take away the run and make Temple quarterback P.J. Walker beat them through the air.

After they held the visiting Owls to just three first downs and 31 yards in the first half Saturday, the Huskies, down by 7-3 at halftime, were probably thinking, mission accomplished.

But Temple offensive coordinator Marcus Satterfield has confidence in Walker, who is not sneaking up on opponents the way he did as a freshman. Last season, Walker's 20 touchdown passes were just two shy of the school record and his 2,084 passing yards tied him for fourth in school history.

On the Owls' sixth play of the second half, Satterfield dialed up a deep pass to receiver Jalen Fitzpatrick on first and 10 at the UConn 42. Playing with a high-ankle sprain, Walker rolled right and threw across his body, hitting Fitzpatrick in stride as he crossed the goal line behind double coverage.

On the Owls' next series, his 30-yard pass to Romond Deloatch set up his own 1-yard touchdown run, and the rout was on. Walker was 6 for 7 for 121 yards and a touchdown in the third quarter. For the game, Walker completed 20 of 29 passes for 231 yards and a touchdown.

Walker is hoping his sprained ankle will be completely healed after a bye this weekend. Temple (3-1) will host Tulsa on Oct. 11 at Lincoln Financial Field.

For the season, Walker has completed 82 of 126 passes for 805 yards with seven touchdowns and three interceptions. He's averaging 201.2 yards passing per game.

Temple coach Matt Rhule believes Walker will be more comfortable when the running game, averaging 128.3 yards per contest, begins to open up.

"That's him when he's playing at his best, when he can get the deep ball over the top of the defense," Rhule said. "That's when he's confident and when he's really himself."

Any complaint about the offense is muted for now because of Temple's opportunistic defense. The Owls defense has outscored the opponents' offense in their three wins. They rank second in the nation in turnovers forced with 17 and fifth in scoring defense, allowing 12 points a game.

"They are playing so well," Walker said. "But it's not fair to expect them to keep that level of play up. We have to step it up, and we will."