Temple falls short to Ohio University

ATHENS, Ohio - For the third consecutive November - albeit a little bit earlier each time - Temple's MAC East fate came down to a matchup with Ohio.

The university, not the state.

In 2009, the Owls closed out the regular season here, on the day after Thanksgiving, survivor take all. Running back Bernard Pierce, who had put together a record-setting freshman year, didn't play because of a shoulder injury. Ohio won by 18 points and proceeded directly to the title game in Detroit.

Twelve months ago, in the next-to-last game, the Bobcats came to South Philly. Pierce hurt a leg on the opening play and never returned. Ohio, after leading by 21 in the fourth quarter, won by eight. The Owls, again without Pierce, lost the following week at eventual MAC champion Miami of Ohio and then became one of only two bowl-eligible teams that didn't get to the postseason.

Which brings us to last night at Peden Stadium, on ESPN, in front of representatives from two of the MAC's three bowl affiliates.

Pierce wasn't 100 percent this time, either. But for the second straight week, he gave what he had. The last game, that still wasn't quite enough. This turned out to be no different, even though the Owls at least found themselves a new quarterback.

The final was Ohio 35, Owls 31, the winning touchdown coming on a 5-yard pass with 1 minute and 41 seconds to go, the fourth lead change in the final quarter.

Temple, which had to play from behind three times, couldn't quite figure out a way. And because it couldn't, its chances of winning the division are now in somebody else's hands. The good news is, the Owls' final three games are at home, starting next Wednesday night against Miami (Ohio).

"It's just so hard to digest it all right now," coach Steve Addazio said. "I told the kids I'm not the kind of guy who looks for a silver lining, but the only sign of anything was winning that game. They kept fighting and clawing. We knew someone in the end was going to be heartbroken. That's what it was for us.

"It would have been . . . "

But it wasn't.

They'd taken their first lead with just under 11 minutes to go, on a 27-yard field goal by Brandon McManus, who kept the drive alive with a 23-yard run on a fake punt from his own 34 on a fourth-and-4.

Ohio (6-3, 3-2) went back on top, 28-24, at 7:51 on a 2-yard pass from Tyler Tettleton to Jordan Thompson, its fourth scoring drive of 78 to 83 yards.

The Owls (5-4, 3-3) went 67 yards in only seven plays, and once more went up by three on a 9-yard pass from Chris Coyer, who had entered the game late in the first quarter, to Deon Miller.

Hey, Northern Illinois-Toledo was 63-60 on Tuesday.

Coyer, a redshirt sophomore, replaced senior Chester Stewart after the first two possessions produced a pair of first downs.

It was actually a move some saw coming. Coyer, who had played sparingly in three other games this year, seems much more suited to run the kind of spread-option attack that Addazio directed as Florida's offensive coordinator.

Stewart, a tough kid who threw for 56 yards in last week's 13-10 loss at Bowling Green, had replaced fourth-year junior Mike Gerardi after the 14-10 Penn State loss in Game 3.

Coyer finished with 184 yards rushing, 1 shy of the Temple record for a QB, on 17 carries. He did have one costly fumble that probably cost Temple at least three points. He also completed eight of 14 for 123 yards and three scores.

It was the first time the Owls had thrown for more than one touchdown in a game since the opener against Villanova.

"We finally saw what we'd kind of like to be," Addazio said. "I thought Chris did a remarkable job, for what was really his first time out there like that."

Pierce carried 22 times for 84 yards, including a long of 20, which tied things at 21 late in the third period.

The Bobcats wore black helmets for the first time, to go with their all-black uniforms. They got some big-time performances, too. Tettleton threw for 258 yards and three TDs, and ran for another. Donte Harden rushed for a career-best 184, on 20 attempts that included an 81-yard TD. He also had 75 yards receiving, and a program-record 322 all-purpose yards.

The Owls have given up 115 points. And 71 have come in two games.

For the second straight game, they committed costly penalties. Matt Brown ran a kickoff back all the way, but that was nullified. And an offensive pass-interference call took away a big gainer that would have given them possession inside the Ohio 5.

It's hard to lose when you gain 308 yards on the ground. But it happened.

"I'm proud of the way we battled," Addazio said. "But you have to find a way. Obviously [Ohio] made a couple of plays at the end."

His guys made some, too. Just not as many. Sometimes, the line is that fine, especially on the road.

"I hope we come back strong and grow," Addazio added.

At this point, what else is there?