Temple let down by defense in season opener at Notre Dame

SOUTH BEND, Ind. – With so much concern throughout the spring and the preseason about the quarterback position, the defense appeared to be a given for Temple.

As the Geoff Collins era began, one that was supposed to be punctuated by a defense that creates mayhem, the D left a flat opening note.

The Owls allowed 606 yards from scrimmage during Saturday's opening 49-16 loss to Notre Dame before a sellout of 77,622 Notre Dame Stadium.

"It was very embarrassing," said strong safety Delvon Randall, who had 11 tackles, including one sack. "We are going to clean it up."

Notre Dame junior Josh Adams, the 6-foot-2, 225-pound combination of power and dynamite from Central Bucks South, rushed for 130 of his 161 yards during a 28-10 first half.

He delivered a figurative punch to the gut by scoring on the Notre Dame's second play from scrimmage, a 37-yard run, part of a 161-yard, two-touchdown day.

"We had a lot of energy from the fans and did our best to feed off that and give them what they deserve and give ourselves what we deserve, which is to go out there and put points on the board and be a dominating offensive unit," Adams said.

Notre Dame junior quarterback Brandon Wimbush, making his first college start, threw for 184 yards and two touchdowns and rushed for 106 yards and a score.

At nearly 6-2 and 228 pounds, like Adams, Wimbush, was a nightmare to deal with his combination of power and speed.

"He is a lot bigger than I thought and he was, and a lot quicker, too," said Temple sophomore linebacker Shaun Bradley, who had seven tackles.

Trailing 28-10, The Owls had a chance to creep closer when Mike Jones, the graduate transfer from North Carolina Central, returned an interception 43 yards to the Notre Dame 14 with 6:47 left in the third quarter.

The Owls had to settle for a field-goal attempt and Austin Jones was wide left from 36 yards.

On the next series, Temple defensive end Sharif Finch and linebacker Chapelle Russell caused an apparent fumble by Tony Jones that the Owls recovered.

The Irish, however, maintained possession as the play was overturned via replay. Notre Dame took advantage of the opportunity when three plays later, Dexter Williams burst 40 yards to the Temple 7-yard line. The next play, Tony Jones finished the drive with a run that increased the lead to 35-10 with 1:22 left in the third quarter.

That sequence symbolized the frustration for Temple, which played without Ventell Bryant, last year's leading receiver, who didn't make the trip due to a hamstring injury.

Collins had hinted he would use multiple quarterbacks, but he stuck with Logan Marchi the entire game. The redshirt sophomore completed 19 of 35 passes for 245 yards, two touchdowns and no interceptions.

Marchi said he knew he was going to get the start at the beginning of the week.

"I missed a couple of routine throws, but I think the offense did well," Marchi said.

It was the running game that never got going. The Owls averaged just 2.3 yards on 37 carries.

On offense, Notre Dame did a good job of getting 6-5 junior Equanimeous St. Brown in favorable situations. For instance, Notre Dame took a 28-3 lead when Wimbush hit St. Brown on a 5-yard fade over 6-0 Linwood Crump with 11:09 left in the second quarter.

Now the Owls look to pick up the pieces as they host Villanova on Saturday.

"Defensively, we missed a bunch of things," Collins said. "Led to some big plays, which you can't do against really good running backs, a really good quarterback that's shifty and can make plays in space. Those things have to be eliminated."