After his team finished off a dramatic win over visiting Miami of Ohio on Thursday night, Temple football coach Al Golden said the victory was even more significant than the Owls' come-from-behind conquest of Navy five days earlier on the road.
Navy was pinned with a 27-24 defeat when Temple running back Bernard Pierce raced 41 yards and scored with 2 minutes, 41 seconds remaining. The Midshipmen had entered the game on a five-game winning streak, and hadn't lost at home this season.
Against a Miami squad that had won only once this fall, an 18-yard field goal by freshman Brandon McManus with three seconds remaining gave Temple a 34-32 decision.
The RedHawks had gone up, 32-31, with 2:36 to go. Temple, which had led by 21-3 in the second quarter, appeared to be in trouble.
"People think [the Navy game] was the biggest win for our program since we've been here, but this is it," said Golden, who is in his fourth season with the Owls. "Everybody could have just thrown their hands up. The look on everybody's faces is, 'OK, let's get the ball and let's go.' It took us 21/2 years to get to that point. They understand, and they try to make plays at the end."
Now, with three regular-season games remaining, Temple is assured of its first winning season since going 7-4 in 1990.
The Owls, who play Friday at Akron, have won seven consecutive games to improve to 7-2 overall. And thanks to the late-game drive against Miami, they remained in first place in the Mid-American Conference East Division with a 5-0 mark.
Leading the Owls' comeback was quarterback Chester Stewart, making his first start of the season in place of Vaughn Charlton. Golden made the switch after reviewing tapes of the Navy game, in which Charlton was 5-for-17 passing for 37 yards with two interceptions. For the season, the redshirt junior is 90 for 177 for 1,200 yards and nine touchdowns, with seven interceptions.
Against Miami, Stewart connected on 6 of 11 passes for 143 yards. His 31-yard completion to wide receiver Joe Jones was critical during Temple's final six-play, 63-yard drive. Stewart also picked up 45 and 30 yards with two other throws.
"I just thought it was time to make a change, and I am certainly not ruling out Vaughn starting again," said Golden, who added that it was "too early" to say who would line up behind center against Akron.
While the phrase "bowl game" is taboo at the Owls' Edberg-Olson Hall headquarters, Temple is within reach of its first postseason appearance since defeating California, 28-17, in the 1979 Garden State Bowl.
"Expectations are a lot higher now, and we're holding ourselves accountable more and more," said linebacker Alex Joseph, who led Temple with seven solo tackles in the Miami game.
Contact staff writer Kevin Tatum at 215-854-2583 or ktatum@phillynews.com.
