Philly College Football Week in Review – Games of October 20, 2018

PHILLY COLLEGE SPORTS FOOTBALL WEEK IN REVIEW

Temple Stuns #20 Cincinnati in Overtime

Games of October 20, 2018

TEMPLE – Overall 4 – 3, 3 – 0 American Athletic Conference

Result – Won 24 – 17 vs. #20 Cincinnati at the Linc

Summary – It was the beginning of the toughest schedule segment for the Temple Owls football team.  The first of three foes that are undefeated in the American.  Coming in both Temple and the Cincinnati Bearcats were among that group.  The 20th ranked Bearcats were unbeaten for the season.

Temple takes their place in the league upper echelon staying unbeaten in the America stunning Cincinnati with a 24 – 17 win at the Linc.  The Owls went toe-to-toe with the opponent, and showed they deserve to play on this stage.

The Owls found a way.  Trailing late in the fourth quarter the Cherry and White put together a 7-play, 75-yard drive in 1:51 tying the game on a 20-yard touchdown pass from quarterback Anthony Russo to wide receiver Branden Mack with just 49 seconds on the clock.

The Owls had the ball first in the overtime and went ahead by 7 when Russo found the versatile Isaiah Wright for a 25-yard touchdown and the lead.

Time for the defense to take over.  A penalty set Cincinnati back to the 40-yard line on third down.  Quarterback Desmond Ridder lofted a desperation pass that was picked off by defensive back Shaun Bradley to end the game in favor of the Cherry and White.

It was a valiant effort by the Temple defense who held the high-scoring Cincinnati to their lowest point total of the season.  The Cherry and White defense bent at times, yet twice broke which resulted in the Cincinnati getting the lead.  Two Bearcats touchdowns were scored by Michael Warren on a 24-yard scamper, and Charles McClelland who broke loose for a 42-yard score.  Otherwise Cincinnati was held in check converting only 7 of 19 third downs and did not convert a fourth down try.  Temple sacked Ridder three times and forced the same amount of turnovers.

The Owls defense was responsible for the first points of the game.  Deep in Bearcats territory defensive tackle Michael Dogbe forced a fumble recovered by defensive end Jimmy Hogan that resulted in a 28-yard field goal by Will Mobley and a 3 – 0 lead less than five minutes into the game.  Special teams set up a touchdown by when Rob Ritrovato stripped the ball loose on the ensuing kickoff that linebacker Sam Franklin pounced on 16 yards away from the goal line.  Wide Receiver Randle Jones hauled in a scoring toss from Russo giving his team a 10 – 0 lead.

The Temple offense had trouble moving the ball until the end. For the game Russo was 20 of 41 for 237 yards and 3 touchdowns.  He was also intercepted 3 times.  Garnder playing in place of the injured Ryquell Armstead ran for 62 yards.  Wide Receiver Ventell Bryant extended his streak of games in which he caught at least one pass to 43 games.

Ridder was 14 of 33 for 111 yards, and ran for 32 more.  Warren ran for 132 yards, the team posted 244 rushing yards.  Cincinnati was haunted by missing three field goal attempts.

The Owls improve to 5 – 3, but more importantly are 4 – 0 in the American, and took a big step toward Bowl Eligibility.  Cincinnati drops to 6 – 1 and are 3 – 1 in conference.

Next up for Temple is a trip to Florida on November 10 where they face another nationally ranked opponent in presently #10 Central Florida.  The Owls own six wins against Top 25 opponents.  For now, they can celebrate this win.

Next Game – November 1 at #10 UCF

VILLANOVA – Overall 3 – 4, 0 – 4 CAA

Result – Idle

Summary – The Wildcats get a week off.  Next up is a home game against New Hampshire.

Next Game – October 27 vs. New Hampshire at Villanova Stadium

PENN – Overall 4 – 1, Ivy League 1 – 1

Result – Lost 23 – 10 vs. Yale Franklin Field

Summary – It is hard to say that a game in October is a “must win,” but for both the University of Pennsylvania and Yale, it fit.  Both teams entered the game with a win and a loss in Ivy competition, a game behind league leaders Princeton and Dartmouth.  Penn and Yale could ill afford to fall two games behind and remain in contention for the Ancient Eight crown.  And Dartmouth defeated both of these teams.

Yale is back in contention and Penn is looking up in the standings as the Bulldogs earn a 23 – 10 win over the Quakers at Franklin Field under Friday Night Lights.

The game turned in favor of the Eli with their fast start, especially on the ground.  Yale ran the ball effectively and Penn did not.  Yale running back Alan Lamar peeled off a 47-yard run on the first play from scrimmage, the longest against Penn this season.  He added another at the 3:37 mark of the first quarter, a touchdown run that gave the Bulldogs a 15 – 3 lead.

Lamar ran for 179 yards, 140 in the first half, and 2 touchdowns.  He was one shy of his career-high.  Penn gained a total of 14 rushing yards (minus 26 due to team lost yards) compared to 244 for the visitors, the highest rushing total against the hosts.

The Red and Blue stabilized the game and appeared to change the momentum in the third quarter.  The Eli was poised to get a score that would have given them a 28 – 3 lead.  Lamar was hit at the one and fumbled.  The Quakers recovered and answered with a 12-play, 99-yard drive, mostly via the air attack, in 4:32.  The drive was capped by a Ryan Glover 9-yard scoring toss to wide receiver Steve Farrell cutting the gap to 21 – 10.  Penn forced a Yale punt, but on the next play, a high snap went into the endzone recovered by the Quakers, but for a safety.  The momentum was blunted as 1:11 remained in the third quarter.

Farrell led the Red and Blue with 7 catches for 173 yards, including an 87-yard reception in the fourth quarter, and one touchdown catch.  Glover threw for 274 yards on 16 completions.

Yale (4 – 2, 2 – 1) stays in contention for the title.  Penn falls to 1 – 2 in the Ivy League, 4 – 2 overall.  The Quakers travel to Brown next week.

Next Game – October 27 at Brown