Temple rallies in second half, beats South Florida 27-17
PHILADELPHIA (AP) — Isaiah Wright returned a punt 73 yards for a go-ahead touchdown and Chapelle Russell recovered a fumble in the end zone to cap a big second half as Temple rallied for a 27-17 victory over South Florida on Saturday.
The Owls (7-4, 6-1 American Athletic Conference) trailed 17-0 at halftime, but forced five second-half turnovers to aid their comeback.
Temple got on the scoreboard with its first possession of the third quarter when Ryquell Armstead capped a 10-play, 69-yard drive with a 1-yard TD run. The Owls recovered a fumble on the Bulls' ensuing possession and marched 43 yards before Will Mobley's 33-yard field goal pulled them within 17-10. Temple forced a punt and the Owls drove 61 yards in nine plays and used Mobley's 36-yard field goal to cut the deficit to 17-13. Temple forced a three-and-out and Wright returned the punt to put the Owls up 20-17. Russell capped the scoring for Temple when he recovered a fumble in the end zone after a strip-sack of Dana Levine by Blake Barnett.
Anthony Russo passed for 264 yards for the Owls, connecting with 11 different receivers.
Jordan Cronkrite ran for 87 yards and two first-half TDs for the Bulls (7-4, 3-4).