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Big plays and turnovers help Temple move to 2-2

The Owls scored two defensive touchdowns and forced five turnovers, but were outgained, 403-300.

Temple wide receiver Ventell Bryant attempts to catch the football against Tulsa cornerback Reggie Robinson II during the second-quarter on Thursday, September 20, 2018 in Philadelphia. YONG KIM / Staff Photographer
Temple wide receiver Ventell Bryant attempts to catch the football against Tulsa cornerback Reggie Robinson II during the second-quarter on Thursday, September 20, 2018 in Philadelphia. YONG KIM / Staff PhotographerRead moreYong Kim

Unlike last week when Temple was consistent in all phases of the game in a 35-14 win at Maryland, the Owls were saved by big plays Thursday night during a 31-17 win over Tulsa in the American Athletic Conference football opener for both teams.

The two biggest plays were defensive touchdowns: a 36-yard interception return by Ty Mason and a 50-yard return of a fumble by 6-foot-3, 295-pound defensive tackle Karamo Dioubate. Those were among the five turnovers the Owls caused in evening their record at 2-2.

The Golden Hurricane (1-3) were still in the game with three minutes to play, trailing by 14, before Benny Walls intercepted a pass on the Temple 23-yard line.

Tulsa hung in because it was 13 for 23 on third-down conversions and 4 for 5 on fourth downs. (Temple was 4 for 12 and 1 for 1, respectively.)

"Third down wasn't pretty again, but we got stops when it counted," Temple coach Geoff Collins said of the defense. "Give Tulsa credit."

The Golden Hurricane ran 107 plays in their fast-paced offense and kept putting the pressure on Temple. That the Owls use a lot of players on defense surely helped. They didn't seem to be gassed, although they gave up a lot of yards in the middle of the field. The Golden Hurricane had 403 total yards on offense, compared to 300 for Temple.

"We had some self-inflicted wounds that made it closer than we wanted," Collins said.

In addition, the offense wasn't sharp outside of running back Ryquell Armstead, who gained 108 yards on 24 carries and scored on a 22-yard run. Quarterback Anthony Russo, making his second start in place of injured Frank Nutile, completed 7 of 20 passes for 112 yards, no touchdowns and two interceptions. Russo wasn't helped by the fact that Temple had several dropped passes.

Take away a beautiful 41-yard strike from Russo to Randle Jones that set up Russo's 1-yard touchdown run in the second quarter, and the passing game had little success.

So on both sides of the ball, the Owls will look to improve before their next game, Sept. 29 at No. 23 Boston College, where they will try to beat a Power Five-conference team for the second time this month.