EAST HARTFORD, CT -- Three big first quarter scoring plays provided Connecticut with a 21-0 lead and the Huskies never looked back in posting a 45-31 win over visiting Temple Saturday afternoon at Rentschler Field. The Owls fall to 1-7 overall and 0-3 in Big East play with the loss. UConn improves to 5-2 (2-2 Big East).
Sophomore running back Cornell Brockington, who was involved in one of those big plays, turned in a career game, rushing for 181 yards on 15 carries. He also scored two touchdowns. Senior quarterback Dan Orlovsky, one of nine finalists for the Johnny Unitas Golden Arm award, also made his presence known, completing 18-of-29 passes for 260 yards and two touchdowns.
Junior quarterback Walter Washington again carried the bulk of the load for the Owls. He was involved in all four of Temple's touchdowns of the day, rushing for two to increase his Big East-leading total to 10 and passing for two others. He compiled 360 total yards of offense, 84 yards rushing on 20 carries while completing 21-of-44 passes for 276 yards.
The game started off badly for the Owls as freshman Larry Taylor took the opening kickoff from Temple's Ryan Lux and returned it 97 yards for a touchdown. It marked the third straight game between the Owls and Huskies that the opening kickoff was returned for a score. TU's Makonnen Fenton did the honors (both 94 yards) in 2001 and 2002. it was also the first time a kickoff was returned for a TD versus Temple since Bowling Green's Janssen Patton returned an on-side kick 42 yards in 2001.
On the Huskies next possession, Orlovsky hit a streaking Jason Williams over the middle on a third-and 13 play for a 90-yard touchdown. That made the score 14-0 with only four minutes and 56 seconds off the clock.
The Owls got a big play on defense following a Jake Hendy punt. Bobby Fulmore hit Taylor on the return, forcing a fumble. The junior defensive back then recovered it on the UConn 35. One play later, Washington rushed 14 yards to the 25-yard line for a first down. He was then picked off be Ernest Cole, ending the drive.
UConn again turned the ball over, the second of five turnovers, four coming in the first half. Junior defensive end Mike Mendenhall forced the Brockington fumble and it was recovered by senior safety Lawrence Wade at the 50.
After picking up a first down on an 11-yard pass to junior Brian Allbrooks, Washington was sacked on a fourth-and-six play on the UConn 35 to end the drive.
Brockington then scored on a career-best 61-yard run, the third big play of the opening quarter, to increase the Huskies' lead to 21-0 with 3:45 on the clock.
After a Temple punt, Brockington committed his second fumble of the contest. This one was forced by Adam Fichter and recovered by Rodney Wormley at the Huskie 30.
A 17-yard pass from Washington to Phil Goodman (4 catches, 54 yds) gave the Owls a first-and-goal at the nine-yard line. The drive stalled there, however, and junior kicker Ryan Lux failed on a 27-yard field goal attempt to keep the score, 21-0.
The Owls again failed to capitalize on a UConn turnover as Jermaine Hargraves intercepted Orlovsky's first pass of the ensuing possession. Temple marched down to the Huskie 15 before settling for a Lux 32-yard attempt that went wide right.
Connecticut increased its lead to 24-0 with a Matt Nuzie 32-yard field goal to cap a 10-play 75-yard drive with 3:31 to play in the second quarter.
Temple finally put points on the scoreboard, driving 78 yards on seven plays with Washington's five yard TD run making it 24-7 with 1:08 remaining in the half. Washington had two long runs (11 & 18 yds) during the drive while junior Tim Brown started it off with a 14-yard run. The key play, however, was a 39-yard pass to Buchie Ibeh (4 catches, 72 yds), to the UConn 16.
Unfortunately, the Huskies had one more big play left in them before the half ended. Brockington broke a 53-yard run on a third-and-five play on the UConn 38. That led to a nine-yard TD pass from Orlovsky to Brian Sparks to make it 31-7.
Temple opened the second half with a 15-play drive, marching all the way to the Huskie two yard-line. Again UConn did not break and Lux connected on a short field goal, making it 31-10.
Two possessions later Brockington broke another long run, this time a 32-yarder. That set up his second touchdown of the day, a three-yarder to push the score to 38-10 with 3:25 left in the third quarter.
The two teams traded fourth quarter touchdowns. Washington rushed for his second score, this one from four yards out, to open the period then Chris Bellamy ran one in from five yards out, capping a 14-play drive that ate up nearly nine minutes.
With the score 45-17 and 6:09 to play, the game was effectively over. But the Owls did not give up.
Washington quickly engineered a scoring drive, connecting with Ikey Chuku on a 24-yard TD pass that took just two minutes off the clock. A successful onsides kick, set-up another score, this one being a six-yard TD pass from Washington to Goodman. That made it 45-31 with 2:51 remaining.
Another onsides kick was recovered by UConn and Bellamy (17 carries, 77 yards) and the Huskies ran out the clock.
Temple will benefit from a much-needed bye week before taking the field at West Virginia in a 1:00 p.m. kick-off on Saturday, November 6.
Temple Game Notables:
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Temple QB Walter Washington had two rushing TDs for the fifth time this season en route to 360 yards of total offense (276 passing, 84 rushing). It was his third game this season with over 300 yards of total offense. The junior completed 21 of a career-high tying 44 pass attempts while hitting eight different receivers for a third consecutive week. Washington leads the Big East with 10 rushing TDs and is five shy of the Temple single season record of 15 set by Paul Palmer in 1986. He also engineered scoring drives of 78, 76, 48 (twice) and 42 yards.
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Washington's 360 total yards moved him into seventh place on the Temple career total offense chart with 3,946 yards.
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Washington now has 2,102 yards of total offense this season (1,588 rushing; 514 rushing), which ranks fifth in the Temple single-season record books behind Henry Burris' school-record of 2,577 total yards set in 1994.
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Junior LB Rian Wallace made a team-high nine tackles despite leaving the game with a sprained ankle at the midpoint of the fourth quarter. He now ranks 12th all-time at Temple with 293 (179 solo) career stops.
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Temple held the advantage in first downs (23-20), passing yards (276-260), total plays (85-63) and time of possession (33:46-26:14). Temple's 85 total offensive plays is a season-high and marks the third straight game the team has posted 80 plays or more.
- Starting LT Tariq Sanders, who has played through a leg injury for several weeks, was forced to exit the game in the first quarter due to the negative effects of the injury. LG John Gross moved to LT and Frank McAndrew was inserted at LG, seeing the most extensive action of his career.
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At the end of the first quarter, UConn had a 21-0 lead despite fumbling three times in its own territory.
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UConn ran its first play from scrimmage in Temple territory from the TU 47 yard-line with 6:10 remaining on the second quarter clock.
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Eight of Temple's 10 first half possessions advanced into UConn territory.
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