Instant Replay: Temple 25, UMass 23

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BOX SCORE

FOXBOROUGH, Mass. — After blowing a late three-point lead, things got a bit itchy for heavily-favored Temple during Saturday afternoon’s matchup with UMass at Gillette Stadium.

But kicker Austin Jones continued to be true to form, and this time he came through when it mattered most.

The sophomore kicker drilled a 32-yard field goal with 12 seconds left to lift the Owls to a 25-23 win over a feisty group of Minutemen.

Despite an uneven performance on both sides of the ball, Temple (3-0) still led 20-17 late in the fourth quarter. But running back Jahad Thomas fumbled as Temple attempted to run out the clock. UMass (0-2) recovered and quarterback Blake Frohnapfel hit running back Jamal Wilson on a 5-yard screen for a touchdown to give the Minutemen a 23-20 lead with 1:20 left.

But the Owls blocked the ensuing point after and defensive back Will Hayes returned it 98 yards for a two-point conversion.

Quarterback P.J. Walker then led a perfect two-minute drill down the field to get into range for Jones.

Jones nailed the kick and the Owls survived.

Offense
Temple placed an emphasis on getting the passing game in sync this week, but still could never really get it rolling.

Walker, who had attempted just 40 passes total during the season’s first two games against Penn State and Cincinnati, threw the ball 48 times on Saturday with varying results. He had 28 completions for 391 yards and a touchdown to wideout Adonis Jennings. But those numbers can be misleading. He still missed receivers, threw into tight coverages and made bad reads that stalled drives.

Thomas, arguably Temple’s best player during the first two games of the year, didn’t have much room to work with on Saturday. He had a 14-yard touchdown run in the second quarter, but finished the game with just 66 yards on 25 carries. And, of course, his fumble was brutal.

John Christopher finished with 72 receiving yards on seven catches, including a huge 12-yard reception on the final drive.

Defense
Temple’s vaunted defense had its issues on Saturday, especially with Massachusetts receiver Tajae Sharpe. The likely future NFL draft pick torched the Owls for 11 catches and 156 yards while mostly being covered by cornerback Tavon Young, the Owls’ best corner.

Star linebacker Tyler Matakevich had a tough afternoon coverage-wise with Massachusetts tight end Rodney Mills. The tight end got behind Matakevich in the second quarter and found himself open for a 48-yard touchdown. He burnt Matakevich again later on in the quarter on a slant route that resulted in a 5-yard touchdown reception that tied the game at 17 a piece going into halftime.

Frohnapfel finished with 28 completions for 393 yards and three touchdowns.

Special teams
Jones continued his strong start to the season with a 3-for-3 showing. Kicking was thought to be a sore spot coming into the season for the Owls, but Jones shored things up quite nicely. He’s now nailed all seven of his attempts on the season.

On the other hand, punting and kickoffs were uneven. Punter Alex Starzyk uncorked a couple of short, ugly punts that put the Minutemen in good field position. But two strong punts late helped the Owls get out of field-position holes and gave the defense room to work with in crunch time.

Kickoff specialist Tyler Mayes’ odd, 25-yard popup kickoff in the second gave UMass a short field. The Minutemen capitalized on that short field and scored on Mills' 48-yard touchdown reception.

Of course, there was also the huge blocked extra point.

Hurt by penalties
The Owls had a big play called back by a penalty.

Linebacker Jared Alwan blitzed and sacked Frohnapfel, who fumbled. The ball was picked up by defensive lineman Praise-Martin Oguike and he scooted into the end zone. But the play was called back because of a holding call on linebacker Avery Williams.

Instead of a two-touchdown Temple lead, UMass went down the field and converted a 24-yard field goal to make it a 14-10 game. It gave the Minutemen some momentum.

All told, the Owls were flagged seven times for 70 yards.

First impression
This was the first-ever meeting between Temple and Massachusetts in football. The schools are scheduled to meet again on Sept. 16, 2017, at Lincoln Financial Field.

Up next
The Owls have a bye next week to finish up their September slate. Temple will be back in action on Friday, Oct. 2, when it travels to play Charlotte. Kickoff for that game is set for 8 p.m.

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