Temple’s defense came up big against Tulsa

Temple rallied with two fourth quarter touchdowns to post a 35-24 win over Tulsa on Saturday afternoon before a Homecoming crowd at Lincoln Financial Field. Tulsa (1-5, 1-1 American) took their only lead of the day on the first play of the fourth quarter when Carl Salazar kicked a 44-yard field goal but the Owls (4-1, 2-0 American) would score on two of their next three possessions to secure the win.

“I want them to understand that the first three quarters are there to set up the fourth,” said Owls head coach Matt Rhule about his team. “We’re going to try and play a certain style of football and get better as the game goes on. If you keep playing at a high level you’ll win the game hopefully.”

A constant theme throughout the day was the Owls defense coming up with big plays when they had to and the fourth quarter was no different. After the Golden Hurricane took the lead, Temple tried to answer but Austin Jones missed a 37-yard field goal. No problem, the Owls defense forced a three-and-out. Three plays after the Temple offense got the ball back, they were in the lead to stay when P.J. Walker connected with Jalen Fitzpatrick on a 30-yard touchdown pass. The Owls defense forced another punt on Tulsa’s next opportunity with the ball and again the offense scored. This time it was a beautifully run screen pass that covered 20 yards with Jahad Thomas running it in behind blocks by right guard Brenden McGowan, center Kyle Friend and Fitzpatrick.

“They played great,” Walker said about the Owls defense. “They imposed their will. They followed our brand of football, they played tough. We’ve got to go through the battles together. Today, we did a great job rallying around each other.”