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Temple (8-2,6-0 MAC) scored 49 unanswered points over the final 45:10 to win its eighth consecutive game. That is the Owls’ most wins in a season since 1979, when they went 10-1 and participated in the Garden State Bowl defeating California.

The victory also kept the Temple in first place in the MAC Eastern Division by a game over Ohio University, who defeated Buffalo on Tuesday night (27-24), and a game and a half over idle Kent State, who Temple will meet next week at Lincoln Financial Field.

“This team is three years in the making,” Owls head coach Al Golden said after the game. “Every player has bought into the process and everything the process entails (to becoming a winning football team).”

Akron (2-8,1-5 MAC) has now lost seven of its last eight games, and is 2-3 in its new home. The Zips head to Bowling Green next Saturday to complete the road portion of their 2009 schedule.

“Things got reeling pretty quickly,” Zips head coach J.D. Brookhart said afterwards. “Poor special teams, missed tackles, a bad punt return, as well as catching (kicks) at the four yard line”

Both teams scored on their initial possessions. Temple took the opening kickoff and marched 74 yards in five plays for a touchdown with quarterback Chester Stewart hitting wide receiver Michael Campbell in stride for a 63-yard touchdown and a 7-0 Owls lead.

Stewart, who was starting his second consecutive game, had a solid outing  while limiting use of the pass. He connected on 6 of 11 passes for an economical 145 yards and two touchdowns. He also ran 28 times and scored twice.

The bread-and-butter of the Temple offense in 2009 is the running game and it was on full display as the Owls amassed 258 yards en route to 403 total yards for the evening.

Bernard Pierce, the phenomenal freshman running back, led the charge with 97 yards on 19 carries and a touchdown. Coming into the game, Pierce led the MAC in rushing with 1,211 yards. His 134.6 yards per game average was third best in the FBS.
  
Akron responded with a seven play, 78-yard drive after the kickoff as freshman quarterback Patrick Nicely found wide receiver Andre Jones from nine yards away to tie the score 7-7.

The Zips then took their first lead of the game. Defensive back Manley Waller intercepted a Stewart pass and returned the ball to the Akron 45 yard line. Nicely and the offense reached the Temple 28 where the drive stalled and place kicker Bronko Rogovic connected on a 45-yard field goal and a 10-7 advantage.

On the next Temple possession, the Zips’ scored a touchdown thanks to an Owls mistake. It was third down and eight from the Temple 26 when a direct snap got away,
Akron linebacker Sean Fobbs fell on the ball in the end zone to make the score 17-7.

For the Temple players and their fans who made the trek to Northeast Ohio, visions of their last game were fresh in their minds when Miami held a 32-31 lead late in the fourth quarter before kicker Brandon McManus delivered a win with an 18-yard field goal with seconds left on the game clock.

Temple put their fears to rest starting with the following drive. The Owls took the kickoff and went 60-yards in just seven plays as wide receiver James Nixon scored on a reverse from 22-yards out to make the score 17-14.
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Temple put their stamp on the game in the second quarter as they scored 21 points.

The nightmare for Akron started midway through the period when returned Delano Green fielded a Zach Campbell pass at his own 34 and raced 66 yards for a touchdown to give the Owls a 21-17 lead. It would be a lead they would not relinquish.

Temple added to the lead with 1:28 remaining before halftime as it gained possession after an Akron punt at its own 33. It took just three plays to score a touchdown with Stewart finishing the drive with an eight-yard run to make it 28-17.

The competitive phase of the game would end when after another touchdown on the next possession, Nicely,  flushed out of the pocket, was intercepted by safety Wilbert Brinson Jr., who returned the ball to the Zips five with 43 seconds remaining. On the second play of the drive Bernard Pierce went over from two yards out, and the score was 35-17 at halftime.

“”I put him (Nicely) in a bad position to try and make a plays, and I shouldn’t have done that” Brookhart said. Nicely, a highly-recruited freshman, was threw for 99 yards and a touchdown before he was relieved on the final possession of the game.

The Owls would add a touchdown in the third quarter as Stewart threw his second touchdown pass of the game a 24-yarder to wide receiver Joe Jones, making the score 42-17.

Stewart scored his second rushing touchdown of the game from a yard out with 14:30 remaining in the contest, and backup running back Matt Brown ended the scoring with a five-yard score at 11:31.

How bad was it for Akron offensively? After gaining 95 yards in the first quarter they had just 152 the rest of the game (247 in total). Last week in their home win over Kent State, the Zips had 447 total yards.

NOTES:
- One bright spot for the Akron Blue and Gold again was the play of redshirt freshman Brian Wagner, who led all defenders on the evening with nine tackles.

- The game was the 19th in the series between the two schools. Temple holds a 12-7 advantage and has won the last three.

- Temple is 6-3 lifetime in games at Akron