 TEMPLE 28, KENT STATE 10 Temple (8-2. 5-1 MAC) collected it s fourth consecutive win and fifth in the last six games to stay tied with Ohio atop the Eastern Division, one-half game ahead of third place Miami. The Bobcats defeated Buffalo at home on Thursday night. Temple and OU will meet November 16 at Lincoln Financial Field.
“This was a pivotal game for us.” Temple head coach Al Golden said after the game. “We played very well today…We have a lot to play for. This was a very significant game in the MAC East, going against one of the best defenses not only in the MAC, but in the entire country. I am very proud of our team”
With the loss, Kent State (4-5, 3-3 MAC) falls two games behind the East leaders with two to play. It was the Flashes first home loss of the season, dropping them to 1-2 against MAC East opposition.
‘They outplayed us today in really every phase.” KSU head coach Doug Martin said afterwards. “It is hard to match-up with their size and their strength, and we did not take advantage of our opportunities early in the game.”
Making his fourth collegiate start, sophomore quarterback Mike Gerardi had a career day, connecting on 21-of-29 passes for 368 yards and two touchdowns. Gerardi was part of a TU offense that gained a season best 465 total yards against a KSU defense that was among the top10 in the entire Football Bowl Subdivision in yards allowed.
“When you have someone who can do the things that Mike did, it adds another dimension that we did not have a couple of weeks ago.” Golden said. “Those were not easy throws. You have to give Kent a lot of credit. Mike was getting hit and creating some first downs by running, along with throwing the ball on the run.”
At the start of the game, Kent State had two big opportunities. The first came when wide receiver Sam Kirkland, who is also a standout on the special teams, blocked a Jeff Wathne punt. The block and recovery gave KSU great field position at the Temple 27 yard line.
Kent State offense moved the ball inside to the Owls 14 before the drive stalled. Placekicker Freddy Cortez connected on a 32-yard field goal for the game’s first points. They also were the first points Temple has yielded since the end of the Bowling Green game back on October 16. TU came into the game riding consecutive shutouts against Buffalo and Akron.
The second Kent State scoring opportunity came on its second possession. KSU moved the ball from its own 16 to the Temple 15, with the key play a 38-yard pass completion from sophomore quarterback Spencer Keith to running back Jacquise Temple’s defense , however, again stiffened, and Cortez came on to attempt a second field-goal attempt from 32 yards. This one missed.
That miss proved to be a turning point as Temple subsequently took control.
Gerardi engineered a 14-play, 80-yard drive that took up the remaining five minutes of the first quarter and continued into the second. The drive included three pass completions of more than 20 yards, along with converting a first down-and-30 after two successive holding penalties. He culminated the drive with a nine yard quarterback draw for his first ever rushing touchdown to give the Owls a 7-3 lead.
The visitors struck again after a turnover on the ensuing kickoff. Freshman wide receiver Tomas Cabera caused Kirkland to fumble and place kicker Brandon McManus recovered on the Kent State 25. Five plays later, Gerardi found junior wide receiver Rod Streater all alone in the end zone from eight-yards away to make the score 14-3.
There was no further scoring in the half, although TU had a chance to put some more points on the board late in the period. However, senior linebacker Cobrani Mixon intercepted a Gerardi pass to squelch the scoring threat.
Junior cornerback Norman Wolfe’s fifth interception of the season provided KSU with a chance to get back into the game just two plays into the second half.
Kent State moved the ball, but it then made another costly mistake as junior defensive end Adrian Robinson forced an Andre Flowers fumble. Safety Justin Gildea recovered at the Temple 36.
Two plays later, Gerardi then completed his longest pass of the afternoon as he found senior wide receiver Michael Campbell in stride over the middle, taking the ball 63 yards to the Kent State one. From there, sophomore Bernard Pierce capped the drive with a one-yard touchdown to extend the Owls lead to 21-3.
Much of the talk coming into the game was about Kent State’s ability to shut down the run. They did that for the most part, holding the Owls to 97 yards. Pierce did lead all rushers in the game with 84 yards. Of that total, 36 of it came on a burst up the middle late in the third quarter.
Much of the Owls damage, however, came via the air. KSU came into the game not allowing a 300-yard passer and just one 100-yard receiver this season. Campbell had five catches for 137 yards, and Gerardi’s racked up 368 passing yards. In addition, Temple through the first three quarters converted on seven-of-nine third down situations.
Meanwhile, Temple defense was shining on a cold and windy afternoon. The Owls denied Kent State an offensive touchdown while giving up only 223 total yards, with a mere 16 of those on the ground. The “D” also had five sacks (with junior defensive tackle Muhammad Wilkerson registering three on his own), nine tackles for losses, and four three-and-outs, along with seven punts.
The fourth quarter showed there was still life in Kent State, as the Flashes blocked a second Wathne punt. Kirkland recovered in the end zone to make the score 21-10, but the Owls quickly stifled any hopes of a KSU comeback.
Temple recovered Cortez’s squib-kick and got even better field position thanks to a penalty on the play. Gerardi went straight to the air, capping his outstanding afternoon by finding wide receiver Alex Jackson for a touchdown on his only reception of the game to make the final score 28-10.
Keith completed 17-of-30 passes on the afternoon for 169 yards and was sacked five times before leaving the game in the fourth quarter with an undisclosed injury. He was replaced by backup Giorgio Morgan.
On defense, sophomore linebacker Luke Batton had 13 tackles (11 solo) the most by a KSU defender this season. Freshman Roosevelt Nix, the MAC leader in sacks and tackles for losses, was held without a sack for the second consecutive game but did have 2 ˝ TFL’s.
A review of the tapes will show the Flashes had their moments, especially on defense. Those moments included two blocked punts, two interceptions, a fumble recovery, and twice forcing Temple to start drives inside their five yard line. But the tapes will also show other moments – moments when KSU couldn’t sustain drives.
“We made some things happen early and didn’t capitalize on that. Also, we turned the ball over too many times to be effective.” Martin said
Kent State completes their three-game homestand next Saturday as the Black Knights of Army come to Dix Stadium.
GAME BALLS:
OFFENSE: MIKE GERARDI-TEMPLE…The sophomore from Parsippany, New Jersey had a career day completing 21-of-29 passes for 368 yards and two touchdowns, along with his two interceptions. Gerardi had six completions of more than 20 yard,s including a 63-yarder to Michael Campbell and a 49-yarder to Alex Jackson.
DEFENSE: MUHAMMAD WILKERSON-TEMPLE…The junior defensive tackle from Linden, New Jersey had three sacks of KSU quarterback Spencer Keith and was constantly in the backfield all afternoon.
SPECIAL TEAMS: KENT STATE PUNT TEAMS…They blocked two Jeff Wathne’s punts, with Sam Kirkland getting the first block that led to a field goal. He recovered the second block in the end zone for KSU’s lone touchdown.
NOTES: It was the fifth lifetime meeting between the two schools (second at Dix Stadium)…Temple owns the season series 3-2 (1-1 at Dix)…Temple has won 17 of their last 20 regular season games and 17-4 in their last 21 overall…The win by Temple tied a school record for the most wins in two consecutive seasons (17) and in three consecutive seasons (22)…Michael Campbell-TU his 137 receiving yards is the most by a TU receiver so far this season eclipsing the 122 yards he had against Temple…The 465 offensive yards by Temple was the second time this season they have gone over 400 yards (407 vs Army) and fifth straight game over 300 total offensive yards…The 223 yards by Kent State was their second lowest of the season (205 at Boston College)…the last time KSU allowed over 400 yards defensively was against Akron in 2009 429 and the last time they allowed a 100-yard receiver.
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