 PHILADELPHIA, PA - This time, there was no doubt -- no controversial missed extra point, no blown call on the field, no replay booth fumble. This time, the Rockets took care of business, defeating Temple, 36-13, in the Mid-American Conference opener for both teams in Philadelphia on Saturday afternoon.
A week after a 33-30 overtime loss at Syracuse, a game whose outcome hinged on a missed extra point by the Orange that was ruled good by the officials, the Rockets forced four turnovers and used a smothering defense to defeat a Temple team that was one week removed from a 38-7 win at Maryland.
Senior RB Morgan Williams, substituting for injured All-MAC RB Adonis Thomas, rushed for 121 yards and one touchdown. Junior Austin Dantin went all the way at quarterback, completing 12-of-14 passes for 115 yards and one score. He also had a one-yard rushing TD.
More importantly, Dantin and the Rocket offense played virtually error-free football. Sophomore RB David Fluellen scored two times, once on the ground and once on a pass reception.
Toledo's defense did a great job on Temple's junior All-MAC RB Bernard Pierce, holding him to just 75 yards on 24 carries (3.1 average) and no touchdowns. Pierce, who scored five TDs versus Maryland to give him a nation-leading 12 on the season, entered the game as the MAC's leading rusher, averaging 5.7 yards per carry. Junior LB Robert Bell led the way with 12 tackles, 2.5 tackles for loss and a fumble recovery. Junior defensive end T.J .Fatinikun had three tackles for loss and one pass deflection.
Temple scored first on its opening drive, converting a 30-yard field goal by Brandon McManus after the drive stalled. Toledo then got its first big break of the game as Kishon Wilcher recovered a fumbled punt on the Temple 10-yard line. Three plays later, Dantin took the QB sneak in from one yard out for the score. Page ran in the two-point conversion to give Toledo and 8-3 lead.
Toledo added another score off a turnover following an interception by sophomore safety Ross Madison. On fourth-and-one, Williams took a direct snap and broke free up the middle for a 32-yard touchdown to put Toledo up, 15-3.
Temple scored on the first play of the second quarter, a short pass from Chester Stewart to tight end Evan Rodriguez that went 55 yards and the score. The Owls then cut the lead to two, 15-13, on a 37-yard field goal by McManus.
Toledo head coach Tim Beckman then reached into his bag of tricks for the Rockets' next score. Page took the handoff from redshirt freshman quarterback Dwight Macon, then threw back to Macon for the 33-yard score to give Toledo a 22-13 halftime lead.
Toledo upped its lead to 29-13 in the third quarter on an eight-play drive that was capped by a 20-yard TD reception from Dantin to Fluellen. The latter made the score 36-13 on a one-yard TD run in the fourth quarter.
The Rockets (2-3, 1-0 MAC) return home to host Eastern Michigan next Saturday in a 3:00 p.m. contest. Temple travels to Ball State (2 p.m. ET).
Courtesy of Toledo Athletics
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