After falling to UConn last Saturday, the Temple Owls had a chance to bounce back against the winless Charlotte 49ers, an American Conference foe.
However, Charlotte quarterback Conner Harrell accounted for four touchdowns, throwing for two touchdowns and running for two more, as Charlotte (1-6, 1-2) snapped a 15-game losing streak and defeated Temple (2-5, 1-2), 38-31, at Lincoln Financial Field on Saturday.
Harrell completed 23-of-31 passes for 281 yards as Charlotte had 449 total yards on Saturday.
Temple head coach K.C. Keeler said he was embarrassed by the team’s performance.
“I’ve coached over 400 games as a head coach, and that was the single most embarrassing game I’ve ever been involved with,” Keeler said. “I saw one side of my operation fight like hell, every inch, every play, every second, and I saw the other side just lack discipline, just not the same care factor, poor leadership.”
Keeler’s criticism was directed at a defense that has struggled since its strong performance against South Florida.
On the scoring drive that gave Charlotte the lead for good in the fourth quarter, Temple had an unsportsmanlike conduct penalty and a personal foul.
On offense, quarterback Ajani Sheppard, listed as questionable with an undisclosed injury, delivered a strong performance after replacing Jaxon Smolik in the second quarter. Smolik started after missing three games with a foot injury.
Sheppard completed 15-of-23 passes for 236 yards and a touchdown. He also added 70 yards on the ground and two touchdowns. Temple amassed 455 total yards, but for the second week in a row, the defense let them down.
The Owls aren’t that far off, and they’ve had some very winnable games this season, including matchups against Toledo and Army.
After the loss, Keeler said changes are coming, and Temple’s upcoming bye will give him time to make adjustments. The Owls return to action October 31 at East Carolina.
Leave a Reply