Philadelphia, PA (Sports Network) - Freshman quarterback Perry Hills threw for two touchdowns and ran for another, as the Maryland Terrapins defeated Temple, 36-27, in non-conference action at Lincoln Financial Field.
Marcus Leak caught one of those TD passes and finished with 90 yards receiving for the Terrapins (2-0), who were coming off an ugly 7-6 win over FCS school William & Mary in the season opener.
Chris Coyer put forth a strong effort for the Owls (1-1), throwing for two touchdowns while also leading the team with 53 yards on the ground.
Temple turned the ball over twice in its first four offensive plays, although Maryland could only capitalize with three points.
Early in the second quarter, Maryland broke a 3-3 tie on Hills' 22-yard touchdown pass to Matt Furstenburg.
The Terps extended their lead to 17-3 at the 6:19 mark of the second quarter, as Hills found a wide open Leak for a 32-yard scoring strike on a well- executed play-action pass.
Less than a minute later, Temple surrendered a safety when a shotgun snap sailed over Hills' head and into the end zone. On the play, running back Matt Brown injured his right ankle and had to be helped off the field, although he would later return.
Later in the second quarter, Maryland pushed its lead to 26-3 on a broken play on 3rd-and-goal. The shotgun snap got away from Hills, but he calmly picked up the ball and scampered 11 yards into the end zone.
However, the Owls came out of the locker room on a mission in the second half. The defense recovered a fumble on the first play from scrimmage, setting up a one-yard touchdown plunge by Kenneth Harper four plays later.
Shortly after a 26-yard field goal by Maryland's Brad Craddock midway through the third quarter, Coyer took a shot downfield and found C.J. Hammond for a 62-yard touchdown pass to cut the deficit to 29-17.
The Owls continued to fight their way back in the fourth quarter, as McManus made a 40-yard field goal with 13:46 remaining to make it a 29-20 game.
With just over nine minutes to play, Temple had a 1st-and-10 at the Maryland 12 after recovering a muffed punt. However, the Owls came away with no points as McManus had a short field goal attempt blocked. But on the very next play from scrimmage, Maryland gave the ball right back when Wes Brown lost a fumble near midfield. That turnover resulted in a 35-yard touchdown pass from Coyer to Jalen Fitzpatrick on a 3rd-and-1, trimming the margin to 29-27 with 7:04 remaining.
Despite the Owls' valiant second-half charge, Maryland iced the game with an 11-play, 75-yard drive, punctuated by Justus Pickett's seven-yard TD scamper with just under three minutes to play. That back-breaking score was set up by a 38-yard completion from Hills to Stefon Diggs, which gave the Terps a first down on the Temple 11.
The Owls were without running back Montel Harris because of a hamstring injury. Despite the absence of Harris and a limited Brown, the Owls ran the ball 39 times to only 18 pass attempts, and they averaged just 1.3 yards per rush. After a lackluster offensive showing against William & Mary last week, the Terps managed 12 first downs in the first half alone -- one less than they managed in four quarters against W&M.
Game Notes
