Russo leads Temple past Navy 24-17

Oct 14, 2018, 12:53 am

ANNAPOLIS, Md. -- Anthony Russo threw for 300 yards with a 62-yard touchdown pass to Ventell Bryant midway through the fourth quarter and Temple won for the fourth time in five games by running past Navy 24-17 on Saturday.

Owls fullback Rob Ritrovato tied the game at 17 on a 1-yard plunge within 5:53 left in the third quarter. From there, the defense for Temple (4-3, 3-0 American Athletic Conference) contained Navy's triple-option attack.

"It was a fun game," Owls coach Geoff Collins said. "I am just so amazingly proud. Those guys fought back. They stayed togehter and made play after play after play in an adverse situation in a hostile environment. You just can't say enough about that group of young men who were in there."

Bryant, who had eight receptions for 147 yards, has caught a pass in 42 straight games, which is tied for the longest active streak in the FBS.

Senior Garret Lewis got his second career start at quarterback for Navy (2-4, 1-2) ahead of Malcolm Perry, who moved back to slotback. Lewis completed 3 of 11 pass attempts for 14 yards. He also ran for 56 yards with a 1-yard touchdown that gave the Midshipmen a 10-7 lead at the half.

Perry also had a go-ahead 30-yard touchdown run called back because of an illegal block on Ford Higgins.

"I thought it killed us," Navy coach Ken Niumatalolo said about the penalty. "I know I'm going to get reprimanded. I don't care. I'll take the fine. It was a horrible call. Just a flat-out horrible call. It was one of the worst I've seen in my 29 years of coaching. The guy did not push him. It cost us the game. I thought the call changed the game"

Sophomore fullback Nelson Smith had 18 carries for a career-high 108 yards for Navy, which has lost three straight games. He had a career-long 45-yard run that set up his first career touchdown run from 12 yards out on the opening drive of the third quarter that gave Navy a 17-7 lead.

Last year, Temple held Navy to 136 rushing yards in a 34-26 victory. This time, the Midshipmen responded with a huge day on the ground, running for 270 yards.

Temple running back Ryquell Armstead was out of the lineup with an ankle injury. Backup Tyliek Raynor scored his first career touchdown on a 15-yard run with that gave the Owls a 7-3 lead with 11:31 left in the half.

RIGHT AT HOME

Temple has enjoyed success in the state of Maryland this season. The Owls also routed the University of Maryland 35-14 in College Park on Sept. 15.

THE TAKEAWAY

Temple: The Owls picked up a critical win to keep their bowl hopes alive. Still, Temple faces a challenging schedule the rest of the way with games against No. 25 Cincinnati, No. 10 Central Florida and No. 23 Southern Florida.

Navy: The Midshipmen failed to get to .500 with a rare home loss. It was just the third time in four season Navy suffered a setback on its own turf. Navy also has a tough slate of the games the rest of the way, including a matchup with No. 5 Notre Dame on Oct. 27 in San Diego.

UP NEXT

Temple: The Owls host No. 25 Cincinnati for their homecoming game Oct. 20.

Navy: The Midshipmen play at home against Houston on Oct. 20 before embarking on three straight road games.

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