Temple cruises to 49-17 victory over Connecticut

Dec 1, 2019, 12:47 am

PHILADELPHIA -- Anthony Russo threw two touchdown passes to Branden Mack and Re’Mahn Davis ran for 105 yards and a score as Temple rolled to a 49-17 victory over Connecticut on Saturday.

It was all UConn early as the Huskies used Jack Zergiotis’ 51-yard scoring strike to Ardell Brown and Steven Krajewski’s 2-yard TD run to grab a 14-0 lead. Russo hit Mack for a 63-yard score to pull Temple (8-4, 5-3 American Athletic Conference) within 14-7, but Clayton Harris nailed a 40-yard field goal 4 minutes into the second quarter to put UConn (2-10, 0-8) up 17-7. The Owls closed to within 17-14 at halftime when backup quarterback Todd Centeio connected with Jadan Blue for a 10-yard TD.

Temple took control of the game in the third quarter. Russo put together back-to-back scoring drives -- hooking up with Mack for a 41-yard TD and adding an 8-yard TD run -- for a 28-17 Owls’ lead. Davis pitched in with a 55-yard scoring run, Sam Franklin picked off a Krajewski pass and raced 29 yards for a TD and Temple’s lead was 42-17 after three quarters. Tayvon Ruley’s 6-yard TD run in the fourth quarter capped the scoring.

Russo finished 14-of-23 passing for 247 yards for Temple. Centeio was 4-of-6 passing for 65 yards and added 75 yards rushing on six carries. Ruley ran for 74 yards on nine totes. Mack had five catches for a career-high 171 yards. Temple ran for 262 yards on 33 carries and held UConn to 76 yards on 31 carries.

Zergiotis completed 24 of 35 passes for 250 yards for the Huskies.

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