Army Pounds Temple In Home Opener, 28-13

PHILADELPHIA, PA (CBS) — Temple coach Matt Rhule preaches the importance of the physical nature of football and how that dominance translates into winning football games. The Owls won last year by punishing teams up front, and they knew what they would be facing in a run-oriented Army team, which averaged 244.3 yards running the ball last year.

With 9:38 left to play, the team that was doing the punishing and pounding was underdog Army, which was set to spoil Temple's home opener before 34,005 at Lincoln Financial Field on Friday night.

They eventually did.

Army ran over Temple's defense for 329 yards rushing en route to a 28-13 upset.

Temple had a chance to tie the game with 3:41 left to play, after Army missed a 47-yard field attempt. That was stopped when Owls' quarterback P.J. Walker threw his second interception of the game, when Kenneth Brinson picked off the pass at 3:11.

The Black Knights, who were 2-10 last year, snapped their five-game losing streak entering their season. Army didn't do anything tricky. It simply beat Temple off the ball. Army's first three scoring drives were two 12-play series, which each went 75 yards or better, and a 14-play, 81-yard drive that gave Army a 21-13 lead with 9:38 left to play.

With 2:28 left, Army's Andy Davidson, a 2014 Maxwell Club winner from Emmaus High School in Allentown, sealed Army's win with a 17-yard touchdown run. Davidson rammed through Temple for a game-high 121 yards on 22 carries, including a pair of touchdowns.

It was Davidson who put Army up 14-10, when he bulled into the end from three yards out. The Black Knights interior linemen, especially center Bryce Holland and guards Justin Gilbert and Mike Houghton, did a very good job of creating space between the tackles by blowing Temple's defensive line off the ball.

After three quarters, Army had outgained Temple 231-90 on the ground. All night long, it seemed, gold helmets were pushing back someone in cherry and white.

Temple took a 10-7 halftime lead, thanks to a blocked punt by Sharif Finch that led to an Austin Jones' 41-yard field goal with :46 left in the half.

On the Owls first drive, they got to the Army 28, when Walker threw an interception, negating the threat. Walker finished the game completing 12 of 26 passes for 168 yards and three interceptions—two in the last 3:30 of the game.

The Owls' lone touchdown came on their second series. They took the ball 80 yards over nine plays, which ended in the first score of the game when Ryquell Armstead, playing in place of starter Jahad Thomas, who was on the sideline in uniform with a hand injury, rumbled into the end zone from six yards out.

Army answered Temple's score with a successful drive itself taking the next possession 75 yards over 14 plays. Army quarterback Admad Bradshaw found a crease in the Owls' defense and zipped through almost untouched on a 10-yard run.