Notre Dame survives with 24-20 win over Temple
Temple’s chance for its biggest win in program history came up just short.
The 22nd-ranked Owls fought valiantly, but dropped a 24-20 decision to No. 9 Notre Dame in front of a raucous home crowd at Lincoln Financial Field. The Owls led 20-17 with less than five minutes to play, but Irish quarterback DeShone Kizer found Will Fuller, a Philadelphia native, in the corner of the end zone for what ended up being the game-winning touchdown with just over two minutes to play.
The Owls regained possession down 24-20 with 2:09 to play, but Notre Dame defensive back KeiVarae Russell laid out and hauled in a diving interception from Temple’s P.J. Walker to seal the hard-fought victory.
Notre Dame looked like it had a chance to open up a multiple possession lead in the first half, but the Temple defense stopped the Irish multiple times deep in Owls territory.
First, with the Irish up 7-3 early in the second, Kizer was intercepted by Praise Martin-Oguike inside the 10-yard line. That takeaway led to the first Temple touchdown of the night as the Owls went 94 yards in eight plays to take a 10-7 lead on a Walker touchdown pass to Brandon Shippen.
That Temple lead wouldn’t last long, however. On the third play of Notre Dame’s next drive, Kizer kept on a read option and showed off his breakaway speed with a 79-yard touchdown run to give the Irish a 14-10 lead.
And after forcing a Temple punt, the Irish had a chance to build on that lead but Owls star linebacker Tyler Matakevich intercepted Kizer on a ball that was tipped at the goal line. That allowed the Owls to stay within 14-10 at the half.
Notre Dame’s first drive of the second half told a similar tale. This time, instead of forcing a turnover, the Temple defense held at the goal line and forced the Irish to settle for a 23-yard Justin Yoon field goal.
The teams then traded punts on the next two drives before Temple finally re-established a rhythm on offense. Using a mix of Jahad Thomas runs and Walker passes, the Owls marched 78 yards in 14 plays in 7:21 to tie the game 17-17 on a one-yard Thomas fourth-and-goal touchdown run with 10:51 to play.
With the momentum and a rowdy home crowd behind it, Temple forced a punt and then took a 20-17 lead on an Austin Jones 36-yard field goal with 4:45 to play.
That’s when Kizer went back to work. It didn’t take long either.
The key play on Notre Dame’s next drive was a 45-yard completion to Alize Jones down to the Temple 17. Two plays later, Kizer hit Fuller for the game-winning score.
The win keeps Notre Dame, now 7-1, firmly in the College Football Playoff hunt with another road contest at Pitt on the horizon.
Temple’s loss means the American Athletic Conference is down to just two undefeated teams: Memphis and Houston. The Owls are still the top team in the AAC’s East Division and shouldn’t have a problem winning the East to earn a spot in the first AAC title game.
On a larger scale, if Temple wins out – with a win over Memphis included – it will be under heavy consideration for a Group of 5 bid in a New Year’s bowl, especially after the performance against Notre Dame.
For more Notre Dame news, visit BlueAndGold.com.
For more Temple news, visit OwlScoop.com.
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Sam Cooper is a contributor for the Yahoo Sports blogs. Have a tip? Email him or follow him on Twitter!
