Owls hang on in OT to pick up second straight win

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Certainly not the most ideal way to win, but hey, a win is a win.

The Owls took down Tulsa to move to 3-1 in conference play, and also nabbing their second straight win, their first “win streak” since weeks one and two. The Owls are now just one more win from securing a bowl game for the first time since 2019.

Temple kicked it off to begin the game, letting Tulsa get the ball first in their homecoming game.

Tulsa redshirt freshman quarterback Baylor Hayes started the game with a bang, finding a receiver for a quick 29-yard gain on the first play.

The Golden Hurricane wound up marching into the red zone, with the help of the flags, of course, but the Temple defense stood strong and forced Tulsa to settle for a field goal.

The Owls’ first drive did not go as they wanted it to; they had to punt after fumbling for a loss of six.

But the defense stood strong again, forcing a three-and-out, giving the offense the ball back after Tulsa punted.

Quarterback Evan Simon and the rest of the offense took full advantage. Simon found wide receiver JoJo Bermudez for a 19-yard gain right before finding his favorite target as of late, wide receiver Kajiya Hollawayne, for a 24-yard touchdown pass.

The Owls’ defense held Tulsa scoreless for the remainder of the first quarter.

On Tulsa’s first drive of the second quarter, linebacker Katin Surprenant forced a fumble, and DT Russell Sykes jumped on it to get the ball back to the offense.

Temple’s offense brought up to the one-yard line, where Simon found running back Jay Ducker for Ducker’s first receiving touchdown of the year to cushion the Owls’ lead.

Unfortunately, defensive woes and penalties on Temple’s defense let Tulsa back into the game, and allowed Tulsa to take a 17-14 lead into the half.

To open the second half, the Owls stormed down the field, thanks to a 50-yard reception from tight end Peter Clarke. From 13 yards out, Simon found Ducker again, for his second receiving touchdown of the game, and Simon’s third passing touchdown.

Tulsa answered right back with a touchdown of their own to put them back out in front again.

And of course, Temple wasted no time answering right back, as Simon found Hollawayne for his fourth passing touchdown on the day, putting the Owls right back in front.

Finally, the defense made a stop to keep the Owls in front.

Up until about six minutes remaining in the fourth quarter, neither team could score, so it was a defensive battle for a little bit.

Kicker Carl Hardin extended the lead for Temple, drilling a field goal from 52 yards out, to make it a 31-24 game.

But the defense couldn’t hold up, and penalties killed them, as Tulsa tied it right back up at 31 a piece.

Temple got the ball back, with Simon looking to lead a game-winning drive, but couldn’t find any momentum and had to punt.

Now, Tulsa had 30 seconds on the clock and still had two timeouts, but made the odd choice of sending to OT by taking a knee.

But, more football is more football, so no complaints.

Temple got the ball to begin overtime, and Simon quickly found wide receiver Colin Chase to put them at the one-yard line after just one play. Simon capitalized on it, finding Hollawayne for the third time in the endzone to put the Owls up.

Tulsa answered right back with a score, but elected to go for two rather than allow overtime to continue. But they ended up shooting themselves in the foot, as they failed the two-point conversion attempt on a missed throw in wildcat formation, sealing a close win for the Owls.

The win was highlighted by the trio of Simon (267 pass yards, 5 TD), Hollawayne (85 rec yards, 3 rec TD), and Ducker (78 rush yards, 2 rec TD).

The Owls will return back home to the Linc to face off against East Carolina on November 1, at 2:00 pm.