Temple knocks Cincinnati from ranks of unbeatens
Anthony Russo threw a tying, 20-yard touchdown pass with 49 seconds left to Brandon Mack, and then a 25-yard TD to Isaiah Wright in overtime as Temple handed No. 20 Cincinnati it fifirst loss, 24-17 on Saturday in Philadelphia.
Russo was 20- of-41 passing for 237 yards, with three touchdown passes and three interceptions for the Owls (5-3, 4- 0 American). He led a seven-play, 75-yard drive in the closing minutes to tie the game with the TD to Mack.
Cincinnati (6-1, 2-1) got a fifirst down on its fifirst play of overtime, but an errant snap behind quarterback Desmond Ridder left the Bearcats with second-and-21 and a personal foul pushed them even further back. Ridder was intercepted on thirdand-36 by Shaun Bradley to end the game.
Temple receiver Randall Jones caught fifive passes for 67 yards and scored a touchdown.
The Bearcats dominated the middle quarters after falling behind 10- 0.
Cincinnati’s Michael Warren II and Charles McClelland combined for 202 yards on the ground.
McClelland’s 42-yard dash with 6: 09 left in the third quarter broke a 10-10 tie and gave the Bearcats their fifirst lead. Warren had 132 yards on 25 carries and scored a 24-yard touchdown in the fifirst quarter.
Ridder was 14 for 33 for 111 yards.
The Bearcats picked off Russo t wice i n the f i nal six minutes, but Temple’s defense kept holding and giving the offffffffffffense a chance. Temple got the ball back after a Cincinnati punt with 2: 37
to play and Russo took over from there for a tying drive.
The takeaway for Cincinnati: After turning the ball over twice in the fifirst half, the Bearcats’ defense was dominant before Temple’s fifinal drive.
Normally a strong dualthreat option, Ridder strug- gled with Temple’s pressure and ran for just 9 yards.
RobertMorris49, Central State 45: Jimmy Walker threw for 162 yards and four TDs, and the Colonials (2-5) held offff the Marauders (3-5) in Moon Township, Pa.
RMU had 539 yards of offffffffffffense, its most since 2001. Freshman Alijah Jackson rushed for 153 yards and a TD and Terence Stephens added 135 yards and a score for Robert Morris.
Jackson’s 53-yard scoring run put RMU ahead 49-39 early in the fourth quarter. Central State answered with a 12-play scoring drive, but RMU ran out the clock with a 12-play, 69-yard drive.
Trent Mays was 22- of-40 passing for 364 yards and three TDs for Central State. Kevin Greenhow caught 11 passes for 276 yards and three touchdowns. Terraris Saffold rushed 23 times for 111 yards and two TDs, and returned five kickoffs for 149 yards.