Grounded in success

November 18, 2007

Grounded in success

Kenny Walter
OwlScoop.com Staff Writer

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One of the biggest problems this season for Temple's football team has been running the ball.

The Owls came into Saturday's game against Kent State ranked dead last in the Mid-American Conference in rushing offense, averaging just over 88 yards per game. The Golden Flashes came to Philadelphia ranked first in the MAC in rushing defense, allowing 165 yards per game.

The stage wasn't set for Temple to have a big day on the ground, but trends were broken Saturday. The Owls rushed for 184 yards en route to a 24-14 victory over the Golden Flashes.

Freshman tailback Daryl Robinson rushed for a career-high 105 yards on 17 carries for the Owls.

"Basically, I was real excited running against the top defense in the MAC," Robinson said. "I'm just getting a feel for the game. In the beginning, I wasn't really focused and wasn't patient."

The first half seemed like the same old story. Temple picked up just 44 yards on 22 carries. But the second half, especially a touchdown drive in the third quarter, was where the ground game took off.

A blocked Temple punt resulted in a touchdown for Kent State, and the Golden Flashes held a 14-6 lead at that point. But Temple responded the very next drive in a big way.

With just under five minutes left in the third quarter, the Owls took over at their 13-yard line. After two Jason Harper runs that totaled 40 yards, Robinson took one for 27 yards to the Kent State 9. Harper scored on the very next play to get the Owls within two points. He finished the game with 79 yards on the ground.

"I think [the improvement in the running game] all came in the third quarter, and I thought that the offensive staff and (offensive coordinator) George (Deleone) just did a brilliant job," Temple head coach Al Golden said. "Not just early in the quarter, but they really changed the tempo of the game. The kids just ran a little bit harder."

Robinson, who notched his first career 100-yard rushing game, finally looked like a runner who was content to let some things develop before hitting the hole.

"There was a couple times early, like the Northern Illinois game, that he cut it all the way back," Golden said of Robinson. "Quite often, young backs stop their feet because they are looking for the big run, instead of four or five (yards). Today he was taking the four or five and then turning it into nine or 10. Those guys run the ball hard. I think that's great. We almost had two 100 yard rushers."

Kent State was the team going into the game with the stud running back. Golden Flashes tailback Eugene Jarvis was the MAC's leading rusher with 1,429 yards, but he had just 66 on 13 carries on Saturday.

Temple's ability to run the ball enabled it to keep Jarvis off the field. The Owls controlled the clock for over 38 minutes, and most of the second half. They limited Kent State to just one offensive touchdown.

Temple totaled six scoring drives, as kick Jake Brownell banged through four field goals to go with the two touchdowns.

"We had the ball for almost 39 minutes; you should win the game if you have it for that long," Golden said.

Robinson, Harper and the rest of the Owls will look to close the season on a high note when they play at Western Michigan next Saturday. A win would give the Owls a 5-3 conference record in their first season in the MAC.



OwlScoop.com staff writer Kenny Walter can be reached at kenneth.walter@temple.edu.