Temple football routs Akron for first win of the season

Temple traveled to Akron on Saturday and left with its first win of the season.

The Owls rebounded to beat the Zips, 45-24, overcoming their own sloppiness and a two-touchdown deficit.

Coach Rod Carey went into the game confident that freshman Justin Lynch, the fifth different quarterback to start for Temple since last season, could do the job.

After losing to Rutgers, 61-14, last Saturday, Temple needed to fix its lack of continuity in all areas of the field.

The Owls, who were down, 14-0, changed the momentum with a pair of defensive touchdowns -- a 38-yard fumble return by William Kwenkeu and an interception and 3-yard run by Manny Walker -- in the second quarter. The offense then found its rhythm, and Lynch wasn’t afraid to fire the ball downfield to receiver Randle Jones or hand the ball off to running back Edaward Saydee to expose the gaps.

“It’s a ton of hard work that goes into this; it’s nonstop and we haven’t gotten a lot of payouts,” Carey said. “We didn’t execute, we didn’t play physically enough last week, we certainly came back.”

The Owls hopes to carry those qualities into their home opener against Boston College at Lincoln Financial Field on Sept. 18.

Lynch did not look like a freshman making his first collegiate start against Akron.

“There wasn’t pressure going into this game, it was trusting my teammates,” Lynch said.

The freshman backup took his snaps as a starter after D’Wan Mathis suffered a left leg injury against Rutgers last week and was declared week-to-week. Mathis was using crutches on Saturday.

Lynch was smart against Akron’s defense. He threw two touchdowns, did not have an interception, and avoided any sack, thanks to the offensive linemen giving Lynch time in the pocket.

The Owls didn’t have a great offensive start to the first quarter. Lynch threw and ran the ball for short gains, a system that wouldn’t work against the Zips’ defense.

However, Lynch got the offense going after he had a push pass to Jones, who ran it for a 75-yard touchdown.

“Our offensive coordinator put together a good game plan for us and it comes down to execution, we could get it done,” Jones said.

Jones, who totaled 170 receiving yards, had another scoring connection with Lynch in the third quarter, a 27-yard scoring strike into the end zone, pushing the Owls’ lead to 31-17.

Lynch, who passed for 245 yards, notched his first career rushing touchdown with 24 seconds left in the third quarter.

Looking more comfortable, the freshman effectively worked his way down the field with backup tight end Darius Pitman and receivers Jose Barbon and Jadan Blue looking to cut open as an option.

Even though the Zips’ defense picked up on the run, Saydee and Ra’Von Bonner fought to find the holes in the line, which led Bonner to the end zone to score on a 1-yard touchdown, giving the Owls a 44-17 lead.

“[Lynch] is a leader, we followed him this week,” Jones said.

By the end of the first half, Temple’s defensive line fought its way through Akron’s young O-line.

Linebacker Kwenkeu and outside linebacker Kwantel Raines both recorded their first sack of the season.

The defense dug itself an early hole with poor tackling and play reads against Akron’s pass-run option.

Akron runs a two-man quarterback scheme with Kato Nelson and D.J. Irons. They established the run early in the first half and took advantage of Temple’s inability to tackle.

But the Owls answered back.

“We needed a score, we were down 14-0, we needed a score,” Carey said. “We certainly got it.”

With five minutes left in the second quarter, linebacker Geroge Reid tackled Nelson, who then fumbled and the loose ball was picked up by Kwenkeu, who ran it in for the touchdown.

Irons then threw the pick-six to defensive end Manny Walker, giving Temple a 21-17 lead.

“I looked up and he threw it my way,” Walker said. " I just jumped up and the ball was in my hand.”

Walker admitted the slow start had to do with the mindset and the lack of energy in the pregame, but the rotation on the defense allowed the freshest players on the field.