Temple’s football season ends with loss to North Texas, finishes 3-9 for fourth consecutive year

Temple had nothing but its pride on the line in its final game of the season Saturday. The Owls left Lincoln Financial Field with little pride intact.

The Owls scored 14 unanswered points in the second quarter to pull within seven against North Texas but could not pull off the comeback. Temple (3-9, 2-6 American Athletic Conference) closed out the year with a 24-17 loss to the Mean Green (6-6, 3-5 AAC), who became bowl-eligible.

“They ran the football better than we wanted them to, but we wanted them to have to run the football,” Temple interim coach Everett Withers said.

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Temple finished with its fourth consecutive 3-9 season. The Owls haven’t won more than four games in a season since finishing 8-5 in 2019.

Here are three takeaways from the final game:

The Owls had a rough start. They allowed 163 first-quarter yards and trailed, 24-3, after Makenzie McGill opened the second period with a 51-yard touchdown.

Then, Temple battled back and held North Texas scoreless until the fourth quarter. The Owls finished the first half trailing by seven after back-to-back scoring drives, capped by 1-yard runs by quarterback Evan Simon and running back Joquez Smith.

Temple’s defense continued to hold off North Texas and forced it to punt nine times on Saturday. However, the Owls couldn’t reach the end zone after that point, and Simon was picked off looking for receiver John Adams with 13 seconds left, ending the Owls’ comeback.

“We were rolling,” Simon said about the final drive. “We had a play, and then we went to the two-minute warning; our mindsets were great. We drove down the field and came up short.”

The Owls honored 20 seniors in their season finale, but their younger players stole the show against the Mean Green.

Freshman wideout Tyler Stewart entered Saturday with just one reception, against Tulane on Nov. 9, but he ended as Temple’s third-leading receiver and second-leading rusher against North Texas. Stewart had four catches for 58 yards and 30 rushing yards, including a 28-yard run that sparked the Owls’ offense in the second quarter.

Smith was Temple’s leading rusher, with a season-high 39 yards and his first touchdown since a win over FCS opponent Norfolk State last season.

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Defensively, junior cornerback Jamel Johnson led the secondary with three pass breakups and added five tackles.

“Jamel Johnson is a really good football player,” Withers said. “Maybe the best player on our team. I’ve seen that every day since he got here from Charleston Southern.”

Several key Temple players took the field one last time Saturday, including Adams; wide receivers Dante Wright and Ashton Allen; linemen Latrell Jean and Diwun Black; linebacker D.J. Woodbury; and kicker Maddux Trujillo.

Woodbury surpassed the 100-tackle mark for the season after notching six against North Texas. Black registered the only two hits on North Texas quarterback Chandler Morris.

Adams led the Owls with 63 receiving yards on four catches.

Trujillo, who earlier this season kicked a 64-yard field goal, the longest in the Linc’s history, finished 1-for-2 on field goals.

This likely was Withers’ swan song as well. The interim coach mentioned that he wanted to coach high school football in Myrtle Beach, S.C., next season.

When asked about Tuesday’s national signing day, he said he had a “2 p.m. tee time” and did not elaborate.