Temple outlasts Florida Atlantic in OT behind a game-winning field goal from Maddux Trujillo

After allowing a combined 108 points in its last two games, Temple snuck by Florida Atlantic with an 18-15 overtime win Saturday at Lincoln Financial Field.

The Owls (3-7, 2-4 American), who are already mathematically eliminated from bowl consideration, have now matched their win total from each of the previous three seasons.

Florida Atlantic (2-8, 0-6) got the ball first in overtime but missed a 40-yard field goal attempt. Temple’s Maddux Trujillo responded on the ensuing possession by kicking a 39-yarder to win it. He finished 4-for-6 on field goal tries, including a made 54-yarder.

“I’m proud of my guys,” said Temple coach Stan Drayton. “These guys have been under pressure a lot over the course of the season. We haven’t played well in spots, and when you go through adversity, your locker room gets challenged, and there is a lot of truth that comes out of that.”

Temple took the lead in the fourth quarter for the first time since the game’s opening minutes when running back Terrez Worthy capped a 16-play, 87-yard drive with a 1-yard rushing touchdown with 7 minutes,15 seconds left to put the Owls up, 15-7.

Down by eight points with less than two minutes remaining, Florida Atlantic marched 75 yards down the field for a touchdown with 34 seconds left and utilized the “Philly Special” for a two-point conversion to send the game to overtime.

Here are three key takeaways from Temple’s third win of the season:

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Wright, who leads Temple receivers in almost every stat, returned to action after missing more than a month with an undisclosed injury.

Wright finished Saturday’s game with 14 receptions, the second-most in Temple history. He compiled 147 receiving yards and made multiple grabs on crucial third downs to extend drives when quarterback Evan Simon was under pressure.

“It felt great being back on the field,” Wright said. “Missing a couple weeks made me unsure of how things were going to go, but this game was really good for my confidence, and we were able to win, so that’s also really good for the team and I’m really happy with the performance.”

Prior to missing time, Wright ranked among the conference’s leaders in receptions, yards, and touchdowns and had been in the top 20 in the country in both receptions and yards. He is on pace for one of the best individual seasons for a wideout in Temple history.

Florida Atlantic is a much easier opponent than Temple’s previous two, but the Owls’ defense that allowed 52 and 56 points in its last two games desperately needed a rebound performance, and it delivered one on Saturday.

Temple held Florida Atlantic to just 317 total yards and only 123 on the ground after getting gashed by the run last week against Tulane.

The senior quarterback looked more comfortable after recording his worst start of the 2024 season last week against Tulane but still missed key throws throughout the game.

Simon completed 24 of his 41 passes for 218 yards but did not throw a touchdown pass for a second straight week. He was a large reason the Owls’ offense took off in the early part of the season but he has not found the same groove in recent games.

Simon started to heat up in the second half and orchestrated a 16-play, 87-yard drive to put Temple back in front for the first time since the first quarter. He found Wright 14 times and every other pass catcher just a combined 10 times.

The Owls will look to surpass three wins for the first time since the 2019 season when they visit Texas-San Antonio (5-5, 3-3) in a Friday night game (7 p.m., ESPN2).

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