University of Connecticut Athletics
Football Outlasts Temple in Overtime 12-9
9/6/2008 12:00:00 AM | Football
PHILADELPHIA, Pa. (Sept. 6, 2008) – Junior tailback Donald Brown (Atlantic Highlands, N.J.) rushed for a career-best 214 yards and scored the game-winning touchdown on the Huskies' first overtime possession to give Connecticut a 12-9 road win over Temple at a soggy Lincoln Financial Field in Philadelphia on Saturday afternoon.
Connecticut is now 2-0 on the season while the Owls are 1-1.
The Huskies won the toss prior to overtime and elected to go on defense and held Temple to a 21-yard field goal by Jake Brownell, that gave the Owls a 9-6 lead.
Connecticut then took its turn on offense and Brown rushed three straight times and scored from seven yards out to give the Huskies their first overtime win since Nov. 11, 2006, when they defeated Pittsburgh 46-45 at Rentschler Field in East Hartford, Conn.
After being shutout in the first three quarters of the game, UConn scored its first points of the game on a 36-yard field goal by senior Tony Ciaravino (Boca Raton, Fla.) to make it 6-3 Temple. UConn's first score completed a 7-play, 29-yard drive.
Ciaravino tied the game at 6-6 with 6:35 left to play on a 37-yard field goal. The Huskies had a chance to win the game late in the fourth quarter after stopping Temple on a 4 and 1 inside its own 30, but Ciaravino's 47-yard field goal attempt just missed wide left.
Brown rushed the ball 36 times for 214 yards. The effort was his eighth 100-yard rushing effort of his career.
UConn quarterback Tyler Lorenzen (Fremont, Iowa) was 10 of 22 in the air for 86 yards with an interception. Lorenzen also rushed for a career-best 75 yards on 16 carries as the Huskies out-gained 379-268 on the ground.
Sophomore linebacker Scott Lutrus (Brookfield, Conn) led the Huskies' ball-hawking defense with 12 tackles in the victory. By limiting Temple to just three field goals, the Huskies have played eight quarters this season without allowing a touchdown.
Temple quarterback Adam DiMichelle was 11 of 28 in the air for 170 yards. He was also the leading rusher for the Owls with 10 carries and 60 yards.
The game was played in adverse weather conditions as Tropical Storm Hanna moved into the Philadelphia area as the game progressed.
Temple led 6-0 at halftime and scored the only points of the first half on a pair of field goals. The Owls took a 3-0 lead on their first possession of the game on a 22-yard field goal by Brownell 2:10 into the contest. Temple moved the ball 75 yards on the opening drive, including a 46 yard passing play to James Nixon from quarterback DiMichele. The Owls had the ball first and goal from the UConn nine and the Husky defense only allowed four more yards on the drive.
Connecticut was stymied by turnovers in the first quarter as its out-gained Temple 123-103 in the period. However, Lorenzen had an interception and fumbled on the Temple one-yard line to keep the Huskies scoreless.
The only points of the second quarter were on a 41-yard field goal by Brownell with 4:46 left in the half. That played capped a six play-49 yard drive, including a 44-yard pass play from DiMichele to Steve Maneri.
The Huskies again squandered opportunities in the second quarter as they missed a pair of field goals from 34 and 44 yards out. Temple also had two interceptions in the second quarter but the Huskies were unable to take advantage of them.
The two teams went scoreless in the third quarter as Connecticut punted the ball on both its possessions.
UConn returns to action next Saturday, Sept. 13 when it plays host to Virginia of the Atlantic Coast Conference at Rentschler Field. Gametime is 7:30 p.m.and the game will be televised by ESPNU.
Connecticut Football Postgame Notes
at Temple (September 6, 2008)
- Temple’s 22-yard field goal in the first quarter marked the first points UConn has allowed in the opening quarter since Nov. 24, 2007 at West Virginia.
- Temple’s 22-yard field goal in the first quarter also marked the first time a UConn opponent has scored points on its opening drive since Nov. 24, 2007 at West Virginia.
- Lawrence Wilson’s second quarter interception marked the second of his career and his first since Sept. 22, 2007 at Pittsburgh.
- Donald Brown’s 214 yards rushing marked his eighth 100-yard rushing effort of his career and his second this season. Brown has now posted 100 rushing yards in three of his last four games overall. It was his second time surpassing the 200-yard rushing mark. In addition, he has 199 yards in a third contest.
- Brown's 214 yards was the tenth-best rushing day in Husky history -- just shy of No. 9 Mike Zito with 218 vs. Vermont in 1969. His 36 carries were tied as the fourth-highest in school single-game history. The 214 yards is the second-best since 2002 when UConn went to the FBS.
- Tyler Lorezen's 75 rushing yards is tied as the seventh-best rushing day by a Husky quarterback.
- UConn was held scoreless for the first half for the first time since Oct. 19, 2007 vs. Louisville – a game the Huskies eventually won 21-17.
- Today’s game marked Randy Edsall’s 107th as the head coach at Connecticut, moving past Robert Ingalls (106) for the third most in the program’s history.
- Today’s game marked the 11th all-time meeting between Connecticut and Temple in the sport of football. UConn moves to 4-7 in the all-time series vs. Temple following today’s overtime victory.
- UConn was held scoreless through the first three quarters for the first time since Nov. 12, 2005 at Pittsburgh.
- UConn moves to 3-1 all-time in overtime games dating back to 2002 (Since the Huskies moved up to Division I-A.) The Huskies last overtime game prior to today’s contest came on Nov. 11, 2006 vs. Pittsburgh – a 46-45 Connecticut win in two overtimes.
- Connecticut improves to 7-6 all-time in overtime games over the program’s history.
- UConn moves to 13-1 all-time in games against opponents from the Mid American Conference and have won its last 11 such games.
- Connecticut moves its mark against non-conference opponents to 31-14 in the regular season since moving to Division I-A in 2002 and have won six of its last seven such games overall.
- With today’s win, UConn opens the season 2-0 for the fourth time since moving to Division I-A in 2002 and has accomplished the feat in each of the last two seasons.
- UConn moves to 13-19 in road games since 2002 and 12-8 in non-conference road games over that same span. The Huskies have posted wins in four of their last five non-conference games overall.
- UConn boasts an all-time mark of 4-5 when playing in an active NFL Stadium.
- UConn moves to 4-3 in road openers (since 2002), following today’s win over Temple.
- UConn improves to 17-8 since 2002 in games played during the month of September and have won its last six games played during the month.
