SMU Mustangs vs Temple Owls Match Player Stats On Nov 07, 2020

Shane Buechele passed for 355 yards and four touchdowns and paced a second-half offensive explosion from No. 18 SMU as the Mustangs overcame Temple 47-23 in Philadelphia on Saturday.

Trailing 13-10 at the half, the Mustangs (7-1, 4-1 American Athletic Conference) scored on their first six possessions of the second half and outscored Temple (1-4, 1-4 AAC) following the intermission 37-10.

SMU amassed 357 of its 549 yards after the break, with Buechele completing scoring strikes of 44 yards to Tyler Page, 24 yards to Kylen Granson and 33 yards to Rashee Rice. Tyler Lavine added a 2-yard touchdown run that pushed the Mustangs to a 33-16 lead and TaMerick Williams capped the scoring for SMU with his 49-yard touchdown dash with 7:32 remaining in the contest.

Granson and Page both recorded 100-yard receiving games, with Granson posting six receptions for 149 yards while Page had nine catches for 131 yards and two touchdowns.

The first quarter offered promise for Temple, with quarterback Trad Beatty completing a 75-yard touchdown pass to Randle Jones on the first play from scrimmage for a 6-0 lead just 13 seconds into the game. After the point-after attempt failed, the Mustangs responded with a 10-play, 85-yard drive culminating in a Buechele scoring strike to Page.

Temple eventually gained a 13-7 lead when Tayvon Ruley scored late in the half on a 3-yard run. The Owls' quarterback tandem of Beatty and Re-al Mitchell were a combined 6-of-7 for 106 yards and a touchdown in the first half, offering a better start than in the Owls' loss at Tulane last week when both labored in the stead of injured senior Anthony Russo.

By the close of the half, Temple held the 13-10 lead and played the Mustangs to a standstill in total yards (196 to 192) and time of possession (15:02 to 14:58). But after the intermission, the Owls had one stretch in which five consecutive possessions ended with punts, a span that opened the door for the Mustangs to seize momentum -- and they did, eventually outgaining Temple 549-368.

--Field Level Media