Field Level Media
Dec 27, 2018
Daniel Jones threw five touchdown passes and Duke dominated the second half to defeat Temple 56-27 Thursday in the Independence Bowl in Shreveport, La.
TJ Rahming had 240 yards on 12 receptions and caught two of the scoring passes from Jones, a redshirt junior who completed 30 of 41 throws for 423 yards with two interceptions.
Duke (8-5), which entered the game having lost two in a row, held Temple without a point in the final 34 minutes, outscoring the Owls (8-5) 35-0 in the second half and overcoming a 13-point, first-half deficit.
Interim coach Ed Foley couldn't direct Temple to a postseason victory in his second try in that role. He was interim coach of the Owls when they lost in the 2016 Military Bowl to Wake Forest.
On Thursday, Temple quarterback Anthony Russo was 25 for 46 for 228 yards with a touchdown throw and an interception.
Duke scored three third-quarter touchdowns and then tallied again on the first snap of the fourth quarter for a 49-27 lead.
Jones opened the second-half scoring with a 1-yard run less than four minutes in. Then he connected with Rahming for an 85-yard catch-and-sprint touchdown halfway through the third before his 7-yard throw to freshman Jake Bobo, who scored his first collegiate touchdown with 2:49 to go in the quarter.
In the fourth quarter, Brittain Brown scored on a 4-yard run five seconds into the frame and Jones completed a 4-yard throw to tight end Davis Koppenhaver for the game's final score.
Delvon Randall returned an interception of Duke backup Quentin Harris 52 yards for a touchdown to give the Owls a 13-7 lead with 5:42 to play in the first quarter. Harris was on the field while Jones was receiving treatment on the sideline.
Earlier, Harris opened the scoring on a 2-yard run less than five minutes into the game. Two minutes later, Russo ran 15 yards for a touchdown as Temple tied the score.
Rob Ritrovato scored on a 1-yard run to open the scoring in the second quarter as Temple boosted its edge to 20-7.
Duke responded when Jones went 5 for 5 on a 70-yard drive, capped by hitting wide-open Chris Taylor for a 34-yard touchdown play.
Russo matched that with a 5-for-5 effort on the next drive as the Owls were back in the end zone on his 8-yard strike to Brodrick Yancy, who scored his first touchdown of the season.
Jones hit Rahming with a 22-yard touchdown pass with 1:11 left in the first half to close the game to 27-21 at intermission.
Duke coach David Cutcliffe directed his fourth Independence Bowl victory. The other three came as Mississippi's coach.
Foley was coaching the Owls after Geoff Collins left to take the coaching job at Georgia Tech.
Temple played without senior running back Ryquell Armstead, who has more than 2,800 career rushing yards. Veteran Duke linebackers Ben Humphreys and Joe Giles-Harris also were out with injuries.
This was the first-ever football meeting between the schools.
--Field Level Media