Temple Owls vs Houston Cougars Match Player Stats On Dec 05, 2015

The Sports Xchange
Dec 5, 2015

Junior quarterback Greg Ward Jr. rushed for 148 yards and two touchdowns to lead No. 19 Houston to a 24-13 victory over No. 22 Temple to win the American Athletic Conference championship game at TDECU Stadium in Houston, Texas.

Ward scored on runs of 47 and 10 yards as the Cougars (12-1) handled the Owls to record the second 12-win season in school history. Sophomore running back Javin Webb also scored a touchdown and senior cornerback William Jackson III broke up seven passes for Houston.

The victory assures that the Cougars will be the highest-ranked school from the Group of Five conferences. Houston is guaranteed a spot in a New Year's Six bowl game -- either the Fiesta or Peach -- when bowl destinations are announced Sunday.

Junior quarterback P.J. Walker threw for 287 yards and one touchdown on 26-of-44 passing for the Owls (10-3). Senior wideout Robby Anderson had 150 receiving yards and a touchdown while making a career-best 12 catches.

Temple trailed by 21 points after Ward's second touchdown run and scored the next 10 points to remain in range. But the Owls sabotaged their late rally with back-to-back poor shotgun snaps with under three minutes to play -- the second one was picked up by Walker and he ran 9 yards but was stopped 2 yards shy of a first down with 1:58 remaining.

The Cougars ran out the clock to win their first conference championship since 2006 -- when they won the Conference USA crown.

Houston led 17-3 at halftime and added to its lead when Ward ran 10 yards for a score with 6:40 remaining in the third quarter. Ward headed to the sidelines holding his right ribs but returned for the Cougars' next series.

Temple answered the score with a 10-play, 75-yard drive to pull back within 24-10. The score occurred when Walker tossed a 13-yard touchdown pass to Anderson with 2:26 left in the third quarter.

Owls sophomore Austin Jones kicked a 39-yard field goal with 11:29 remaining as Temple crept within 24-13.

The Owls were sloppy at the outset of the contest and committed two turnovers in the opening nine-plus minutes.

The Cougars converted the first one for their initial score. Junior outside linebacker Tyus Bowser intercepted Walker on Temple's fourth offensive play and returned it eight yards to the Owls' 36-yard line.

It took the Cougars 10 plays to drive the short distance. Webb carried the ball the last three times on the drive and scored from the 1 with 10:05 left in the opening quarter.

Houston increased its lead to 10-0 on a 24-yard field goal by junior Ty Cummings with 13:28 left in the first half. Ward broke loose on a 47-yard scoring run to push the lead to 17 with 5:32 to play.

Temple got on the scoreboard when Jones kicked a 40-yard field with 1:46 remaining in the half.

NOTES: Owls senior LB Tyler Matakevich, the AAC Defensive Player of the Year, had eight tackles to raise his season count to 126. ... Cougars senior RB Kenneth Farrow (ankle) missed his second straight game. ... Temple senior WR Robby Anderson (108) became the 10th player in school history with 100 or more career receptions. ... Houston coach Tom Herman agreed to a contract extension through 2020 earlier this week and his pay was more than doubled to $2.8 million annually. ... Temple remains without a conference title. ... Houston is one win shy of the school record for victories -- Kevin Sumlin coached the Cougars to a 13-1 mark in 2011.