East Carolina Pirates vs Temple Owls Match Player Stats On Nov 01, 2014

SportsDirect Inc. staff
Nov 1, 2014

Temple 20, No. 19 East Carolina 10: Kenneth Harper scored two touchdowns and Tavon Young returned a fumble for a score as the Owls forced five fumbles in a stunning victory of the visiting Pirates.

East Carolina (6-2, 3-1, AAC) came in averaging 39.6 points and 381.9 passing yards - ranking 13th and third in the nation in those categories, respectively - but fell well below those numbers at a soggy Lincoln Financial Field. The Pirates finished with a 428-135 advantage in yardage but were unable to overcome their miscues as their five-game winning streak came to an end.

Temple (5-3, 3-2) rushed for just 65 yards on 37 carries, led by Harper's 29 on 12 attempts, while P.J. Walker struggled to the tune of 7-of-19 for 70 yards. East Carolina's Shane Carden went 24-of-41 for 217 yards while Chris Hairston contributed 153 yards on 21 rushes.

Young opened the scoring at the 7:20 mark of the first quarter when he scooped up a fumble and ran 63 yards to the end zone. The Pirates fumbled on their next possession as well, with Breon Allen's sloppy play leading to Harper's 1-yard run on third-and-goal.

East Carolina finally got on the board late in the half on Warren Harvey's 39-yard field goal, but a fumble by Hairston stalled the Pirates' final drive of the half. East Carolina's first possession of the second half resulted in a blocked field goal by Praise Martin-Oguike and Temple made it 20-3 on Harper's 2-yard run before the Pirates missed a 50-yard field goal and had another drive end in a fumble. Marquez Grayson's 2-yard TD run with 2:15 gave the Pirates a chance but Temple recovered the on-side kick to seal it.

GAME NOTEBOOK: East Carolina committed 12 penalties for 116 yards. ... The Pirates had a 30-10 advantage in first downs and converted 9-of-16 third-down attempts to just 4-of-14 for the Owls.