By John Antonik for
MSNsportsNET.comPHILADELPHIA, PA. --It was a game Curly, Larry and Moe would have been proud of.
West Virginia spotted Temple a 10-point lead, came back to score 23 straight points, and then had to navigate through a minefield of mistakes to hold on to a 29-24 win Thursday night over the Owls.
"It was enough to drive you crazy. We did some dumb things," West Virginia coach Don Nehlen said.
West Virginia seemed to have the game in hand at the end of the third quarter, but a comedy of errors nearly cost the Mountaineers the game.
At the start of the fourth quarter leading by 13, WVU executed a perfect fake punt, but backup linebacker Ben Collins dropped a sure first down. West Virginia then stopped Temple at midfield, but the Owls regained possession when a bouncing punt hit linebacker David Carter in the leg and the ball was recovered inside the WVU 20.
Backup quarterback Mike Frost eventually tossed his first touchdown pass to Greg Muckerson to put Temple back in the game.
At the game’s outset, it appeared the Owls were headed for their first win over West Virginia since 1984. Temple got on the scoreboard via WVU’s first gift of the night.
The Mountaineers forced Temple to punt, but the ball bounced off blocker Lance Frazier and the Owls recovered at the West Virginia 16. However, the Owls could only manage a Cap Poklemba 26-yard FG.
Temple eventually was able to find paydirt in the second quarter when Tanardo Sharps bounced off left tackle and raced 66 yards for a TD.
West Virginia answered on its next possession. On a third and five at its own 36, Lewis lofted a high-arching pass to Khori Ivy that the senior snatched away from a Temple defensive back, and wove his way through the defense for 63 yards to the Temple one.
One player later, Cooper Rego scored to close the gap to three.
The Mountaineers were out-gained in the first half 212-134; West Virginia’s ground game managed just 12 yards at the break.
Temple, meanwhile, got 113 first-half yards from Sharps and Scott completed 11-of-17 passes for 95 yards.
West Virginia regrouped at halftime and answered on its opening possession of the second half. WVU’s 12-play drive was achieved mostly on the arm of quarterback Brad Lewis, who completed passes of 18 and 17 yards to Khori Ivy, and converted a key third-down hookup to AJ Nastasi to keep the sticks moving. On third and goal at the Temple 11, a scrambling Lewis found Ivy in the back of the end zone for a sensational score.
It was West Virginia’s first third-quarter points this season.
Following West Virginia’s kick, the Mountaineers forced Temple to punt and backup wide receiver Phil Braxton blocked the football out of the end zone for a safety and a 16-10 West Virginia lead.
The Mountaineers tacked on seven more on the following possession. Again it was the passing of Lewis that moved the football downfield. Twice the Shaydside, Ohio, native hit key third-down passes to Ivy and Nastasi. On first and goal, Lewis executed a perfect fake to Rego and found a wide-open Tim Frost in the back of the end zone for an easy touchdown.
Temple closed the gap to six to start the fourth quarter when backup quarterback Mike Frost hit Greg Muckerson on a 10-yard score that was setup by WVU’s ill-fated punt return.
On Temple’s next series, the Owls rallied to regain the lead when Frost found backup wide receiver Charles Cobb in the corner of the end zone for a 14-yard touchdown.
West Virginia could have folded its tent, but Lewis wouldn’t allow it. The senior hit Ivy for 23 yards down the sideline on a key third-down pass connection that placed the football at midfield.
Ivy finished the evening with seven catches for a career-high 155 yards and one touchdown.
"In that Miami game, things didn't go our way, but we had confidence in ourselves and Brad," said Ivy, who has caught a pass in 31 straight games.
"Khori is an exceptional athlete," marveled wide receivers coach Frank Kurth. "He made the plays when we needed them most."
Ivy’s catch led to West Virginia’s game-winning TD with 5:22 left when Rego dove over the pile to give WVU a five-point advantage. The score was set up when Wvu caught Temple in a blitz on third and two and Rego raced 44 yards down the sideline to position the football inside the 15.
From there, Rego found the end zone for the second time of the night and the sixth time this season. West Virginia’s two-point conversion was unsuccessful.
The game boiled down to a fourth-down play at midfield. West Virginia’s Kyle Kayden and Chris Edmonds forced Frost into an errant pass that gave the football back to the Mountaineers.
West Virginia, behind a key 25-yard run from Cooper Rego, was able to run out the clock.
Rego rushed for 86 yards on 16 carries after producing minus one yard in the first half.
However, the star of the game was Lewis, who connected on 18-of-31 passes for a career-high 242 yards and two touchdowns.
"The 3-4 defense is a real pain," Lewis said. "With eight guys in the box, you have to outsmart them and we had to keep passing."
Sharps finished with 113 yards for the Owls, though he was blanked in the second half.
Frost came on to complete six-of-10 passes for 54 yards.
The victory gives West Virginia a 3-1 record and it snaps WVU’s six-game road losing streak dating back to 1998. The Mountaineers are 2-1 in Big East play.
Temple, meanwhile, falls to 3-2, 0-1.
West Virginia is back in action next Saturday at home against Idaho.
Scoring Summary
TU - Poklemba 26 FG
TU - Sharps 66 run (Poklemba kick)
WV - Rego 1 run (Ohliger kick)
WV - Ivy 11 pass from Lewis (Ohliger kick)
WV - Safety, blocked punt out of the end zone
WV - Frost 1 pass from Lewis (Ohliger kick)
TU - Muckerson 10 pass from Frost (Poklemba kick)
TU - Cobb 14 pass from frost (Poklemba kick)
WV - Rego 1 run (Pass failed)
Individual Statistics
RUSHING: West Virginia-Rego 16-86, Cobourne 15-55, Ours 2-11, Ivy 1-9, Team 1-minus 4, B Lewis 5-minus 5. Temple-Sharps 13-113, Trammer 4-19, Frost 2-8, D Scott 6-3.
PASSING: West Virginia-B Lewis 18-31-1-242, Fazzolari 0-1-0-0. Temple-D Scott 12-22-1-100, Frost 6-10-0-54.
RECEIVING: West Virginia-Ivy 7-155, A Brown 6-51, Nastasi 2-16, Frost 2-15, Ours 1-5. Temple-Muckerson 5-48, Cobb 5-35, Chuku 3-49, Sharps 2-8, Stubbs 1-7, Jackson 1-6, Mckie 1-1.
Attendance: 25,263
