PHILADELPHIA (ABC4 Sports) – After racing out to an early 14-point lead, Utah State got outscored by winless Temple in the second half, 28-8, in a 45-29 loss to the Owls Saturday afternoon.
Offensively, the Aggies played well enough, as quarterback Spencer Petras returned from an ankle injury to throw for 293 yards and two touchdowns. Rahsul Faison rushed for 148 yards on 27 carries and a touchdown, while Jalen Royals had 10 catches for 112 yards and a score.
But the Utah State defense could not slow down Temple quarterback Evan Simon, who threw four touchdowns to four different receivers and ran for another score to hand Utah State (1-3) its third straight loss.
The Aggies took a 21-17 lead into the half behind a 4-yard touchdown run by Herschel Turner, a 28-yard touchdown pass from Petras to Royals, and a 20-yard touchdown run by Faison.
But while the Utah State offense bogged down in the second half with a missed field goal and three consecutive punts, the Owls scored touchdowns on its final four possessions of the game.
The Utah State collapse began with a 91-yard touchdown throw from Simon to Dante Wright to give Temple a 24-21 lead headed into the fourth quarter.
Then Simon connected with Daniel Evert on a 16-yard TD to give Temple a 10-point lead. Simon’s fourth touchdown pass of the game, a 2-yarder to Peter Clarke, made it a 38-21 game.
Petras tried to rally the Aggies with a 28-yard touchdown pass to Jack Hestera. The two-point conversion cut the deficit to 38-29. But Simon ran in the game-clinching touchdown from a yard out with 3:22 to play to give Temple its first victory of the season.
Utah State piled up 479 yards of total offense, while Temple had 483, with 212 yards coming on the ground. Petras threw a late interception in the second half, the only turnover of the game.
Petras ended up completing 26 of 44 passes, while Kyrese White added eight catches for 96 yards for the Aggies.
The Aggies now have a bye week before openining Mountain West Conference play at Boise State on October 5th.
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