Temple outlasts Tulsa in overtime to earn its fifth win of the season and third in conference play

Temple and Tulsa spent three quarters locked in an offensive shootout.

So when Saturday’s game went into overtime, it came down to which defense could get a stop. The visiting Owls would finally get the stop they needed, as a failed two-point conversion attempt by Tulsa secured a 38-37 overtime win.

Temple improved to 5-3 (3-1 American) and is just a win away from being bowl eligible for the first time since the 2019 season. Tulsa fell to 2-6, 0-5.

The Owls got the ball first in overtime and needed just two Evan Simon passes to score: a 24-yarder to Colin Chase and a 1-yarder to Kajiya Hollawayne. The Golden Hurricane responded with a touchdown on fourth down to get within a point, but decided to go for two and the win. A jump pass was knocked down and Temple escaped with the victory.

Simon completed 24 of his 35 passes for 265 yards and five touchdowns. Three of those touchdowns went to wide receiver Hollawayne. Simon now has 21 touchdown passes and no interceptions this season as the Owls are one win away from bowl eligibility.

Tulsa quarterback Baylor Hayes picked apart Temple’s secondary in the first half as he went 11-of-15 for 203 yards and a touchdown.

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The redshirt freshman singlehandedly kept the Golden Hurricane in the game during the second quarter. Hayes had 109 passing yards and he led Tulsa on a 99-yard touchdown drive at the end of the second quarter to give it a 17-14 halftime lead. Hayes had completions of 38 and 22 yards before throwing a perfect ball to Brody Foley in the back of the end zone for an 8-yard touchdown.

Temple’s corners struggled to keep up with Tulsa’s wide receivers and Foley proved to be a difficult matchup for anyone on the Owls’ defense. The Owls’ secondary trio of Ben Osueke, Avery Powell, and Jaylen Castleberry routinely got beaten downfield for big gains as Hayes completed seven passes of at least 20 yards.

However, Temple’s defense contained Hayes for much of the second half. The defensive front started to get more pressure on Hayes, forcing him out of the pocket and making him throw the ball away multiple times. Hayes went just 8-of-16 for 93 yards in the second half and Temple’s defense, which struggled for much of the first half, was crucial in getting the win.

While Temple’s defense was struggling to slow down Tulsa, its offense did everything it could to keep up.

The Owls’ offense struggled a little in the first half as it was outgained by more than 100 yards. However, Simon started pushing the ball downfield in the second half and Temple relied on explosive plays to keep pace with Tulsa.

Simon connected with tight end Peter Clarke for a catch-and-run of 50 yards on Temple’s first drive of the third quarter that set up a 13-yard touchdown pass to running back Jay Ducker to give the Owls a 21-17 lead. Simon completed another 50-yard pass on the next offensive drive, this time to wide receiver JoJo Bermudez. That completion set up another Temple touchdown on a 6-yard pass to Hollawayne to take a 28-24 lead.

Temple finished the game with 447 total yards of offense: 267 passing and 180 rushing.

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Hollawayne has only been playing wide receiver for a couple of seasons after transitioning from quarterback, but he has developed into Simon’s favorite target. Hollawayne entered the game as Temple’s leading receiver with 341 yards and was Simon’s go-to-guy against Tulsa.

Hollawayne got the Owls on the board with a 24-yard touchdown catch in the first quarter, but truly made his impact felt in the second half.

Simon found Hollawayne eight times in the second half for 58 yards. He reeled in his second touchdown of the day late in the third quarter, which gave Temple a 28-24 lead. Hollawayne routinely made himself available as a safety blanket for Simon while also being a deep threat with his size. Hollawayne came up clutch one more time with the overtime touchdown.

Hollawayne finished as Temple’s leading receiver with 10 catches for 85 yards and three touchdowns.

Temple returns to Lincoln Financial Field next week to host East Carolina (4-3, 2-1) on Saturday (2 p.m., ESPN+).

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