PHILADELPHIA - Donald Brown rushed for a career-high 214 yards on a rain-soaked field and scored the winning touchdown in overtime to lead Connecticut to a 12-9 victory over Temple on Saturday.
Brown held on tight all game to a slick ball and finally burst through into the end zone on a 7-yard run on UConn's first possession in overtime. He helped the Huskies (2-0) overcome sloppy play and missed field goals that had them trailing 6-0 entering the fourth quarter.
Jake Brownell kicked three field goals, including a 21-yarder in OT, for the Owls. Temple (1-1) was denied its first 2-0 start since 1981.
The two teams did almost nothing but run on every play, especially in the second half when heavy rain all but kept the ball out of the air.
Brown did more than enough to bail out the Huskies - and they needed the help.
Temple coach Al Golden put too much faith in his developing Owls and they went for it on fourth-and-1 at their own 35 and the score tied late in the fourth. Lamar McPherson's rush came up short, and suddenly the Huskies had yet another opportunity to take the lead.
Tony Ciaravino - who missed two field goals in the first half - this time missed a 47-yard attempt with 2:33 left in the game. Ciaravino did kick a 37-yarder earlier in the fourth that tied the score at 6.
Neither offense could do much more while the rain pounded the ground. Temple's Adam DiMichele threw for 171 yards, but 70 yards came in the first quarter when the rain was light. Tyler Lorenzen was only 10 of 22 for 86 yards for the Huskies. Only Temple's Travis Shelton caught more than two passes.
The Huskies wasted a prime shot to score a touchdown on their second drive when the wet ball popped out of Lorenzen's hands right before he crossed the goal line and safety Dominique Harris recovered in the end zone.
Connecticut missed two field goals, had two turnovers and punted on its first five possessions.
The Owls have long been one of college football's worst programs - they haven't had a winning record since 1990 and have not played in a bowl game since 1979.
Slowly, Golden is making the Owls respectable again. Golden led the Owls to a four-win season a year ago, which included the first three-game winning streak since 1990. Shifting from the Big East to the Mid-American Conference has certainly helped the Owls become more competitive over the past year.
They seemed primed early to make it 2-0 for the first time in 27 years early in the game.
DiMichele connected on a 46-yard pass to James Nixon on the third play of the game to help Brownell put the Owls up 3-0 on a 22-yard field goal
DiMichele found Steve Maneri for a 44-yard reception late in the second quarter, and Brownell would end the drive with a 41-yarder for a 6-0 lead.
But the Owls couldn't do much more and spoiled the home opener for about 3,000 soaked fans.
other Connecticut Huskies NCAA college football DVDs
other Temple Owls NCAA college football DVDs
NFL football DVDs /
NCAA college football DVDs /
NBA basketball DVDs /
Major League Baseball DVDs /
NFL Europe DVDs /
XFL football DVDs /
Super Bowl DVDs /
NFL draft DVDs /
Canadian football CFL DVDs /
USFL football DVDs /
Arena football AFL DVDs /
World Leage WLAF football DVDs /
Japanese baseball DVDs /
NCAA college basketball DVDs /
NHL hockey DVDs /
Olympics hockey DVDs /
Sumo wrestling DVDs /
contact
this site does not support or condone the sale of sports telecasts in any form