To begin the second half Ben Bryant was ruled out of the game with an injury. That meant Evan Prater would get his shot to show what he could do in a close game for the Bearcats. Both offenses stalled on their first drives. The Bearcats had great field position after the Temple Owls stalled deep in their territory. The Bearcats took advantage of this field position and mixed in a ton of runs and quick plays. The Bearcats were hit with a lot of pressure that stalled the drive but Ryan Coe drilled a 37-yard FG to finish off Evan Prater’s first scoring drive. The Bearcats drove 8 plays for 23 yards to extend the lead 20-3. The Owls would get some momentum going as they hit on a huge chunk play and drove down 52 yards to set up in the red zone. Then the Bearcat’s defense stepped up again. Bryon Threats intercepted Warner on a deflected pass to end the threat. This would be the Bearcats third turnover forced on the day. Each time Temple had some type of momentum the Bearcats defense stepped up to make the play they needed. In the last drive of the third quarter, Prater showed off his arm. Prater connected with multiple receivers to lead the Bearcats down the field and on the 1 at the end of the third quarter. Prater at the end of the third was 10-of-14 for 115 yards. Prater on the year had only threw the ball eight times this year coming into this one. The Bearcats were getting a chance to look at their future. Evan Prater made an impressive play on a 3rd and short, but an illegal touching waved the touchdown off. They had to settle for a field goal to take a 23-3 lead with 14:35 to go. Temple put together a long drive to try and get something going on the offensive side of things. The Bearcats defense made yet another play though. Temple put together almost 5 minutes of clock time, but the drive ended after Ty Van Fossen forced a fumble and Noah Potter recovered it at the Bearcats 28-yard line. Prater and the Bearcats would burn off 3 minutes after a 6 play 25 yard drive. The Bearcats pretty much had this one on ice with just over 3 minutes to go and up 23-3. The Bearcats would force one final 3 and out on the Temple offense to seal this one. The Bearcats walked out of Philadelphia with a convincing 23-3 win. The Bearcats held the Owls to just 202 yards and 35 yards rushing on the day. A very dominating defensive showing for the Bearcats.
Bearcats leading rusher was Ryan Montgomery who had 14 carries for 58 yards and a touchdown. The Bearcats leading receivers were Josh Whyle with seven catches for 70 yards and Tre Tucker who had four catches for 78 yards and a touchdown. Evan Prater in one half goes 12-of-17 for 127 yards and a RTG of 133.3
The Bearcats with the win move to 9-2 on the year and will now have a chance to host the AAC Championship Game with a win at home on Friday versus Tulane at 12 pm.
