Pittsburgh 29, Temple 22

11/9/2002

Pittsburgh 29, Temple 22

Pittsburgh, PA (Sports Network) - Claude Harriott returned a fumble 11 yards for a touchdown early in the fourth quarter, as 22nd-ranked Pittsburgh rallied from a nine-point deficit and beat Temple, 29-22, to remain unbeaten in the Big East.

The Panthers (8-2, 5-0 Big East), who upset Virginia Tech last week, won their third straight game and stayed with Miami-Florida as the only unbeaten teams in the conference. The Hurricanes, who are 4-0 in the Big East, will host Pittsburgh in the next game for both teams, Thursday night, November 21st.

Temple was ahead 16-7 at one point, but couldn't hold off the Panthers, who won for the 14th time in the last 16 games dating back to last season's 33-7 victory over the Owls. Pittsburgh capitalized on four Temple turnovers in the second half.

Rod Rutherford completed 13-of-20 passes for 125 yards and two touchdowns for the Panthers.

Mike McGann connected on 25-of-38 passes for 221 yards, but he was picked off once and fumbled twice in the second half. Cap Poklemba set a Big East record and tied a school mark with five field goals for the Owls (3-7, 1-4), who lost their third straight game.

The Panthers went ahead 22-19 on Rutherford's one-yard leap into the end zone on a sneak play with 6:38 left in the third quarter. McGann was sacked and fumbled the ball away, giving Pittsburgh the ball at the Temple 16, leading to the short TD drive.

Poklemba tied the game with his fifth field goal of the afternoon, a 20-yarder with 43 seconds left in the third quarter. The Owls drove 71 yards in 13 plays and had a couple of big third down conversions.

However, another miscue by McGann led to Pittsburgh's go-ahead score. McGann was sacked by defensive end Brian Guzek, who forced a fumble. Harriott picked up the ball and rumbled into the end zone with 12:32 remaining to lift the Panthers to a 29-22 advantage.

The Owls had the ball at midfield halfway through the final quarter, but Sean Dillard fumbled after a reception. The Panthers couldn't take advantage as David Abdul missed a 45-yard field goal attempt, but Pittsburgh sealed the win when Lewis Moore intercepted a McGann pass with 1:38 left.

The Owls went on top by taking the opening kickoff and moved the ball 64 yards in 10 plays, capped by Tanardo Sharps' five-yard run into the end zone.

Pittsburgh's Shawntae Spencer partially blocked a punt by Garvin Ringwelski, giving the Panthers the ball at the Temple 32. Pitt tied the game on Rutherford's 14-yard TD pass to Kris Wilson to the right side of the end zone with 4:42 left in the first quarter.

Temple went back on top on Poklemba's 41-yard field goal with 31 seconds left in the first quarter and it became 13-7 when on a 23-yard field goal early in the second quarter.

The Owls extended their lead to 16-7 on a 33-yard field goal by Poklemba with 2:22 left in the first half, but the Panthers got within two points on Rutherford's four-yard touchdown pass to Larry Fitzgerald with 1:28 left in the half. Pittsburgh went 74 yards in just five plays and the drive was keyed by a 30-yard connection from Rutherford to Roosevelt Bynes and a 20-yard strike from Rutherford to Lamar Slade.

Pittsburgh's Torrie Cox fumbled away the second half kickoff and the Owls stretched their lead to 19-14 on Poklemba's 38-yard field goal.

Game Notes: Since joining the Big East in 1991, Temple is 1-39 against ranked teams. Its win came at Virginia Tech in 1998...The Panthers are nationally ranked for the first time in 11 seasons...Pittsburgh is 24-8-1 all-time against Temple and has won the last four meetings...Bob Wright also had five field goals for Temple in 1990.


NCAA I-A Football Boxscore - Temple at Pittsburgh


&nbsp; &nbsp; 1 &nbsp; 2 &nbsp; 3 &nbsp; 4 &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; Final &nbsp;
Temple &nbsp; 10 &nbsp; 6 &nbsp; 6 &nbsp; 0 &nbsp; - &nbsp; 22 &nbsp;
Pittsburgh &nbsp; 7 &nbsp; 7 &nbsp; 8 &nbsp; 7 &nbsp; - &nbsp; 29 &nbsp;


1st Quarter
10:15 &nbsp; Temple Touchdown - 5-yard run by Tanardo Sharps. (Cap Poklemba kick).
4:42 &nbsp; Pittsburgh Touchdown - 14-yard pass from Rod Rutherford to Kris Wilson. (David Abdul kick).
0:31 &nbsp; Temple Field Goal - 41-yarder by Cap Poklemba.
&nbsp;
2nd Quarter
10:37 &nbsp; Temple Field Goal - 23-yarder by Cap Poklemba.
2:22 &nbsp; Temple Field Goal - 33-yarder by Cap Poklemba.
1:28 &nbsp; Pittsburgh Touchdown - 4-yard pass from Rod Rutherford to Larry Fitzgerald. (David Abdul kick).
&nbsp;
3rd Quarter
13:10 &nbsp; Temple Field Goal - 38-yarder by Cap Poklemba.
6:38 &nbsp; Pittsburgh Touchdown - 1-yard run by Rod Rutherford. (Rod Rutherford pass to Kris Wilson).
0:43 &nbsp; Temple Field Goal - 20-yarder by Cap Poklemba.
&nbsp;
4th Quarter
12:32 &nbsp; Pittsburgh Touchdown - 21-yard fumble return by Claude Harriott. (David Abdul kick).
&nbsp;


Team Statistics
&nbsp; &nbsp; Temple &nbsp; Pittsburgh &nbsp;
First Downs &nbsp; 21 &nbsp; 13 &nbsp;
Rushes-Yards &nbsp; 51-120 &nbsp; 29-64 &nbsp;
Pass Comp-Att-Yards-Int &nbsp; 25-38-221-1 &nbsp; 13-20-125-0 &nbsp;
Return Yards &nbsp; 44 &nbsp; 37 &nbsp;
Punts-Avg &nbsp; 3-35.7 &nbsp; 8-49.1 &nbsp;
Fumbles-Lost &nbsp; 3-3 &nbsp; 4-1 &nbsp;
Penalties-Yards &nbsp; 6-53 &nbsp; 5-35 &nbsp;
Time of Possession &nbsp; 36:49 &nbsp; 23:11 &nbsp;


Rushing Statistics
Temple &nbsp; Att &nbsp; Yds &nbsp; TD &nbsp; Avg &nbsp;
Tanardo Sharps &nbsp; 33 &nbsp; 84 &nbsp; 1 &nbsp; 2.545 &nbsp;
Mike McGann &nbsp; 18 &nbsp; 36 &nbsp; 0 &nbsp; 2.000 &nbsp;
&nbsp;
Pittsburgh &nbsp; Att &nbsp; Yds &nbsp; TD &nbsp; Avg &nbsp;
Brandon Miree &nbsp; 15 &nbsp; 40 &nbsp; 0 &nbsp; 2.667 &nbsp;
Rod Rutherford &nbsp; 14 &nbsp; 24 &nbsp; 1 &nbsp; 1.714 &nbsp;
&nbsp;


Passing Statistics
Temple &nbsp; Comp &nbsp; Att &nbsp; Yds &nbsp; TD &nbsp; Int &nbsp;
Mike McGann &nbsp; 25 &nbsp; 38 &nbsp; 221 &nbsp; 0 &nbsp; 1 &nbsp;
&nbsp;
Pittsburgh &nbsp; Comp &nbsp; Att &nbsp; Yds &nbsp; TD &nbsp; Int &nbsp;
Rod Rutherford &nbsp; 13 &nbsp; 20 &nbsp; 125 &nbsp; 2 &nbsp; 0 &nbsp;
&nbsp;


Receiving Statistics
Temple &nbsp; Rec &nbsp; Yds &nbsp; TD &nbsp; Avg &nbsp;
Terrence Stubbs &nbsp; 7 &nbsp; 70 &nbsp; 0 &nbsp; 10.000 &nbsp;
Sean Dillard &nbsp; 6 &nbsp; 57 &nbsp; 0 &nbsp; 9.500 &nbsp;
Zamir Abdul-Ha Cobb &nbsp; 6 &nbsp; 34 &nbsp; 0 &nbsp; 5.667 &nbsp;
Krishan Lewis &nbsp; 5 &nbsp; 50 &nbsp; 0 &nbsp; 10.000 &nbsp;
Tanardo Sharps &nbsp; 1 &nbsp; 10 &nbsp; 0 &nbsp; 10.000 &nbsp;
&nbsp;
Pittsburgh &nbsp; Rec &nbsp; Yds &nbsp; TD &nbsp; Avg &nbsp;
Lamar Slade &nbsp; 4 &nbsp; 29 &nbsp; 0 &nbsp; 7.250 &nbsp;
Larry Fitzgerald &nbsp; 3 &nbsp; 36 &nbsp; 1 &nbsp; 12.000 &nbsp;
Roosevelt Bynes &nbsp; 2 &nbsp; 38 &nbsp; 0 &nbsp; 19.000 &nbsp;
Tim Murphy &nbsp; 2 &nbsp; 4 &nbsp; 0 &nbsp; 2.000 &nbsp;
Kris Wilson &nbsp; 1 &nbsp; 14 &nbsp; 1 &nbsp; 14.000 &nbsp;
Marcus Furman &nbsp; 1 &nbsp; 4 &nbsp; 0 &nbsp; 4.000 &nbsp;
&nbsp;


Kicking Statistics
Temple &nbsp; XPM &nbsp; XPA &nbsp; FGM &nbsp; FGA &nbsp; Long &nbsp;
Cap Poklemba &nbsp; 1 &nbsp; 1 &nbsp; 5 &nbsp; 5 &nbsp; 41 &nbsp;
&nbsp;
Pittsburgh &nbsp; XPM &nbsp; XPA &nbsp; FGM &nbsp; FGA &nbsp; Long &nbsp;
David Abdul &nbsp; 3 &nbsp; 3 &nbsp; 0 &nbsp; 1 &nbsp; 0 &nbsp;
&nbsp;


Attendance: 39880

1st Quarter
10:15		Temple Touchdown - 5-yard run by Tanardo Sharps. (Cap Poklemba kick).
4:42		Pittsburgh Touchdown - 14-yard pass from Rod Rutherford to Kris Wilson. (David Abdul kick).
0:31		Temple Field Goal - 41-yarder by Cap Poklemba.

2nd Quarter
10:37		Temple Field Goal - 23-yarder by Cap Poklemba.
2:22		Temple Field Goal - 33-yarder by Cap Poklemba.
1:28		Pittsburgh Touchdown - 4-yard pass from Rod Rutherford to Larry Fitzgerald. (David Abdul kick).

3rd Quarter
13:10		Temple Field Goal - 38-yarder by Cap Poklemba.
6:38		Pittsburgh Touchdown - 1-yard run by Rod Rutherford. (Rod Rutherford pass to Kris Wilson).
0:43		Temple Field Goal - 20-yarder by Cap Poklemba.

4th Quarter
12:32		Pittsburgh Touchdown - 21-yard fumble return by Claude Harriott. (David Abdul kick).

Pittsburgh 29, Temple 22

Pittsburgh 29, Temple 22

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