Temple Football Rides the Rollercoaster in Heartbreaking Loss to Navy

Temple Football trailed 28-0 with a minute to play in the first half of their Saturday, Nov. 7 loss to Navy.

The Owls (2-7, 1-4 American) roared all the way back, tying the game 35-35 on a 25-yard touchdown pass from Jaxon Smolik to Jayce Freeman with 5:35 to play in the fourth quarter, then promptly gave up a nine-play, 75-yard touchdown drive that saw the Midshipmen pull ahead for good. Temple managed just four yards on their final drive of the game, a trio of incomplete passes from Smolik leading to a turnover on downs.

Smolik’s start marked his first significant playing time since Sept. 12 against Penn State. He suffered an injury the following week against Toledo, setting up redshirt senior Ajani Sheppard to take the majority of the snaps. Sheppard has dealt with an injury of his own in recent weeks, passing the baton back to Smolik. The junior struggled to settle in in the first half, completing just three of nine passes for 42 yards and an interception as Navy raced out to a four touchdown lead.

Close, But No Cigar

JoJo Bermudez broke the ice for Temple on the final play of the first half, returning a punt 78 yards for a touchdown, and the momentum carried over into the final 30 minutes. Smolik found Bermudez for a 41-yard score out of the break, but Navy quarterback Jackson Gutierrez — who ran for 180 yards and five touchdowns on the day — retaliated with a 49-yard touchdown pass of his own.

The Owls continued chipping away in the fourth quarter, Smolik closing the gap to 35-21 with his first of two touchdown passes to Freeman. Linebacker Jordan Montgomery stripped the ball away from Gutierrez on the following drive, gaining possession in Midshipmen territory, and a Sam Brown V rushing touchdown brought Temple within one score. Navy’s offense, which held the ball for more than 40 minutes and ran 79 plays to the Owls’ 48, ran at will on the decisive scoring drive: a botched handoff nearly turned into a turnover, but Gutierrez fell on the loose ball and went on to punch in his final rushing touchdown.

Up next, Temple will host UAB at 1 p.m. on Saturday, Nov. 14.