PHILADELPHIA, NOV. 17, 2018 – USF's defense came out locked-in and the Bulls seized a 17-0 halftime lead before Temple stormed back with 27 unanswered points as the Owls posted a  27-17 victory Saturday at Lincoln Financial Field.

USF (7-4, 3-4 in AAC) has lost four straight games for the first time since dropping six straight at the end of the 2013 season. The Bulls defense allowed only 73 rushing yards (337 total yards) and 13 points against a potent Owls offense that averaged 44.5 points and 603.5 yards in its previous two games.

Temple (7-4, 6-1 in AAC) scored touchdowns on special teams and defense, taking the lead on a 73-yard punt return by Isaiah Wright with 10:05 to play. Star back Ryquell Armstead was held to 64 rushing yards on 26 attempts, well under his 122.2 ypg average, a week after running for 210 yards and six touchdowns against Houston.

Junior Jordan Cronkrite (Miami) led USF's ground attack with 17 attempts for 83 yards and two touchdowns, becoming the fifth player in program history to rush for 1,000 yards in a season. Both of Cronkrite's rushing touchdowns came during the Bulls' 17-0 run in the opening half.

Starting quarterback Blake Barnett (Corona, Calif.) completed 14 of 23 passes for 82 yards and threw two interceptions after missing last week's game with a shoulder injury.

Looking to get back on the winning track, USF jumped out to a 17-0 lead going into halftime after getting two touchdown runs from Cronkrite and a dominant effort by the defense.

After USF forced a three-and-out on Temple's opening drive, Cronkrite passed the 1,000-yard mark with a 49-yard run on the Bulls' opening possession. Cronkrite rushed for 56 of USF's 60 yards on the tone-setting scoring drive that was capped off by his 3-yard touchdown run.

USF's offense was back in Temple territory after Chris Barr (Jacksonville, Fla.) recovered a fumble at the Owls' 37-yard line on a muffed punt late in the first quarter. Eight plays later, the Bulls took a 10-0 lead with 35-yard field goal by Coby Weiss (Gainesville, Fla.) 10 seconds into the second quarter.

USF pumped its lead up to 17-0 after Cronkrite's 1-yard touchdown run with 2:27 to go before halftime, which capped off a 12-play, 83-yard drive. Cronkrite leads the team with nine rushing touchdowns this season and has two multi-TD games on the year.

USF's defense forced four three-and-outs in the Bulls' first opening-half shutout since the season opener. Sophomore Mike Hampton (Tampa) broke up three passes, including one on a pass play following a fake punt in USF territory in the second quarter. Temple was outgained, 140-31, in first-half rushing yards, went 2-for-9 on third down and missed a field goal in the opening quarter.

Senior Ronnie Hoggins (Coconut Creek, Fla.) grabbed USF's second takeaway of the game with an interception midway through the third quarter, but Temple stormed back in the second half with 27 unanswered points. Wright's 73-yard punt return gave the Owls their first lead with 10:05 remaining in the game and they never gave it up.

Kevin Kegler (Madison, Fla.) came up with a huge tackle for loss at the USF 45 to stuff a Temple fourth-and-1 rushing attempt with 8:13 to play, but the Bulls' offense couldn't capitalize. Still trailing 20-17, USF got the ball back at its own 10-yard line with 1:44 remaining but a strip sack fumble was recovered in the end zone by Temple.

Defensively, linebacker Khalid McGee (Miami) made a game-high 11 tackles while Jaymon Thomas (Immokalee, Fla.) and Hoggins finished with seven stops apiece.

Quotable
Head coach Charlie Strong's thoughts on Saturday's second half:
"You had the ball and three opportunities in the third quarter on the plus side and we got nothing out of it. We've got to be able to score points there. We had two turnovers and then we gave the ball up on downs. You can't let that happen, especially when you're on the road."

Key Stats
17-0 – The Bulls seized the early momentum with 17 straight points in the first half.
27-0 – Temple took control of the game with 27 unanswered points in the second half.
5 – Temple totaled five takeaways, including three recovered fumbles.

Notables

• Jordan Cronkrite became the fifth USF player in program history to rush for 1,000 yards in a season. The 1,000-yard rushing feat has been accomplished nine times in USF history. USF has had a 1,000-yard rusher in each of the past five seasons, the longest streak in program history.
• USF has lost four straight games for the first time since dropping six straight at the end of the 2013 season.
• The temperature at kickoff was 42 degrees, marking the ninth game in USF history with a kickoff below 50 degrees. USF is now 2-7 in games in which the temperature is below 50 degrees at kickoff.

Up Next
USF returns to Raymond James Stadium to host rival UCF in a War on I-4 clash on Friday, Nov. 23. Kickoff is set for 4:15 p.m. and the game will be televised on ESPN.

Reserve your seats for the Bulls' regular season finale at USFBullsTix.com.

ABOUT USF FOOTBALL
USF posted its second straight 10-win season in 2017 (10-2) by winning its second straight Birmingham Bowl with a 38-34 victory over Texas Tech. USF is one of just 15 teams nationally to win 20-plus games in the last two seasons (21-4) and posted a program-record 20 straight weeks ranked in the top 25, reaching as high as No. 13 in Week 8 of the 2017 season. The Bulls have won five of their last six bowl appearances and made nine (6-3) total bowl appearances in 21 seasons, including a current run of three straight bowls. USF won a program-record 11 games in 2016 (11-2) and has posted 14 winning seasons. The USF program, which first took the field in 1997, reached No. 2 in the rankings in 2007 and has seen 30 players selected in the NFL Draft, 14 named All-American and had 28 first-team all-conference selections.
 
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