No. 23 Temple bounces back to beat SMU, 60-40

P.J. Walker threw four touchdowns passes and ran for a score, freshman Jager Gardner had a 94-yard scoring run on Temple’s second play, and the 23rd-ranked Owls defeated Southern Methodist, 60-40, Friday night in Dallas.

Gardner had zero yards rushing for the season when he broke through the middle of the line for the longest run in Temple history and a quick boost coming off a high-profile 24-20 loss to No. 8 Notre Dame at home.

Temple (8-1, 5-0 American Athletic) scored its most points in a game since beating Holy Cross, 63-34, on Sept. 29, 1973.

The Owls went ahead for good at 21-17 when Walker found Romond Deloatch with a 16-yard touchdown strike 24 seconds before halftime. Walker’s final touchdown pass was a 75-yarder to Ventell Bryant the first play after the Mustangs (1-8, 0-5) had pulled to within 38-31 early in the fourth quarter.

UTEP edges Rice

Mack Leftwich threw two touchdown passes to Jaquan White, and Jay Mattox kicked a 24-yard field goal with 48 seconds left to give Texas El Paso a 24-21 victory over Rice at El Paso, Texas.

The Miners (4-5, 2-3 Conference USA) marched 73 yards in 16 plays, chewing up 7 minutes 25 seconds on the drive to the winning field goal. Leftwich twice connected with Hayden Pinke, for gains of eight and 11 yards, to keep the drive alive.

The Miners knocked down a desperation pass in the end zone on the final play.

Rice (4-5, 2-3) scored twice in the second quarter, a three-yard run by Luke Turner and a 36-yard pass from Driphus Jackson to Zach Wright, but Leftwich countered with 58- and two-yard TD hookups with White.

Etc.

Dalyn Williams threw a touchdown pass and ran for a score as Dartmouth beat Cornell, 21-3, in an Ivy League game at Hanover, N.H. Williams completed 20 of 32 passes for 203 yards and the Big Green (7-1, 4-1) piled up 419 yards to rebound from a 14-13 loss to Harvard last week in a battle for the league lead. The Big Red (0-8, 0-5) was held to 194 yards. . . .

Former Weber State player Devin Pugh filed a federal lawsuit against the NCAA alleging it violates antitrust laws by forcing players to sit out a year after transferring. Pugh says his scholarship was not renewed following the 2012 season and the NCAA denied a hardship waiver that would have allowed him to transfer and play right away for another Football Bowl Subdivision program. . . .

Montana reinstated football players Joey Counts, John Schmaing and Kendrick Van Ackeren, who were suspended being arrested Sunday on suspicion of felony burglary before pleading guilty to reduced charges of misdemeanor trespassing. They still will miss Saturday’s game at Idaho State.