No. 22 Temple still unbeaten after P.J. Walker-led rally topples East Carolina

Temple’s first appearance in the top 25 since 1979 will last a little longer after the No. 22 Owls rallied for a 24-14 victory over East Carolina on Thursday night at Greenville, N.C.

Temple (7-0, 4-0 American Athletic Conference) scored twice in the last 3:31, P.J. Walker and Robby Anderson hooking up on a 23-yard touchdown pass and Jahad Thomas scoring on a 14-yard touchdown run.

Walker completed 19 of 35 passes for 250 yards.

Thomas ran for two touchdowns, the last sealing the outcome with 2:18 to play. The conference’s leading rusher ran for 66 yards, 60 fewer than his average.

For East Carolina (4-2, 2-2), Blake Kemp completed 31 of 48 for 272 yards and a touchdown.

A Temple team that cracked the national rankings for the first time in 36 years on the strength of its defense and ground game needed Walker’s arm to win this game.

The Owls had gained 82 total yards while going scoreless on their first five possessions of the second half before the passing game got hot just in time.

Walker hit Anderson over the middle for 51 yards to the East Carolina 34 with about 5 1/2minutes to play. Five plays later, they hooked up again, with Anderson slipping past a defender between the hash marks on his way across the goal line with 3:31 remaining.

After Temple forced a three-and-out, Sharif Finch blocked Worth Gregory’s punt at the East Carolina 15. Two plays later, Thomas scored his second touchdown.

The Owls forced two second-half turnovers and blocked two punts while occasionally sloppy East Carolina finished with nine penalties for 99 yards and lost to Temple for the second consecutive year. Last year, the Pirates had five turnovers in a 20-10 loss in Philadelphia that knocked them from the top 25.

BYU’s Takitaki suspended

BYU starting linebacker Sione Takitaki has been suspended for the remainder of the season for an undisclosed violation of team rules, Coach Bronco Mendenhall announced.

Takitaki, a sophomore from Fontana, pleaded guilty Oct. 13 to misdemeanor theft as part of a plea deal stemming from an incident in which he was accused of stealing athletic wear from the women’s soccer and track teams last summer.

He was suspended for BYU’s season opener against Nebraska after he was charged.

Etc.

Taylor Lamb passed for two touchdowns, Marcus Cox ran for two and Appalachian State rolled to a 31-13 victory over Georgia Southern in a Sun Belt Conference showdown at Boone, N.C.

Appalachian State (6-1, 3-0) has won five in a row since losing at Clemson last month. Georgia Southern (5-2, 3-1) had a five-game winning streak ended.