On a cloudy crisp afternoon in Greenville. The sky was the only thing that was cloudy for the Pirates as they dominated Temple 45-3. The Pirates attack was headlined by a combination of familiar faces as well as some new comers. Keaton Mitchell had 146-yards on the ground and two scores to bring his season total to seven. Oklahoma transfer tight end Ryan Jones caught six balls for 102-yards and found the end zone twice. Coming into the game he had two scores on the year in total, and no more than 58-yards in a given week.
The teams traded punts early, but on their third possession of the game the Pirates drew first blood, when Holton Ahlers hit Ryan Jones for a 33-yard score. This was the beginning of a 21-point quarter for the Pirates. The highlight of the quarter was Temple’s kicker Rory Bell missing two kicks wide left, and the Pirates led 21-0 at the break.
In the second half the Pirates picked up right where they left off. After Tyler Snead took the 2nd half opening kickoff to the 43, Keaton Mitchell went 57-yards on the first play of the drive to give the Pirates a 28-0 lead. Bell did get another shot at a field goal late in the game and he connected from 46-yards for the lone score of the game for the Owls.
With this victory the Pirates are now 5-4 (3-2) and are one win away from their first Bowl game since the 2014 season. Coming up the Pirates have Memphis and NAVY on the road followed by number 2 in the AP pole Cincinnati at home. But if you ask coach Houston the only game that matters is the next one. That means a 5-4 Memphis team that is coming off a 28-25 Victory at number 24 SMU. That wasn’t the only big win of the season for the Tigers as they have beaten Mississippi State. They have had some downs such as losing to Temple and Tulsa. The Pirates have won five of their last seven and look to keep it going Saturday at noon in Memphis.