Behind a strong performance by QB Frank Nutile, Temple routed an FIU team that was left reeling by an injury to its starting QB in the Bad Boy Mowers Gasparilla Bowl on Thursday.
ST. PETERSBURG – The Panthers couldn’t find any sort of rhythm on offense after quarterback Alex McGough left the game on the Panthers’ opening drive with a broken collarbone as Temple downed FIU 28-3 at the Bad Boy Mowers Gasparilla Bowl at Tropicana Field.
Temple quarterback Frank Nutile was awarded the MVP award after he accounted for 280 yards and two touchdowns.
Rust appeared to be an issue for both team’s in the early goings. Nutile gave the Panthers an early shot with 8:16 on the clock after a pitch to running back Keith Kirkwood was fumbled and recovered by FIU’s Bryce Canady on the FIU 39. The momentum was short-lived as FIU’s replacement Maurice Alexander was picked off by safety Sean Chandler on the very next play.
A pair of FIU penalties — a pass interference call in the end zone and a targeting penalty — gave Temple a first-and-10 on their own 4-yard line to start the opening drive of the second quarter. Nutile put the Owls on the boar with a keeper just over three minutes into the quarter. On the Panther’s next possession, Alexander was picked off again deep in his own team’s territory, this time by Shaun Bradley. The Panthers managed just 96 yards of total offense in the first half — 24 of which were from McGough on the opening drive.
“I’m extremely proud of this football team regardless of the outcome tonight,” Panthers head coach Butch Davis said. “What these kids accomplished no one thought was remotely possible. To have the opportunity to win eight games, to qualify and get to a bowl game, was a remarkable accomplishment.”
Nothing but Nutile
Nutile would lead the Owls with a 12-play, 62-yard drive highlighted by a 39-yard completion to Adonis Jennings that was capped by a 1-yard run by David Hood in the third. The Owls would add two more scores in the fourth with a 45-yard touchdown completion from Nutile to Isaiah Wright and Ryquell Amsted finished it off with a 5-yard run.
“We’ve been through a lot,” Nutile said. “Our team’s mindset was to go out there and leave it all on the field.”
Hood finished with a game-high 76 yards. Temple redshirt junior receiver Ventell Bryant, who graduated from Jefferson High in Tampa, had one catch for seven yards. Alexander finished the game with 162 yards on 16-for-33 passing.
Former Buccaneers fullback Mike Alstott, whose Alstott Family Foundation was the official charity of the event, served as honorary chairman of the event.
“Football has been such a huge part of my life and I am thrilled to be able to continue to support the sport I love, along with the city my family and I call home,” Alstott said. “This event not only brings a lot of excitement to the teams playing in it and the city as a whole, but is also supporting the community through the Mike Alstott Family Foundation.”
