Temple 17, USF 13: Bulls Win the Yardage Battle, Lose the Gut Punch at Ray Jay

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Ray Jay gets the wrong kind of drama

More yards. More first downs. Still walking out with the loss. USF’s 17-13 defeat against Temple at Raymond James Stadium on October 3 was the kind of afternoon that makes a box score feel like an argument you cannot win.

The Bulls produced 319 total yards to Temple’s 274 and collected 17 first downs to the Owls’ 15. They also led in the fourth quarter. None of that changed the final answer after Ajani Sheppard’s 34-yard touchdown run with 3:08 remaining put Temple ahead for good.

For Tampa Bay, that’s the aggravating part: this wasn’t a game where USF needed to become something entirely different to compete. The Bulls were right there. But “right there” and 13 points make a lousy consolation prize. The ESPN game page lays out the numbers behind a very winnable-looking loss.

How it happened

N. Gramatica opened the scoring with a 35-yard field goal at 9:06 of the first quarter. USF carried that 3-0 advantage into the second, but Temple supplied all 10 points in that period.

C. Hardin’s 34-yard field goal at 14:16 tied it. Then Sheppard connected with J. Bermudez for a 24-yard touchdown with 2:00 remaining before halftime. Hardin’s extra point made it 10-3, leaving the Bulls with a second quarter that produced nothing on the scoreboard.

USF answered after the break. D.J. Crowther’s 1-yard touchdown run at 8:33 of the third quarter, followed by Gramatica’s extra point, brought it back to 10-10. Temple scored no points in the third. The game was back on level terms, with the Bulls having erased the halftime deficit.

Then Gramatica hit from 49 yards at 12:51 of the fourth. USF led 13-10. A longer kick, a narrow lead, and a chance to make that third-quarter response mean something lasting. Instead, Temple delivered the final scoring play.

The numbers that make this sting

USF’s statistical advantages were real. So was the difference in how these offenses moved the ball. Michael Van Buren Jr. finished 17-of-32 for 205 yards, while Temple needed only 92 passing yards from Sheppard to get its 17 points.

The full ESPN statistical breakdown gives this one its uncomfortable shape:

USF converted 7 of 15 third downs; Temple converted 5 of 12.
Temple rushed for 182 yards on 36 attempts, averaging 5.1 yards per carry.
USF rushed for 114 yards on 34 attempts, averaging 3.4 yards per carry.
The Bulls went 1-for-2 on fourth down; Temple had no fourth-down attempts.

That rushing comparison matters more than the prettier total-yardage column. The teams had similar rushing workloads, but Temple got considerably more movement from its carries. USF’s passing output helped build its yardage advantage; the ground game never matched Temple’s efficiency.

Crowther carried 23 times for 68 yards and supplied the Bulls’ lone touchdown. Cameron Seldon added 53 receiving yards on three catches. There was production to work with. There just weren’t enough points attached to it.

Player of the night, play of the night

Hometown pride does not require pretending the other quarterback didn’t decide the thing. Sheppard finished 9-of-14 for 92 yards and a passing touchdown, plus 87 rushing yards and a touchdown on 14 carries. His arm accounted for Temple’s second-quarter touchdown. His legs accounted for the fourth-quarter winner.

That 34-yard run at 3:08 was the turning point. With Temple trailing 13-10, Sheppard turned a field-goal deficit into a touchdown lead; Hardin’s kick completed the 17-13 final margin. USF had put together consecutive scoring quarters to reclaim control of the scoreboard. One scoring run flipped it back.

Elsewhere, Grayson Howard recorded nine tackles and Asani Redwood had one sack for USF. Temple’s Curly Ordonez posted 10 tackles, and Jaylon Joseph recorded one sack. Those individual contributions belong in the recap, but Sheppard owns the headline performance.

What it means for the Bulls

No need to manufacture a season-defining verdict from a 17-13 result. The narrower takeaway is plenty frustrating: USF gained more yardage, converted third downs more successfully and still did not turn those advantages into enough scoring.

That’s the conversation for more USF coverage at Pinellas Podcast: acknowledge the response from 10-3 down without dressing up the ending. The Bulls fought back. Temple finished the scoring. Both things are true.

What's next: USF turns toward its next matchup; check the official schedule for upcoming opponents and kickoff information.