East Carolina doomed by five lost fumbles

PHILADELPHIA -- Temple had the perfect mix for its first victory over a ranked opponent in 16 years: aggressive defense, team discipline and a lot of rain.

Temple forced five fumbles yesterday and managed the game well enough offensively for a 20-10 victory over No. 23 East Carolina.

It was Temple's first win over a ranked opponent since beating then-No. 14 Virginia Tech in 1998. Temple had been 0-34 against ranked teams since beating the Hokies.

Kenny Harper scored two touchdowns for the Owls (5-3, 3-2 AAC) but the difference-makers were on defense and special teams.

Tavon Young returned a fumble 63 yards for a 7-0 lead in the first quarter.

Linebacker Tyler Matakevich led Temple with 16 solo tackles.

The Owls also blocked a field-goal try.

"They did a good job of getting in there and trying to strip the ball on every play," said Pirates running back Chris Hairston, who rushed for 153 yards but was responsible for one fumble.

The Pirates (6-2, 3-1) outgained Temple 432 yards to 135 but were stopped repeatedly by untimely penalties (12 of them for 120 yards) and turnovers.

"No, I've had tougher [losses]," Pirates coach Ruffin McNeill said. "We didn't do a lot of things well and we'll correct that."

-- AP