Â鶹ԭ´´ manhandled Temple in a 34-14 victory that featured an output of a season-high 466 yards of total offense, improving to 3-0 in conference play to remain atop The American standings, along with East Carolina.

“I thought offensively and defensively we put together the best game so far this year working as a team,” Â鶹ԭ´´ head coach George O’Leary said. “I thought they were very productive on defense and the offense was productive at making plays when they had to. It was a good win against a good football team. We have to continue to get better. This past week at practice made a big difference with the offense, putting them in pads and making sure they understood what football is about as far as the contact aspect of it. They took the challenge and brought it to the game today.”

After a week’s worth of recaps of his iconic catch from last year’s game at Temple, it was only fitting for J.J. Worton to score the first touchdown of the evening. On third-and-long, he caught a pass from quarterback Justin Holman, steadied himself and worked his way to the right sideline to take it 25 yards into the end zone.

Â鶹ԭ´´’s defense set up another scoring opportunity not long after when defensive back Jacoby Glenn stripped Temple wide receiver Jalen Fitzpatrick of the ball. Defensive back Brandon Alexander recovered the fumble to put the Knights in the red zone. Shawn Moffitt eventually converted a 23-yard field goal, and with 8:31 remaining in the first quarter, Â鶹ԭ´´ had already claimed a 10-0 lead.

Â鶹ԭ´´ had running back William Stanback to thank for its final scoring drive of the quarter. He accounted for 23 yards off six carries during an 11-play, 58-yard march down the field. He followed it through to the end zone, when he hit a wall of Temple defenders in the backfield but continued to rumble his way in for the 1-yard touchdown and give Â鶹ԭ´´ a 17-0 lead.

Temple responded in the opening minutes of the second quarter when a double-reverse pass to quarterback P.J. Walker kept the Owls’ drive alive on third-and-eight, setting them up on Â鶹ԭ´´’s 5-yard line. Walker hit Romond Deloatch with a 3-yard pass for Temple’s first touchdown, 17-7.

The Knights refused to let the Owls shift the momentum. Breshad Perriman came through, not once but twice, for Â鶹ԭ´´ on its next drive, first hauling in a 19-yard reception on third-and-14. Holman then found the receiver streaking down field for a 54-yard touchdown, much to the delight of the crammed student section waiting for him in the south end zone. With 10 minutes remaining in the half, the Knights claimed a 24-7 edge.

Temple’s special teams helped close the gap when Samuel Benjamin blocked a punt for the second time this year, scooped it up and returned it for a touchdown, 24-14.

Although another punt was blocked and Â鶹ԭ´´ nearly lost possession on an interception that was overturned, the Knights snapped out of their lull just before the halftime break. Miles Pace re-ignited some fire when he sacked P.J. Walker on third-and-11 for a much-needed stop that gave Â鶹ԭ´´ the ball back with 2:34 remaining – just enough time to tack on a few more points.

“Coach pushes us every day. Even if we’re tired, we have to keep going. It’s a bend, but don’t break defense,” Pace said. “We’re just strong. Strong up front, strong at linebackers, everyone plays their gaps, everyone fits and we just stop them in the red zone.”

Holman led the team through a hurry-up offense by utilizing his arsenal of receivers. Josh Reese, gain of 16. Rannell Hall, gain of 11. Hall again, gain of 19 into the red zone. Reese, gain of 11, first and goal. With the clock winding down, Â鶹ԭ´´ settled for another field goal from Moffitt, this time a 19-yarder for a 27-14 lead.

Much of the third quarter was played in the middle of the field until 14 seconds remaining when Stanback broke into the end zone on a 2-yard rush that punctuated a 9-play, 52-yard drive and piled on to the lead, 34-14.

The defense shined in a goal-line stand midway through the fourth quarter that saw Glenn intercept Walker’s pass on fourth down in the right corner of the end zone that ended any hope of a comeback for Temple.

“This win was very important, just because of the fact that our defense played a phenomenal game and our offense played a phenomenal game,” Alexander said. “The coaches still saw some little mistakes, but for the most part everyone had a collective game and did a great job out there. It was just a wonderful feeling that we actually can play like that. From the first quarter to the fourth quarter everything just took care of itself and everyone took care of their jobs.”

They needed a game-changer.

His 58-yard kickoff return gave new life to the Â鶹ԭ´´ offense. It sent the black-clad fans into a frenzy. It was the bass of a rally cry that proved to be exactly what the Knights needed to fuel a 31-24 comeback overtime victory on Thursday night in front of a audience.

“It got the momentum going for the offense, and just the team in general. We were able to punch it in after that,” Hall said. “I felt it from the crowd on my way to the sideline. I saw everybody jumping up. I knew we had the momentum back on our side.”

Following Hall’s return, everything started clicking back into place. Running back William Stanback found the end zone on a 2-yard run for Â鶹ԭ´´’s first touchdown since the end of the first quarter. Linebacker Terrance Plummer forced and recovered a fumble that put a halt to a BYU scoring threat in the red zone. Wide receiver Josh Reese somehow caught a spectacular 37-yard touchdown reception while falling to the ground with a defender draped all over him.

Quarterback Justin Holman connected with Stanback for the go-ahead touchdown in the extra period. The Knights’ defense came up with a goal-line stop to seal what was just the in program history.

“That was a heck of a ball game,” Â鶹ԭ´´ head coach George O’Leary said. “I thought the resiliency of the team was outstanding. When you go down 17-10, 24-10, and you come back, it shows that you have some perseverance with your team.”

Holman played admirably, completing 30-of-51 attempts for 326 yards and two touchdowns. He also rushed for a score. But it was Plummer who stole the show. The senior linebacker, whose uncle passed away a day prior, was the heartbeat of the team with 17 tackles, 1 sack, 4.5 tackles for loss, a forced fumble and the subsequent recovery.

“Last year, my closest friend died in a homicide. My uncle died yesterday. I was crying and I told my mom, `What am I going to do?'” Plummer said. “She said, `You have to play your heart out for your uncle and for your friend.’ I just went out there. I have brothers behind me, but I didn’t tell them that because I didn’t want them to worry about me. At the same time, I loved my uncle and I loved my friend, so I just wanted to go out there and play.”

Holman started 5-for-5 on the Knights’ opening drive, including a string of passes to Breshad Perriman, J.J. Worton and Jordan Akins that moved the chains on each completion.

Facing fourth-and-one on the five-yard line, Holman took it upon himself to deliver the first touchdown as he catapulted into the end zone after defensive back Jordan Johnson attempted a low tackle.

Â鶹ԭ´´’s defense forced the Cougars to go 3-and-out, and Worton’s 32-yard punt return set up the Knights in BYU territory. Holman extended his hot start to 8-of-8, helping advance his team to the 25-yard line. Kicker Shawn Moffitt then matched his season-long field goal. The 42-yarder padded the Knights’ advantage to 10-0 with 4:37 remaining in the first quarter.

The Cougars finally cracked into the red zone with 10 minutes remaining in the second quarter, but Â鶹ԭ´´’s defense ensured that they wouldn’t stay there for long. On first-and-10, quarterback Christian Stewart aired it out to the front-left pylon and Jacoby Glenn stretched out to snag his third interception of the season – a career-high – for a touchback.

BYU did manage to get on the scoreboard before the end of the half, marching the ball downfield on a 10-play drive that ate up 41 yards. Plummer prevented the Cougars from picking up a first down on third-and-3 with a tackle for loss. BYU called upon Trevor Samson to convert a 32-yard field goal with 5:12 to go, making it 10-3.

Stanback resuscitated Â鶹ԭ´´’s offense, which had stalled in the second quarter with four-consecutive three-and-out drives. His 14-yard reception gave Â鶹ԭ´´ a first down, and Hall put the Knights into scoring position at the 23-yard line with his 16-yard catch.

But BYU came up with a big stop thanks to Sione Takitaki’s sack and fumble recovery to close out the half which left Â鶹ԭ´´ with a 10-3 edge at the break.

The Cougars opened up the half with Colby Pearson’s 4-yard game-tying touchdown catch on third-and-goal, halting the Â鶹ԭ´´ defense’s streak of keeping opponents out of the end zone for nine-consecutive quarters.

BYU put Â鶹ԭ´´ on its heels by capitalizing on a misfortunate fumble on a punt return. Scott Arellano’s 27-yard punt hit a Knight’s leg, allowing Algernon Brown to recover the ball, which set up his team on Â鶹ԭ´´’s 25-yard line. Paul Lasike rushed 10 yards on BYU’s first play before Stewart connected with Devin Mahina for a touchdown, 17-10.

Things snowballed for Â鶹ԭ´´ as Holman’s first pass of the next drive was intercepted by Skye Povey. He picked up 15 yards before he was brought down and a personal foul penalty bumped up the Cougars to the 14-yard line. Once again, Stewart found Mahina for a touchdown and just like that, the Cougars held a 24-10 lead.

Enter Hall. His 58-yard return carried Â鶹ԭ´´ to BYU’s 37-yard line. Facing fourth-and-one, Holman inched his way to the 10-yard line to make it first-and-goal. He found Justin Tukes for an 8-yard reception and Stanback punched it in, 24-17, with 5:37 remaining.

The Cougars rolled into the red zone on 13 plays into the beginning of the fourth quarter, when Plummer forced a fumble and recovered the ball. Although the Knights came up short in converting the turnover to points, the stop allowed them to eventually tie the game with 10:17 remaining thanks to Reese’s steady hands. On a free play, with BYU jumping offside, Holman threw it deep to Reese, who made a spectacular catch to tie things up, 24-24.

Moffitt missed a potential game-winning 50-yard field goal that was blocked with four seconds on the clock, forcing overtime.

BYU won the coin toss for the extra period and elected to play defense first. Â鶹ԭ´´ headed toward the south end zone and its rowdy student section.

“The crowd was outstanding tonight. There is a reason we were down in the student end,” O’Leary said. “You have a choice. They won the toss, so we got to pick the end. We pointed to the student end right away. There is a noise factor down there that helps. I thought it was just a great football night.”

Holman made some magic happen as he bounced around for a 6-yard rush while picking up a facemask penalty that fast-tracked his team to the 8-yard line. Time and again, the Knights relied on Stanback as their target, and with his four-yard touchdown reception, he helped grab a 31-24 lead that forced BYU to match on its possession.

Stewart managed to pick up a first down with his completion to Mahina at the 13-yard line. But the Cougars could not tie it. Â鶹ԭ´´’s defense held strong inside the 5-yard line for the dramatic win.

Last year, Alexander preserved a five-point win with a fourth-down pass breakup in the end zone at Bright House Networks Stadium. Thursday night at John TDECU Stadium, he forced a fumble through the end zone at the 1-yard line as Houston QB Greg Ward Jr. was leaping and reaching for the end zone. That play also preserved a five-point win, 17-12.

“The quarterback broke and I just knew his intent was not to pass, it was to run,” Alexander said. “So, he just dove. When he dove, I dove. Everything happens for a reason. I just laid on the ground real quick. I saw everybody freeze … and then I just saw Clayton come out of nowhere, jacking me up, saying `Good job! Good job!’ Everybody was just celebrating. It was a wonderful feeling.”

Alexander finished the game with a team-high nine tackles, one interception and the game-saving forced fumble.

Â鶹ԭ´´ head coach George O’Leary was happy to get out of Houston with a victory in the .

“Any win’s a good win,” O’Leary said. “It’s a good first conference game.”

Offensively, a quick flurry of 10 points to open the second half ended up being just enough for the Knights.

Quarterback Justin Holman found wide receiver Breshad Perriman for a 52-yard touchdown strike to make it 14-6. Alexander picked Houston QB John O’Korn on the ensuing possession, which led to a 42-yard Shawn Moffitt field goal and Â鶹ԭ´´ led 17-6 midway through the third period.

Meanwhile, the Â鶹ԭ´´ defense bent, but did not break the entire game. The defense put together a goal-line stand, stuffing four straight plays from the 2-yard line in the first quarter. Time and again, they pushed Houston away from the end zone, forcing the Cougars to kick four field goals.

“Houston’s a good offense,” O’Leary said. “I thought, except for a couple series, the back end played very well today and tackled well.”

Kyle Bullard hit a 52-yard field goal with just over 11 minutes remaining, trimming the Cougars’ deficit to eight, 17-9. A Jaryl Mamea sack, his third of the game, pushed Houston back when they were threatening the end zone with 5 minutes left. After the sack, Bullard hit his fourth field goal of the game with 4:46 remaining. This one was from 49 yards out and left Â鶹ԭ´´ with a 17-12 edge.

Trailing 3-0, Â鶹ԭ´´ grabbed the lead after a second-quarter turnover. Clayton Geathers set his offense up at the 25-yard line after stepping in front of a O’Korn pass for his first interception of the season. Five plays later, Justin Holman found Jackie Williams for a 5-yard touchdown pass and the Knights led 7-3 with 9:27 remaining in the first half. It was Williams’ first score as a Knight. Bullard added a 42-yard field goal for Houston with less than two minutes before intermission to cut the lead to 7-6.

Bullard opened the scoring as Houston took advantage of a Â鶹ԭ´´ turnover. After the Knights lost a fumble, the defense forced a 39-yard field goal from the Cougars kicker five minutes into the first quarter. The Knights dodged a bullet late in the first quarter with a goal-line stand, stopping four straight plays from inside the 2-yard line.

Â鶹ԭ´´ has now had at least one All-American or Honorable Mention All-American (including freshmen) each season since 2007.

Blake Bortles

Terrance Plummer

Shawn Moffitt

The No. 15 Knights are back on the practice fields Tuesday to prepare for the 2014 Tostitos Fiesta Bowl against No. 6 Baylor Jan. 1 in Glendale, Ariz. Both programs sport 11-1 records and won their respective conference championships.

The awards were voted on by the league’s 10 head coaches. For a full list of awards, visit .

Â鶹ԭ´´â€™s Postseason Conference Honors

Coach of the Year: George O’Leary

Offensive Player of the Year: Blake Bortles

First Team

Second Team

Head Coach George O’Leary

With 11, Â鶹ԭ´´ tied for the most players who received all-conference accolades. The Knights also placed both of their running backs, Storm Johnson (first team) and William Stanback (second team), on the all-conference teams. It marks the first time in school history Â鶹ԭ´´ had two running backs earn all-league honors in the same season (first year in a league was in 2002 in the MAC).

The Knights had six representatives on the first team, tying the 2007 and 2012 Â鶹ԭ´´ teams for the most on a conference’s first unit.

A native of Oviedo, Bortles stands as the only Â鶹ԭ´´ signal-caller to be on a first or second team. He was on the All-Conference USA Second Team a year ago and on the C-USA All-Freshman Team in 2011.

On special teams, Orlando’s Shawn Moffitt is the first Â鶹ԭ´´ kicker to find his name on an all-league squad.

Stanback and running back Kevin Smith (2005) are the only two freshmen offensive players to earn spots on an all-league first or second team. Meanwhile, cornerback Jacoby Glenn joins fellow corner Joe Burnett (2005), defensive end Bruce Miller (2007) and corner Josh Robinson (2009) as four freshmen defensive players who have been named to an all-conference first or second team. Add in kick returner Rannell Hall in 2011 and there have been seven freshmen to receive all-league honors.

In a game that featured eight turnovers, it seems only fitting that an interception helped deliver the No. 17/19 Â鶹ԭ´´ football team’s 23-20 win over USF under Friday night’s lights in an ESPN-televised broadcast at Bright House Networks Stadium.

The Knights (10-1, 7-0) clung to a 23-20 lead as the Bulls (2-9, 2-5) marched across midfield with roughly 90 seconds remaining. On 3rd-and-6, quarterback Mike White looked down the field once again.

Â鶹ԭ´´ defensive back Jordan Ozerities couldn’t have picked a better time for his first interception of the season. He snatched the ball and kept on running deep into USF territory, locking up his team’s seventh-straight win, matching the 2002’s squad’s school-record stretch.

With the win, the Knights are one step closer to securing their first BCS bowl bid.*

“It’s a good win. I’m glad it was against USF because it will leave something to the rival games in the future,” Â鶹ԭ´´ head coach George O’Leary said. “I think this game will grow to be a great game as far as interest level for everybody from the Orlando and Tampa areas. It just doesn’t have a lot of age to it yet. Once it starts having some type of tradition to it I think it is going to be one of those games that people will talk about.”

Â鶹ԭ´´ struggled early with three turnovers on its first four possessions of the game, which allowed the Bulls to carry a 6-3 lead into the second quarter.

The Bulls hoped to make some magic happen on 4th-and-2 at Â鶹ԭ´´’s 8-yard line, but fortune decided to favor the Knights this time as USF fumbled the snap. Linebacker Justin McDonald’s recovery allowed Â鶹ԭ´´ to spend the next seven minutes cutting up 92 yards en route to its first touchdown of the game.

Bortles found Justin Tukes in the corner of the end zone for the tight end’s first touchdown of the season and a 10-6 lead with 1:22 remaining in the half.

Â鶹ԭ´´’s first-half work wasn’t done yet, thanks to a defensive effort that forced the Bulls to go three-and-out. Shawn Moffitt capped the half with a 24-yard field goal for a 13-6 advantage heading into the locker room.

The Bulls made the Knights pay for Bortles’ fumble midway through the third quarter by driving 29 yards straight into the end zone. Chris Dunkley ran 13 yards on an end around for the touchdown that tied the game at 13-13 with 5:43 to go in the third.

Rannell Hall’s 69-yard kickoff return after the score sent the lulled crowd into a frenzy. Although the Knights had to settle for a 39-yard field goal from Moffitt, it did allow them to regain the lead, 16-13, with 4:06 remaining in the third.

USF responded with a 77-yard drive that was capped by Marcus Shaw’s 1-yard rush for a touchdown not even a minute into the fourth quarter. Coupled with the PAT, USF took its largest lead of the game, 20-16.

The next 13 minutes tested the heart of every Knights’ fan watching the game. Scoreless possessions were exchanged. Bortles was intercepted with less than seven minutes remaining. USF’s kicker Marvin Kloss missed a 51-yard field goal wide right.

And then, the breakthrough came.

On first-and-10 from his own 48-yard line, Bortles zeroed in on wide receiver Breshad Perriman streaking down the left sideline. Perriman used a double move on the Bulls cornerback to get behind him.

“The safety was late and the corner had been seeing our routes all game. So, the safety didn’t get over and Blake stuck it in there,” Perriman said. “When I broke on the first route, I felt like I had him because he jumped on it hard. I’m just glad he threw it to me.”

The 52-yard reception gave Â鶹ԭ´´ a 23-20 lead with 4:46 remaining – still plenty of time for the Bulls to get one more score in before the clock ran out.

Ozerities ensured that never happened, and Â鶹ԭ´´ went on to post its first 10-win regular season in school history.

The Knights play their final game of the regular season on the road Dec. 7 at noon on ESPN against SMU.

Thursday was Bortles’ night, plain and simple. And with the junior quarterback at command under the bright lights on , there was no way Â鶹ԭ´´ was walking out of Bright House Network Stadium without another checkmark in the win column.

Bortles accounted for 367 of the No. 17/20 Â鶹ԭ´´ football team’s 452 total yards in its 41-17 win over Rutgers. As a result, he led Â鶹ԭ´´ (9-1, 6-0) to matching the program’s best record in conference play since joining a league in 2002.

“I thought it was a very good win for Â鶹ԭ´´. We dominated the first seven possessions with six scores,” Â鶹ԭ´´ head coach George O’Leary said. “I thought Bortles had an exceptional game as far as taking plays that were not there and making something out of them.”

Â鶹ԭ´´ scored early and often from the get-go.

In the game’s first series, Bortles locked in on sophomore receiver Breshad Perriman streaking toward the left side of the end zone. The two connected before Perriman was pushed out of bounds to give Â鶹ԭ´´ a 7-0 lead.

Junior defensive back Clayton Geathers’ interception at the 40-yard line in Â鶹ԭ´´ territory on Rutgers’ next possession spurred the Knights on another scoring drive. Â鶹ԭ´´ moved down field with ease, and running back Storm Johnson broke several tackles as he ate up 12 yards before diving across the end zone line for his 10th rushing touchdown of the season to make it 14-0.

In the first series of the second quarter, Â鶹ԭ´´ freshman running back William Stanback trucked over RU freshman defensive back Anthony Cioffi to pick up 20 yards and advance the Knights to the 12-yard line. Four plays later, Johnson crept one yard for another touchdown and 21-0 edge.

“It was a classic lowering your shoulder and running through the guy… It was everything you teach,” O’Leary said of Stanback’s SportsCenter No. 1 Top Play. “He’s only a freshman, but if he keeps improving fundamentally, I think he is going to be a whale of a player. I really do.”

Rutgers (5-5, 2-4) struggled through its next possession until a fake punt to fullback Michael Burton sparked some life into the Scarlet Knights. He picked up 38 yards before he was brought down just outside of the red zone.

Rutgers quarterback Gary Nova found Brandon Coleman for a big gain, setting up first-and-goal on the 1-yard line. Â鶹ԭ´´’s defense was impenetrable for the first three downs, but the Scarlet Knights came through on their second fourth down conversion of the drive to get on the board, 21-7, with 5:59 to go in the half.

Bortles responded with a 7-yard touchdown run that capped an 11-play, 79-yard drive, which included his exceptional 31-yard toss to Worton.

“I just try not to get tackled, really,” Bortles said of his scrambling skills. “I know if I break out of the pocket, our receivers are going to find somewhere and I’ll be able to get the ball to them. That’s all I try to do is just stay alive and extend the play.”

Rutgers snuck in one more touchdown before halftime after blocking Â鶹ԭ´´’s punt attempt from its own 34-yard line. Freshman receiver Andre Patton landed on the ball in the end zone to inch the gap, 28-14.

The offensive deluge lightened up in the second half as the Knights settled for a 32-yard field goal by Shawn Moffitt to increase their lead, 31-14, on their first drive after the break. It was the only scoring play for either team in the third quarter.

The Knights got some more out of their offense in the fourth quarter with a 1-yard touchdown run from Stanback and a 42-yard field goal from Moffitt. Meanwhile, Rutgers could only manage a 35-yard field goal with 33 seconds remaining to rest the score at 41-17.

Â鶹ԭ´´ plays its final home game of the season against rival USF at 8 p.m. on Nov. 29 on ESPN. If Cincinnati loses its matchup at Houston this Saturday, and Â鶹ԭ´´ goes on to win against the Bulls, the Knights would clinch at least a share of the American Athletic Conference title.

The Knights trailed 36-29 with 2:04 remaining in the contest. But the Knights engineered a game-tying drive, going 70 yards in just four plays. The touchdown came on a 30-yard pass to J.J. Worton from Blake Bortles. Worton has made some huge, tough catches in his career. But this one-handed grab with full extension in the back of the end zone almost defied words.

“Honestly it’s a blur right now to me,” Worton said after the game. “Everyone is talking about it. I’ll have to see if on film to remember it. I remember I caught it and after that everyone else was yelling and crazy. All glory to God right now. I couldn’t be more happy with the team right now. It’s a great day for Â鶹ԭ´´.”

But that play only tied the game.

Temple got the ball back with 60 seconds remaining and moved out toward midfield. But a pair of sacks ended the Owls’ possession and the punted to Â鶹ԭ´´. The Knights had it at their own 30-yard line with 19 seconds remaining and it looked like overtime was a certainty. But Bortles and Rannell Hall had other ideas. Bortles hit Hall for a 64-yard catch and run down to the Temple 6-yard line. The Knights, without any time outs remaining, had to sprint downfield and spike the ball to stop the clock and bring on Shawn Moffitt for the potential game-winning field goal.

“We got the ball back with another opportunity and Speedy (Hall) was the guy,” Bortles said. “It was just taking advantage of our opportunities.

Moffitt took the field with two seconds remaining and calmly drilled the kick as time expired, giving Â鶹ԭ´´ the three-point victory.

“I’ve never had one before,” Moffitt said of his game-winning field goal. “I’m glad I got the opportunity. My holder, my snapper … I love them. They all picked me up afterward. It was just a great feeling.”

Head coach George O’Leary said victories don’t usually happen like that. But he and the Knights are certainly thankful for the win.

“I told the players when they go to church tomorrow, make sure they’re in the front pew,” O’Leary said. “Somebody’s looking out for them. That’s why you never, never give up. That’s the resiliency of the team. It worked out well. It’s a good win. It’s not the prettiest of wins. But we made some big-time plays at the end of that game.”

Bortles completed 27 of his 38 pass attempts for a career-best 404 yards and four touchdowns. It was the 10th-best passing day in Â鶹ԭ´´ history. Worton recorded 179 receiving yards and three touchdowns, both career-best marks. Hall had a career-best 159 yards receiving, as well. Storm Johnson rushed for 122 yards to lead the ground game. Â鶹ԭ´´ rolled up 657 yards of offense, while Temple piled up 518 yards of its own.

The Knights led 29-28 on Worton’s second TD reception of the day. But Temple wouldn’t go away. Owls’ quarterback P.J. Walker engineered an eight-play, 80-yard drive, capped by a 7-yard toss to Chris Parthemore. Another Walker-to-Parthemore connection on the 2-point conversion put the Owls up 36-29.

Walker passed for 382 yards and four touchdowns, completing 26-of-44 attempts with one interception to lead Temple’s offensive output.

Â鶹ԭ´´ opened the scoring with a safety. Punter Caleb Houston pinned Temple at its own 1-yard line. Two plays later, Troy Gray stuffed Zaire Williams in the end zone to give the Knights a 2-0 lead midway through the first quarter. Â鶹ԭ´´ went up 5-0 on a Shawn Moffitt 20-yard field goal three minutes later.

Temple took the lead 7-5 early in the second quarter when running back Jamie Gilmore hauled in a 32-yard pass from quarterback Walker. Â鶹ԭ´´ quickly regained the advantage as William Stanback took a screen pass from Bortles 49 yards to make it 12-7. Walker rushed three yards for a score with 6:15 left in the first half to put the Owls on back on top 14-12. Storm Johnson and the Knights answered quickly. Johnson went 73 yards around the left end to give the Knights a first-and-goal at the Temple 8-yard line. Three plays and a holding penalty later, Bortles found Worton for a 4-yard TD pass to put Â鶹ԭ´´ back on top 19-14.

But the wild second quarter wasn’t over yet. Walker and Robby Anderson responded almost as quickly for Temple with a 30-yard touchdown pass, putting Temple back in front 21-19. Â鶹ԭ´´ capped the back-and-forth first half with a 35-yard field goal off the foot of Moffitt to take a 22-21 advantage into the halftime intermission.

Walker hit Anderson for a 75-yard touchdown late in the third quarter, putting Temple on top 28-22. The drive went 99 yards in five plays, after Â鶹ԭ´´ failed to score on a fourth-and-goal at the Temple 1-yard line on its previous possession. The Owls took that six-point lead into the fourth quarter.

Trailing 28-22 more than halfway through the fourth quarter, Bortles led an 84-yard scoring drive. He capped the drive with a 38-yard toss to Worton. Moffitt’s PAT put Â鶹ԭ´´ on top 29-28 with 6:15 remaining, setting up the wild finish.

It was the first American Athletic Conference game at Bright House Networks Stadium, and the Knights (6-1, 3-0 The American) did not disappoint, registering 45 points in the opening half, scoring on their first nine possessions and finishing with 527 total yards of offense. The 2013 team became just the second ever at Â鶹ԭ´´ (1988) to score at least 20 points in its first seven outings.

The 62 points for the Knights against the Huskies (0-7, 0-3) were the eighth most in Â鶹ԭ´´ history. The Knights, who entered the top 25 following last Friday’s thrilling 38-35 win at No. 8/6 Louisville, forced four turnovers and limited the Huskies to only 91 yards on the ground.

“I challenged the kids all week to stay hungry and get after the game,” Â鶹ԭ´´ head coach George O’Leary said. “I thought we went out there and did a really good job in the first half. We were productive on offense and on defense. I challenged them to think of it as six championship games. Today was one, now you have five left. Each week, you have to treat it like a championship game.”

In less than three quarters of work, Blake Bortles set a career-high with four touchdown passes, the most in a game since Ryan Schneider had four vs. Ohio Nov. 30, 2002. Bortles completed his day 20-of-24 for 286 yards with four touchdowns. Â鶹ԭ´´ alum and current Chicago Bears star Brandon Marshall was in attendance and watched Bortles throw a pair of scoring tosses to Jeff Godfrey, who also added a late touchdown reception to become the first Knight since Marshall in 2005 to score three times in a game via the air.

“Blake did a great job finding me and the o-line did a great job blocking,” Godfrey said. “I am getting better every day in practice, just going out there and getting open and making plays for the team.”

Receiving the kickoff for the 13th straight game, Â鶹ԭ´´ immediately marched down the field with a 7-play, 60-yard drive thanks to five methodical rushes and one completion. The Knights capped it off when Storm Johnson bounced off a pair of would-be tacklers to get to the outside and easily jogged into the endzone from 10 yards out for a 7-0 lead.

Little did anyone know what was about to happen the rest of the first half.

UConn tried to answer on its first drive, highlighted by a 57-yard rush from Lyle McCombs, which was the longest Â鶹ԭ´´ had given up all season. That set up a 40-yard field goal by Chad Christen. But not backing down, the Knights used a long play of their own with a 50-yard strike from Bortles to Breshad Perriman to return to the redzone. Three players later, Bortles escaped pressure in the backfield and scampered his way to a 10-yard touchdown run and a 14-3 lead early in the first quarter.

“We were definitely in sync as a unit and we moved the ball down the field and executed,” Bortles said. “I think as a unit, we were feeling (great) and we were able to execute what we were doing.”

The Huskies defense had little time to rest after Â鶹ԭ´´ forced a 3-and-out. Following a 26-yard punt return by J.J. Worton, the offense again had little trouble padding to its lead. Ultimately on 3rd-and-goal from the 7-yard line, Bortles saw a blitz coming from the left side, spun away and hit an open Johnson running toward the endzone for a 21-3 cushion with 13 seconds remaining in the first quarter.

Â鶹ԭ´´ looked to be in control until a UConn punt bounced off a Knight and the Huskies were able to recover on the Â鶹ԭ´´-24. The visitors converted the turnover into points by way of a McCombs 9-yard touchdown run.

Now holding a 21-10 advantage in the second quarter, the Black and Gold once again got on the scoreboard, this time on a career-long 50-yard field goal by Shawn Moffitt. The momentum stayed with the Knights as Terrance Plummer continued his impressive season on the ensuing UConn possession, stripping quarterback Tim Boyle on 3rd-and-9 as he was about to send the ball downfield. With the ball destined to hit the ground, Troy Gray came flying in for a diving interception.

Taking over at the UConn-31 with the pick, Â鶹ԭ´´ needed just three plays to bring it to 31-10 as receiver Rannell Hall notched his first rushing touchdown of his career on a 17-yard burst with 4:17 to play in the half. A little more than three minutes later, Bortles went 4-for-4 for 44 yards during his drive and found a wide open Godfrey in the left corner of the endzone, bolstering the lead to 38-10.

Â鶹ԭ´´ finally put an end to the first half, taking a Sean Maag interception and turning it into another seven points with the second Bortles-to-Godfrey connection, a 9-yard strike for the 45-10 halftime mark. Bortles wrapped up the opening stanza by going 19-for-23 with 225 yards, three touchdown passes and a touchdown run as Â鶹ԭ´´ amassed its most points in any half since 50 in the first half against Akron Nov. 3, 2001.

“I thought we needed to get out there and score early, just so you don’t give them any breath of fresh air,” O’Leary said. “We did what we needed to do on the first drive, we took it down and scored and were very efficient.”

Not wanting to let up on the gas, the Knights’ first offensive possession of the second half provided the home fans even more to cheer about when Worton snagged a pass from Bortles, broke two tackles on the 50 and sprinted home for his longest reception of his career, a 61-yard touchdown to bring it to 52-10.

“We are trying to keep our foot on the gas pedal,” Godfrey said. “I think we did a great job, coming back home, putting on a great show for the fans.”

After UConn’s third turnover which saw Michael Easton pop the ball loose out of McCombs’ arms and Maag recover, true freshman Justin Holman entered his second career game as the Â鶹ԭ´´ quarterback. He promptly led it on a drive where Moffitt closed it out on a 35-yard field goal. That moved the junior to a perfect 9-for-9 on the season.

“It is not just me, it is really the whole defense,” Maag said of the takeaways. “Every week, we are trying to get at least four turnovers as a defense.”

The Knights would utilize the situation to bring in several more players off the bench, giving them much-needed playing time since Â鶹ԭ´´’s last four games were decided by seven points or less. And the defense would be tested in the third as the Huskies began a drive on their own 20 only to reach the Â鶹ԭ´´-2. Following a false start, UConn went for it on fourth down and Casey Cochran’s pass fell incomplete to keep it at 55-10.

However the Huskies attempted another drive on the young defense now in the game, and this time succeeded on a 46-yard touchdown pass from Cochran to Brian Lemelle with 10:11 remaining in the game. Holman found Godfrey for a 5-yard scoring strike with 2:50 left in the contest.

Riding a three-game winning streak, Â鶹ԭ´´ now enters its third and final bye week of the season before it hosts Houston Saturday, Nov. 9, to cap off Homecoming week. Game time is slated to be announced on Monday. Tickets are available by calling 407-Â鶹ԭ´´-1000 or by visiting Â鶹ԭ´´Knights.com

Â鶹ԭ´´ led 34-24 late in the game. But with under four minutes remaining, a special teams miscue set up Penn State (2-1) for a possible comeback. A snap over punter Caleb Houston’s head led to a loss of 18 yards after Houston picked up the ball and got a short kick off. Three plays later, Penn State quarterback Christian Hackenberg found wide receiver Allen Robinson in the end zone for a touchdown to make it 34-31, as close as Penn State had been since the first quarter.

The Nittany Lions elected to kick off deep and Â鶹ԭ´´ took over at its own 25-yard line after a touchback with 2:51 remaining. A 13-yard pass from quarterback Blake Bortles to receiver J.J. Worton gave Â鶹ԭ´´ a first down and created just enough of a cushion for the Knights to run out the clock. On fourth down with two seconds remaining, Bortles took the snap, ran back 14 yards, dropped to the turf and ignited a celebration on the Â鶹ԭ´´ sideline.

“I knew we’d be all right,” Bortles said of his mindset as the team took the field with an opportunity to run the clock out and seal the victory. “They hadn’t stopped us all night.”

“Give credit to our players,” Â鶹ԭ´´ head coach George O’Leary said. “We came to win a game and we got a great win. They’re celebrating right now. I told them before the game, they’ll feel either great joy or great sadness and they’re feeling great joy right now.”

Â鶹ԭ´´ racked up 507 yards of offense in the contest. Bortles and Johnson led the way on offense. Bortles completed 20-of-27 passes for 288 yards and three scores, with one interception.

Â鶹ԭ´´ entered the contest 0-7 against current Big Ten programs. The Knights are now 3-0 for the first time since 1988.

Johnson rushed for 117 yards and one TD, while also finding the end zone on a reception. J.J. Worton pulled in seven receptions for 101 yards, as well.

“We had a good plan and we executed it,” Bortles said. “We blocked up front, the receivers ran good routes and I just had to distribute the ball to the right places.”

Defensively, Terrance Plummer tallied 11 tackles and forced a huge fumble in the fourth quarter. Plummer’s forced fumble came with 5:43 remaining in the game against Penn State running back Zach Zwinak. The fumble was recovered by Sean Maag at the Â鶹ԭ´´ 27 to thwart a Penn State scoring threat.

“I got to the running back and as I brought him down, I just tried to strike at the ball,” Plummer said of his big forced fumble. “I didn’t know we got it until everyone was cheering. It was a good moment.”

“I thought when we got that fumble recovery, it was going to be a difference-maker,” O’Leary said. “But Penn State bowed up. It’s nice to get a big win like that going into a bye week. I’m just happy for the Â鶹ԭ´´, for the program, the fan base and the people that were up here. We had a good crowd up here from Â鶹ԭ´´.”

To open the contest, Â鶹ԭ´´ ran nearly seven minutes off the clock and traveled 89 yards in 13 plays. The drive was keyed by a huge 3rd-and-9 completion from Bortles to Godfrey. Three plays later, Bortles found Johnson in the right flat for a 4-yard touchdown, putting the Knights up 7-0. The Nittany Lions answered on the ensuing possession. A 44-yard strike from Hackenberg to Robinson keyed the drive, which was capped by a 4-yard plunge from Zach Zwinak to tie it at 7-7.

Johnson put together the longest run of his Â鶹ԭ´´ career to put the Knights on top 14-7. He busted off a 58-yard scamper around right end, stiff-arming a defender in the final 10 yards and tight-roping the sideline before reaching paydirt. The Knights went on top 21-7 on a 5-yard, diving, foot-dragging catch in the back corner of the end zone by Worton. Jeff Godfrey put the Knights in position to score with a 49-yard run on the second play of the possession. Penn State added a 47-yard field goal late in the second to leave Â鶹ԭ´´ with a 21-10 lead at the intermission.

The third quarter was like a prize fight, as the Knights and Nittany Lions traded blows. Â鶹ԭ´´ extended its lead to 28-10 early in the third quarter. First, Bortles hit Worton for 44 yards down the middle of the field. He then found Josh Reese on the sideline for a 25-yard scoring strike. Penn State answered just four plays later. A 46-yard Hackenberg-to-Robinson pass set up a 9-yard Zwinak scoring run, pulling the Nittany Lions back within 11 points, 28-17.

Shawn Moffitt then added a 31-yard field goal with 2:30 left in the third to put the Knights up 31-17. Penn State pulled within seven, as close as it had been since the second quarter, when Zwinak scored his third TD of the game from one yard out. The score capped a seven-play, 81-yard drive for the Nittany Lions and made it 31-24 with 13:35 remaining in the contest.

Â鶹ԭ´´ answered that score when Moffitt added another field goal – this one from 36 yards out – with 8:10 left in the contest, putting Â鶹ԭ´´ on top 34-24, setting the stage for the wild finish.