Clemson 37, Temple 7

By

Posted 8:22PM on Saturday, October 22, 2005

CLEMSON, S.C. (AP) After Clemson's 37-7 win over winless Temple, the senior quarterback went over to the freshman receiver, patted him on the shoulder and paid him a compliment the humble rookie said he will never forget. ``There will be more days like these,'' Aaron Kelly recalled Charlie Whitehurst telling him. Kelly said that's when his career day began to sink in. Kelly set a freshman record with 155 yards receiving as well as picking up his first touchdown catch. But as the praise tumbled down on him, Kelly refused to take a lot of the credit. ``I had a lot of opportunities today. Charlie got the ball to me,'' Kelly said. ``All I did was make the best of them.'' Whitehurst threw for 307 yards and two touchdowns. A couple of sacks knocked him back to just 300 yards of total offense, but that was enough to pass quarterback Woody Dantzler on Clemson's all-time total yardage list. Whitehurst now has 8,959 yards to Dantzler's 8,798 yards. Reggie Merriweather ran for 108 yards and a 21-yard touchdown for the Tigers (4-3), who gained 514 total yards. It was the Tigers' best game offensively since racking up 542 yards in a 63-17 win over South Carolina in 2003. But Clemson coach Tommy Bowden wasn't turning cartwheels afterward. ``It has been a long time since we haven't played real sharp and won by 30,'' he said. The Tiger defense held Temple (0-8) to 12 yards rushing, but allowed 319 yards through the air. Clemson nearly had its first shutout since 2000, but Mike McGann's 4-yard touchdown pass to DeMerio Hamilton with 6:08 left put the Owls on the board. Temple is now 0-3 against the Atlantic Coast Conference in its first season as an independent after being kicked out of the Big East. Owls coach Bobby Wallace thought the turning point came late in the second quarter. Temple was down 17-0. Fullback Umar Ferguson looked like he might make it to the end zone, but fumbled with 11 seconds to go in the half and Clemson recovered at its own 4. ``It was kind of ironic because 17-7 was the score at halftime when we beat Virginia Tech when they were No. 10 in the country,'' said Wallace, taking about his Owls 28-24 win over the Hokies in 1998. ``I had that same feeling. If we could have punched it in right there, we would have had a lot of momentum at halftime.'' Instead the momentum stayed with the Tigers, who averaged nearly eight yards a play. It became apparent right after the opening kick this was going to be no contest. Clemson moved the ball at will, splitting carries between Merriweather and Kyle Browning, who had a 41-yard TD catch, and letting Whitehurst make quick passes his receivers turned into big gains. Whitehurst's mistakes were the only thing that stopped them. The senior overthrew a receiver and was intercepted, underthrew another who was open for a touchdown and fumbled on a third-down play though Clemson recovered. Six of Temple's first nine runs and nine of its first 12 plays went for no gain or a loss. The Owls had a punt partially blocked. Temple's offense got better when McGann, benched at the start of the game, got back behind center in the second quarter after freshman Joe DeSanzo hurt his ribs. McGann was 23-for-38 for 298 yards. Bruce Gordon had eight catches for 120 yards and Ferguson caught six passes for 69 yards. He also was the only Owl to have positive yards rushing, running for 48 yards on 17 carries. Jad Dean had field goals of 21, 27 and 39 yards for Clemson. Backup quarterback Will Proctor threw the first touchdown pass of his Tiger career, hitting La'Donte Harris for a 16-yard score in the fourth quarter. Bowden told Wallace after the game he didn't mean to run up the score, but he wanted to get Proctor some experience, since he will likely be the Tigers starter next season. ``He needs to learn how to run this offense, not just hand it off,'' Bowden said. Before this week's game, Bowden told his team they needed to build on their 31-10 win over North Carolina State the week before. Once Saturday's game ended, Bowden wasn't sure they made the progress he hoped for. ``There were some bright spots,'' the coach said. ``But style points would have been a 65-to-nothing game.'' (Copyright 2005 by The Associated Press. All Rights Reserved.)