Maryland 38, Temple 7

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Posted 9:22PM on Saturday, October 8, 2005

PHILADELPHIA (AP) Mario Merrills ran for three touchdowns, leading Maryland to a 38-7 victory over winless Temple on Saturday. Sam Hollenbach passed for 228 yards and ran for a score as the Terrapins (4-2) overcame a sluggish start and handed Temple (0-6) its fifth loss of more than 25 points. Umar Ferguson scored Temple's only touchdown. The Owls, who joined the Mid-American Conference for the 2007 season, haven't made a positive impression on their new league. Temple has been outscored 297-63 in its first season since being kicked out of the Big East Conference. It won't get easier for the Owls, who host No. 9 Miami next week. Maryland hardly started out like the same team that beat then-No. 19 Virginia 45-33 last week. The Terrapins trailed 7-3 after the first quarter; turned the ball over on downs once; lost one fumble; and had an interception in the end zone one play after a touchdown was nullified by a holding penalty. But Maryland ran off 35 straight points, starting with Merrills' 6-yard TD run in the second quarter. Merrills scored from the 1 to make it 17-7 right before halftime, and ran in from the 2 on the Terrapins' first possession in the third quarter for a 24-7 lead. Hollenbach scored on a quarterback sneak to put Maryland ahead 31-7. Merrills, seeking his fourth TD run, was stopped at the 1 for no gain on the previous play. Bruce Perry, a member of the Philadelphia Eagles' practice squad, was the last Maryland player to run for three TDs, doing it against Wake Forest in November 2003. Maryland's Dan Ennis missed a 38-yard field-goal attempt in the third quarter, snapping his string of 11 straight successful kicks. After Antwon Burton recovered a fumble by wideout Danny Melendez at Maryland's 38, Owls quarterback Mike McGann needed eight plays to lead Temple into the end zone. Ferguson's score came two plays after McGann connected with Jamel Harris on a 23-yard pass and a roughing-the-passer penalty put the ball at the 6. (Copyright 2005 by The Associated Press. All Rights Reserved.)