DALLAS — P.J. Walker threw four touchdowns passes and ran for another score, freshman Jager Gardner had a 94-yard scoring run on Temple’s second play and the 23rd-ranked Owls beat SMU 60-40 on Friday night.
Gardner had zero yards rushing for the season when he broke through the middle of the line for the longest run in Temple history and a quick boost coming off a close high-profile loss to No. 8 Notre Dame at home.
Temple (8-1, 5-0 American Athletic) has it most points since beating Holy Cross 63-34 on Sept. 29, 1973
Walker’s final touchdown pass was a 75-yarder to Ventell Bryant the first play after Matt Davis pulled the Mustangs (1-8, 0-5) to 38-31 on a 30-yard scoring toss to Jeremiah Gaines early in the fourth quarter.
Temple went ahead for good at 21-17 when Walker found Romond Deloatch for a 16-yard touchdown strike with 24 seconds left in the first half.
Gardner got most of the carries in the first quarter because Jahad Thomas was nursing a rib injury coming off the 24-20 loss to the Irish. Gardner, who started the game with minus-1 yard and had a 1-yarder before the long run, finished with 110 yards on six carries.
Thomas, who didn’t get a carry until the second quarter, had a touchdown to give him at least one in all nine games. He finished with 15 carries for 66 yards, leaving him 30 shy of becoming Temple’s first 1,000-yard rusher since 2012.
SMU was competitive for third time in three games against ranked teams under first-year coach Chad Morris, and made things really interesting with nine quick points to get within 45-40 midway through the fourth quarter.
After Temple’s Nick Sharga was called for holding in the end zone on a punt to give the Mustangs a safety, Braeden West returned the subsequent free kick 80 yards for a touchdown, weaving between tacklers before breaking free near midfield.
The Mustangs had one chance for a go-ahead score, but linebacker Tyler Matakevich knocked down Davis’ fourth-down pass in SMU territory with 2:41 remaining.
Walker followed with a clinching 36-yard touchdown run, and Sean Chandler finished the scoring with a 41-yard interception return in the final minute.
Temple improved to 5-0 on the road for the first time in school history and beat a Texas team for the first time since topping TCU in 1939. It was the first win in the Lone Star State for the Owls since beating Texas A&M in 1935.
Walker was 18 of 25 for 268 yards without an interception in his first four-TD game since the 2013 finale against Memphis.
Davis threw for 167 yards and had 102 yards rushing, including a 2-yard touchdown. Xavier Jones ran for two scores and finished with 67 yards on 16 carries.
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