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Philadelhpia • Gary Nova threw four touchdown passes in the second half to lead No. 19 Rutgers to a 35-10 comeback victory over Temple on Saturday.
Jawan Jamison had 114 yards rushing and 81 receiving, Nova threw for 232 yards, and the Scarlet Knights (7-0, 4-0 Big East) rallied from a 10-0 halftime deficit in their first game against Temple (3-3, 2-1) since the Owls were kicked out of the conference in 2004.
Rutgers, which was held to just 110 yards over the first 30 minutes, was unstoppable in the second half. The Scarlet Knights scored on their first four possessions and racked up 271 yards.
Nova connected with Tim Wright on a 32-yard TD pass to cap a 75-yard drive and cut Temple's lead to 10-7.
Jamison then caught a short pass over the middle, broke a tackle, juked a defender and ran into the end zone for a 32-yard TD catch that gave Rutgers a 14-10 edge.
Nova completed a pair of third-down passes to keep the 89-yard drive going — a 15-yarder to Wright and a 23-yarder to Mark Harrison.
Logan Ryan intercepted Chris Coyer's pass on Temple's ensuing possession and returned it 17 yards to the Owls 49. That set up Nova's 5-yard TD pass to Harrison that put Rutgers up 21-10.
Nova rolled to his right and threw back across his body to Harrison, who slid across the end zone to make the catch.
After Leonte Carroo blocked a punt to give Rutgers the ball at Temple's 26, Nova hit D.C. Jefferson on a 10-yard TD pass for a 28-10 lead.
Then Rutgers' defense joined in. Khaseem Green returned a fumble 20 yards for a TD that made it 35-10.
The Scarlet Knights are 7-0 for the second time in six seasons — and the fifth time since being credited with playing the first college football game 143 years ago.
The Owls were bidding for their first upset of a top 25 team since 1998. —