Temple 49, Western Michigan 17

OWLS ROLL TO 49-17 VICTORY
PALMER'S RUNNING RIPS W. MICHIGAN
Sep 14, 1986
By Chuck Newman, Inquirer Staff Writer
KALAMAZOO, Mich. _ Midway through the first quarter of yesterday's Temple- Western Michigan football game, a passenger train passed alongside Waldo Stadium and sounded its shrill whistle.
However, the warning blast was too late for Western Michigan , which already trailed 14-0 en route to a 49-17 shellacking.
The Owls' easy victory was a morale-booster in the wake of their opening- game pounding at Penn State. The Broncos' two touchdowns came against Temple's deep subs in the second half.
Temple quarterback Lee Saltz ran his career passing yardage to 3,957, bettering the school mark of 3,913, set by Doug Shobert (1970-72).
But it was Paul Palmer who provided the bulk of the offense, collecting 175 yards in 20 carries before retiring from the game late in the third period.
Palmer may not be one of the leading Heisman Trophy candidates, but it's unlikely that any of his competitors will get to 100 yards as quickly in one game as he did yesterday.
Palmer had 100 yards after his first four carries, getting there with 7 minutes, 30 seconds left in the first period on a 34-yard touchdown run up the
gut on a draw play.
The 5-foot, 9-inch, 180-pound senior enjoyed a 149-yard first half, but coach Bruce Arians was not about to let him try to run up 300 yards at the expense of embarrassing the Broncos (0-2) - especially after Palmer's cranky hip acted up.
"I did think he could have a very big day," Arians said. "But it wouldn't have been fair to Western Michigan or to Paul."
"When we looked at the films (before the game), we thought we could pretty well do what we wanted to do against them," Palmer said. "I mean, if we executed correctly."
The Owls, for the most part, executed meticulously both on offense and defense.
Saltz completed 8 of 12 passes for 111 yards, including a 20-yard touchdown pass to Stan Palys.
Palmer had TD runs of 55, 34 and 3 yards - it was the fourth three-TD day of his career - and was helped by a big blocking effort by fullback Shelley Poole.
"Shelley was destroying people," Arians said.
Palmer, who went into the day leading the NCAA in all-purpose yards after gaining 268 against Penn State, yesterday racked up 203 more, including 28 on a kickoff return, raising his total to 471.
"I think it was a normal Paul Palmer day," Arians said. "He really didn't do anything that I haven't seen before."
The Temple defense was not to be denied, either. The Owls harassed Western Michigan quarterback Chris Conklin into a miserable day, sacking him four times. Conklin was 10 for 21 for 174 yards, but 156 of those came in the second half, when the Owls substituted liberally. Temple also held the Broncos to 107 yards on the ground.
"They really came after us, and we have to do a better job of protecting," Western Michigan coach Jack Harbaugh said. "Temple has a lot of great players."
The only Temple negative was a sprained knee suffered by starting defensive tackle Mike Swanson, who is expected to be out for at least three weeks.
"We did what we came here to do," Arians said. "We wanted to win and win decisively. We wanted to have some fun, and we did that. Now we have a chance for a special season."
After being staggered by a 43-yard return of their opening kickoff, the Owls yielded a first down that put Western Michigan at the Temple 43-yard line. However, the Owls then got a break when a delay-of-game penalty wiped out a 7-yard gain by the Broncos.
The call killed the drive and the Broncos.
Temple needed only two plays to go ahead after Western Michigan punted.
Saltz, faking a handoff to Palmer, found Willie Marshall racing up the right sideline and hit him for a 38-yard gain. The play would have gone all the way had not Broncos safety Willer Berrios lassoed Marshall by the shirttail.
No matter. On the next play, Palmer swept left, got a wipeout block from Poole and hip-faked safety Denny Robinson. Fifty-five yards later, the score was 6-0. It became 7-0 when Bill Wright kicked the extra point.
Temple's next possession lasted only five plays. Palmer started it with a 2-yard gain and ended it with his 34-yard scoring run.
The Owls didn't score again until Palmer went in from 3 yards out with 17 seconds remaining until intermission. The touchdown capped a 7-yard, two-play mini-drive that was spawned when freshman Loranzo Square recovered a muffed fumble.
But things got worse for Western Michigan before it could reach the safety of the locker room. Temple defensive back Terry Wright picked off a desperation throw by Conklin at the Broncos' 20 and made it to the end zone after what seemed like an impossible journey through a maze of potential tacklers up a narrow alley along the right sideline.
The Owls made the score 35-0 on an 80-yard drive meticulously engineered by Saltz at the outset of the second half, and Western Michigan didn't end the shutout until John Creek kicked a 34-yard field goal with 6:28 left in the third period.