Boca Raton Bowl 2015, Temple vs. Toledo, 32-17: Full highlights, final score and more

Toledo ran away late against Temple to pick up the win in the 2015 Boca Raton Bowl

The 2015 Boca Raton Bowl was supposed to be a battle between two of the more underrated running backs in all of college football. However, Kareem Hunt struggled mightily inside a rainy FAU Football Stadium for the Toledo Rockets and Jahad Thomas struggled as well early on for the Temple Owls before ultimely having to leave the game with an injury. Subsequently, it was all left up to the quarterbacks largely and Rockets quarterback Phillip Ely was ready for the challenge.

Make no mistake, this game was quite ugly from jump street thanks to wet, sloppy conditions. Ely mishandled several snaps early in the game that he simply had to fall on and Toledo’s first points of the game came off of blowing up a read option play to notch a safety. However, Ely and Toledo scored the first touchdown of the game late in the second quarter and then never looked back.

Particularly in the second half, Ely was phenomenal as a passer. He was efficient and smart with his throws and found his receivers in spaces where they could make things happen. This led to one 80-yard touchdown pass early in the fourth quarter and then to him leading a drive capped off by a Hunt touchdown late in the final period.

The Rockets defense deserves credit well as they only allowed three field goals in this game and played the Owls beautifully once Thomas came out of the game. It was a dominant performance that played out surprisingly due to injuries and conditions. However, Temple and P.J. Walker decided to make it interesting late in the game thanks to some big throws from the quarterback (including a huge two-point conversion throw) with under three minutes left in the fourth quarter.

The Owls then tried for the onside kick to really make it interesting and, after a huge pile on the loose ball, it was called the Rockets’ ball, despite plenty of protest from Temple. Toledo was then able to get on the board again behind another Hunt touchdown and secure the win in the 2015 Boca Raton Bowl.

Three stars

Phillip Ely was the only truly consistent offensive player in this entire Boca Raton Bowl game. Despite early troubles dealing with the elements, Ely finished the day going 20-28 for 285 yards and two touchdowns.

Cody Thompson benefitted from an 80-yard touchdown catch in the fourth quarter, but emerged as a huge weapon in this game for the Rockets. Thompson finished the day with four catches for 119 yards and the score.

Kareem Hunt wasn’t the star that you would have expected him to be in this game for the Rocckets to win as handily as they did, but the junior running back salvaged his day with two exclamation point touchdowns in the fourth quarter—producing when it mattered most.

Highlights

Odds

The Owls were 2.5-point favorites coming into this game, a spread they obviously failed to cover in the loss. The two teams exploding in the fourth quarter allowed them to hit the over on the 48.5-point O/U line.