PHILADELPHIA, Pa. | The Norfolk State University football team surrendered 14 first-quarter points and could not recover as Temple picked up its second win of the season with a 41-9 victory over the Spartans on Saturday afternoon at Lincoln Financial Field. 

"We played a very tough opponent today in a very good stadium," Norfolk State head coach Dawson Odums said. "We are improving from week-to-week and continuing to see the growth in our team. That's all we can ask for and now we turn our attention to Towson next week." 

Temple (2-1) received the opening kickoff and marched 80-yards in 9 plays as the Owls quickly grabbed a 7-0 lead with 11:37 left in the first quarter. 

On the Owls' opening drive, E.J. Warner completed a third down pass to Zae Baines for 32 yards and four plays later, Warner found Joquez Smith for 15 yards down the left sideline for the score. 

The Owls struck again right before the end of the opening period, converting a 4th-and-play from 50 as Warner connected with Darvon Hubbard for 32 yards. Temple completed the 8-play, 70-yard drive when Quincy Patterson plunged in from the 1 as the Owls extended the advantage to 14-0 with 1:09 remaining. 

Norfolk State (1-2) went to the ground game late in the first as Xzavion Evans rushed for 22, 8 and 7 yards as the Spartans ended the quarter strong, moving the football to the Temple 45. 

NSU took more than five minutes off the clock, going 82 yards in 13 plays as Otto Kuhns completed a 2-yard touchdown pass to Aaron Moore, closing the gap to 14-7 with 10:23 remaining in the half.  

Back came Temple on its next offensive series as Smith broke free for a 51-yard touchdown run, pushing the margin to 21-7 with nine minutes left. 

After a Norfolk State punt, the Owls marched 58 yards in five plays with Hubbard scoring on a 21-yard touchdown run, extending the lead to 28-7 with 5:23 remaining. 

The Spartans moved the ball to the Temple 9 and had to settle for a 33-yard field goal attempt by Grandin Willcox. However, Willcox's kick banged off the right upright, keeping the Owls lead, 28-7 with 59 seconds left. 

The Owls moved the football by using the two-minute drill but came away empty-handed as Camden Price's 49-yard field goal attempt was short as Temple went into the break with a 28-7 advantage. 

After a punt to begin the third quarter, Temple got a 38-yard field by Price to complete an 8-play, 65-yard drive as the Owls pushed the lead to 31-7 with just over 10 minutes to play. 

Temple added to the lead, completing a 12-play, 48-yard drive, as Patterson scored on a two-yard touchdown run as the Owls stretched their advantage to 38-7 with 3:24 left in the third. 

Norfolk State put together a time-consuming drive but came away with no points as Kuhns' pass to Mohamad Nyangamukenga on fourth day was incomplete as the Spartans turned the ball over on downs at the Temple 1. 

However, two plays later, the Owls were called for holding in the endzone. As a result, the Spartans picked up a safety as Temple continued to lead, 38-9, with 12:42 remaining. 

The Owls tacked on one more score, a 36-yard field goal by Price, with just under two minutes remaining.  
 
CHECKING THE BOX SCORE 

• Norfolk State finished with 217 total yards of offense 
• The Spartans registered 16 first downs 
• Otto Kuhns went 12 of 21 passing for 110 yards and one touchdown 
• Xzavion Evans led the ground game with 59 yards on 13 carries, averaging 4.5 yards per carry 
• Evans also caught three passes for 17 yards 
• Joseph White paced the defense with eight tackles, including four solo stops and one forced fumble 
• Noah Tracey punted the ball five times for 194 yards, averaging 38.8 yards per punt 
• E.J. Warner threw for 238 yards on 14 of 22 passing, with one touchdown 
• Joquez Smith carried the ball 15 times for 142 yards, with a running and receiving touchdown 
• Amad Anderson caught five passes for 39 yards 
• D.J. Woodbury led the defense with eight total tackles, including two solo stops 

NEWS & NOTES 

• Saturday's game marked the first time Norfolk State and Temple have played 
• The Spartans failed to score on their opening drive for the first time this season 
• Norfolk State allowed an opening score on the first drive for the first time this season 
• NSU continued to seek its first Group of Five victory  
• The Spartans are 0-10 all-time against members of the Group of Five 
• Norfolk State played three quarterbacks – Otto Kuhns (started), Cameron Sapp and Ruben Lee 
• The Owls played two quarterbacks – E.J. Warner (started) and Quincy Patterson 
• NSU picked up its first, first down after Layton Jordan was called for targeting 
• Through three games, the NSU defense has forced five fumbles and two interceptions 
• The Spartans picked up a safety in the fourth quarter … the last time coming against Hampton on Oct. 17, 2009 
• Joquez Smith became the first Temple player since 2019 to have a rushing and receiving touchdown in the same game 

UP NEXT 
Norfolk State wraps up its three-game road swing next Saturday against Towson. Kickoff against the Tigers is set for 4 p.m. from Unitas Field and the game will be streamed on FloSports. 

For complete coverage of Norfolk State Athletics, please follow the Spartans on social media at @NSUSpartans (Twitter), /NorfolkStateAthletics (Facebook), @NSUAthletics (Instagram), @nsuathletics (YouTube) or visit the official home of Norfolk State Athletics at nsuspartans.com.