Sheppard's late TD run pushes Temple past previously unbeaten South Florida, 17-13

Oct 4, 2026


TAMPA, Fla. (AP) — Quarterback Ajani Sheppard broke loose on a 34-yard touchdown run with 3:08 remaining to help Temple knock off previously unbeaten South Florida 17-13 on Saturday night.

Sheppard's TD run capped a 10-play, 96-yard drive that chewed 5:24 off the clock. South Florida then had two possessions, but couldn't convert on fourth-and-8 near midfield and then fumbled the ball at its own 38 to end it.

Sheppard carried the ball 14 times for 87 yards and completed 9 of 14 passes for 92 yards. His 24-yard touchdown pass to JoJo Bermudez in the second quarter helped give Temple (2-3, 1-1 American Conference) a 10-3 lead at the break.

Michael Van Buren Jr. was 17-of-32 passing for 205 yards for South Florida (4-1, 1-1). D.J. Crowther had a short-yardage touchdown run and finished with 68 yards rushing for the Bulls. Nico Gramatica made field goals from 35 and 49 yards but missed a 52-yard attempt in the second quarter.

Temple: Hosts Connecticut on Saturday.

South Florida: At UTSA on Thursday.

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CFB 2026 Leaders

CFB 2026 Rankings

CFB 2026 Standings

SoutheasternWLPCT
1
5
0
1.000
2
5
0
1.000
3
4
0
1.000
4
4
1
.800
5
4
1
.800
6
4
1
.800
7
3
1
.750
8
4
1
.800
9
4
1
.800
10
4
1
.800
11
3
2
.600
12
3
2
.600
13
2
2
.500
14
3
2
.600
15
2
3
.400
16
2
3
.400
Pac-12WLPCT
1
4
1
.800
2
4
1
.800
3
3
2
.600
4
2
3
.400
5
2
3
.400
6
2
3
.400
7
1
4
.200
8
1
4
.200
Mid-AmericanWLPCT
1
3
3
.500
2
4
1
.800
3
3
2
.600
4
3
2
.600
5
3
2
.600
6
1
4
.200
7
4
1
.800
8
2
3
.400
9
2
3
.400
10
2
3
.400
11
1
4
.200
12
1
4
.200
13
1
4
.200
American AthleticWLPCT
1
4
1
.800
2
4
1
.800
3
4
1
.800
4
3
2
.600
5
3
2
.600
6
4
1
.800
7
2
2
.500
8
2
3
.400
9
2
2
.500
10
2
2
.500
11
3
2
.600
12
1
4
.200
13
0
5
.000
14
1
3
.250
Big 10WLPCT
1
5
0
1.000
2
5
0
1.000
3
4
0
1.000
4
4
1
.800
5
4
1
.800
6
4
1
.800
7
3
1
.750
8
5
1
.833
9
4
1
.800
10
3
1
.750
11
2
3
.400
12
3
2
.600
13
3
2
.600
14
3
2
.600
15
2
3
.400
16
2
3
.400
17
2
3
.400
18
1
4
.200
Conference USAWLPCT
1
4
1
.800
2
3
2
.600
3
2
3
.400
4
2
2
.500
5
1
3
.250
6
1
3
.250
7
1
3
.250
8
2
3
.400
9
2
3
.400
10
1
4
.200
Atlantic CoastWLPCT
1
5
0
1.000
2
5
0
1.000
3
4
0
1.000
4
4
1
.800
5
4
1
.800
6
3
2
.600
7
3
2
.600
8
3
2
.600
9
4
1
.800
10
3
2
.600
11
2
3
.400
12
2
3
.400
13
2
3
.400
14
2
2
.500
15
1
3
.250
16
2
2
.500
17
2
3
.400
IndependentWLPCT
1
5
0
1.000
2
2
3
.400
Big 12WLPCT
1
5
0
1.000
2
4
0
1.000
3
4
1
.800
4
4
0
1.000
5
3
1
.750
6
4
1
.800
7
4
1
.800
8
4
1
.800
9
3
2
.600
10
3
2
.600
11
2
2
.500
12
3
1
.750
13
2
2
.500
14
3
2
.600
15
2
3
.400
16
2
3
.400
Sun BeltWLPCT
1
5
0
1.000
2
4
1
.800
3
3
1
.750
4
3
2
.600
5
2
3
.400
6
4
1
.800
7
3
2
.600
8
2
2
.500
9
2
3
.400
10
2
2
.500
11
1
3
.250
12
1
4
.200
13
1
4
.200
14
0
5
.000
Mountain WestWLPCT
1
5
0
1.000
2
4
1
.800
3
3
2
.600
4
3
1
.750
5
2
3
.400
6
3
2
.600
7
0
4
.000
8
1
3
.250
9
1
4
.200
10
1
4
.200

CFB 2026 Scores & Schedule

Scores

DATEMATCHUPSCORE
Sat
9/19
@
14-22
Sat
9/19
MER MER
@
11-44
Sat
9/19
@
35-49
Sat
9/19
@
24-17
Sat
9/19
@
3-59

Schedule

DATEMATCHUPTIME (ET)
Tue
10/6
@
8:00 PM
Wed
10/7
@
7:00 PM
Wed
10/7
@
7:30 PM
Thu
10/8
@
7:00 PM
Thu
10/8
@
7:00 PM