Bernard Pierce is raising the bar.

Officially, it was Homecoming at Lincoln Financial Field for the Temple Owls. Unofficially it was Bernard Pierce Day, as the junior from Ardmore ran for 152 yards and two touchdowns in the Owls 34-0 win over Buffalo. While those stats might not sound impressive as compared to what he’s done at other times this season, Pierce set several team records as the Owls improved to 5-2 overall and 3-1 in the MAC and recorded their second-straight shutout.

Pierce scored on runs of two and 53 yards and now has 44 career total touchdowns breaking the mark held by Paul Palmer. With the scores, he also set three single-season records which he previously held from his sensational freshman seasons. They are for rushing touchdowns (17), total touchdowns (17) and points in a season (102).

“I’m trying to be an overachiever,” said Pierce. “Freshman year I had a good year and this year I’m also having another good year. I’m raising the bar a little bit.”

The Owls set the bar high for the Bulls (2-5, 1-2 MAC), they used half the first quarter and kicked a field goal on the opening drive of the game. The defense forced a three-and-out. Another long drive resulted in Pierce’s first score and was followed by another three-and-out for the Bulls.

While the formula didn’t change for the Buffalo offense, it did for the Owls. After long drives mixing the run and the pass, Pierce exploded for his second score and it was 17-0.

Like all good running backs, Pierce was quick to acknowledge the big guys up front.

“That’s my line,” said Pierce, of the unit that has started the same five members all season except for the past two games when Jeremy Schonbrunner started in place of the injured John Palumbo at center. “I love them to death. They do the majority of the work. I just run.”

Linebacker Ahkeem Smith capped the first half scoring, when he ran 49 yards with a direct snap on a fake punt. Another big play on special teams late in the first half kept the shutout intact. Kee-ayre Griffin blocked a 39-yard field goal try by Peter Fardon. The block came at the end of the second-straight drive the Bulls mounted that saw them move the ball inside the Owls 30-yard line but ultimately come away empty handed. The first ended when they turned the ball over on downs at the Owls 28.

For the rest of the game the Owls would control the ball – which they would hold onto for over 39 minutes in the game – and add points on Matt Brown’s 58-yard run and a McManus field goal that finished a 17-play, 50-yard drive that consumed over 10 minutes of clock.

The Owls defense which came in ranked in the top 10 in the nation in scoring and total defense did its job by holding the Bulls to 33 yards on their final seven possessions.

“They’re playing hard.” said Owls head coach Steve Addazio about his defense. “They had a couple times where they gave up some yards but they would make a play and get off the field. That’s what good defense has to do. Our whole program is centered around defense. [It] gives you a chance to compete for a championship. If you don’t have it, that won’t happen.”

Rock Hoffman can be reached at Rdvsports@yahoo.com