The 21,112 fans who assembled at Lincoln Financial Field in Philadelphia, the home of the NFL’s Eagles, thought they were going to a college football game on Saturday.

Instead, they saw a track meet – at least in the first half – between the UConn Huskies and Temple Owls, with UConn taking over in the fourth quarter to secure a 34-20 win.

UConn gained 373 total yards and Temple 274 in the first half, which operated at a frantic pace, exhibited as both teams scored two touchdowns in the first quarter.

Neither team punted in the first half, which ended with the Huskies holding a 24-17 lead after freshman Jack O’Connor connected on a 21-yard field goal as time expired.

UConn (3-3) gave the ball away once, on downs, after choosing to run a play on fourth-and-3 instead of attempting a field goal from the Temple 9-yard-line with 15 seconds left in the quarter. A fumble accounted for the only change of possession that didn’t come after a score for Temple (2-4).

After the half, the game switched 180 degrees, with the track meet turning into more of a wrestling match with tough defenses that resulted in three punts for the Huskies and two punts and a turnover for the Owls in the third quarter.

In the first 30 minutes, Temple – the better rushing team on the season entering the game – ran for 117 yards while UConn gained 180 on the ground. The Huskies’ more pass-centered offense put up 193 yards while Temple had 157.

But in the third quarter, the fleet-footed offenses managed just 110 total yards – 88 of them to Temple – as the defenses took over. The Owls scored the only points of the quarter on Carl Hardin’s 29-yard field goal following a nine-play, 61-yard drive that took 4:17 off the clock.

UConn put both sides of the game together in the fourth quarter, with the Huskies scoring 10 points and giving up none. The defense held Temple to 76 total yards, recovered a fumble and sacked senior Owls quarterback Ajani Sheppard, who finished 19-of-25 passing for 260 yards and a touchdown.

UConn quarterback Kalieb Osborne was 17-of-23 for 257 yards with no interceptions. The Huskies got rushing touchdowns from Osborne, Cyncir Bowers, Kenji Christian and Trey Cornist.

Christian, who has been dealing with a hamstring injury, scored on a 39-yard run in the first quarter – his only carry of the day.

Cornist gained 114 yards on just seven attempts, aided by a 51-yard run and a 41-yard burst.

Bowers added 84 rushing yards.

On the defense, John Lista led UConn with eight tackles.

The Huskies broke a two-game losing streak, dropping heartbreakers to Miami (Ohio) and the Syracuse Orange.