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Coastal Carolina raced out to a big lead and held off a desperate Temple team seeking its first win for a 28-20 victory Saturday at Lincoln Financial Field in Philadelphia.

Coastal again relied largely on its running game and scored a defensive touchdown for the third straight game.

The win keeps the Chanticleers (3-0) undefeated heading into their final non-conference game of the season against Virginia at Brooks Stadium next Saturday. One of the most anticipated home games in program history has been sold out for a couple weeks.

鈥淚 think anytime you win you just want to keep that momentum going,鈥� senior linebacker Shane Bruce said. 鈥淲e鈥檝e got to come in and prepare the same every week. Next week is no different for us. . . . We鈥檒l be ready.鈥�

Coastal gained 184 yards on 42 carries and New Mexico transfer Christian Washington scored two rushing touchdowns for the second straight week while gaining 59 yards on 15 carries.

Quarterback Ethan Vasko had a team-high 92 yards rushing on 16 attempts, and completed 15 of 21 passes with a touchdown and no interceptions, as CCU didn鈥檛 commit a turnover for the second straight game. But he threw for just 103 yards and Temple outgained CCU 314-287.

The Chants entered the game seventh in the nation with 285.5 rushing yards per game.

鈥淚 think at the end of the day, some of it was the plan. What I want to be careful of is fighting boredom. Like, it鈥檚 working, why would we change?鈥� CCU head coach Tim Beck said of the run-heavy offense. 鈥淲e鈥檙e 3-0, we鈥檙e controlling the clock a lot of times, we鈥檙e able to move the football. So if it鈥檚 working you鈥檝e got to be careful of getting away from it too fast, too early.鈥�

Coastal converted 7 of 13 third-down opportunities against a team that was allowing just 24% conversions on third down entering the game, and scored three touchdowns in three possessions that penetrated the Temple 20-yard line.

鈥淔or the most part it was a lot better on third downs, it was better red zone, it was a lot better in the areas we needed to improve in the game,鈥� Beck said. 鈥淭hey just did a good job of moving the football and keeping the ball too, which limited some of our plays.鈥�

Trailing by eight points, Temple (0-3) stopped Vasko a yard shy of a first down at the Owls鈥� 39 on a quarterback draw on fourth-and-2, and took possession with 2:44 to play.

A 21-yard reception by Dante Wright on fourth-and-6 moved the ball to the Coastal 36, but a sack by defensive end Deamontae Diggs on second down led to a fourth-and-14, and Evan Simon鈥檚 pass sailed out of bounds to give CCU possession with 23 seconds to play.

鈥淥ne of the big things we鈥檝e put an emphasis on really all year is finishing, and we haven鈥檛 done a great job,鈥� Bruce said. 鈥淏ut today I think guys were just hungry to finish the game and I think that鈥檚 what you saw out there.鈥�

Prior to Temple鈥檚 final possession, CCU had the ball with nearly 7 minutes remaining and attempted to run the clock out. It got three first downs, including one on a Jameson Tucker 22-yard reception on a crossing pattern to move the ball into Temple territory, before Vasko was stopped on fourth down.

鈥淥ne thing that I was proud of was we won the game at the end defensively,鈥� Beck said. 鈥淵ou look at the first two games, the last drive each one of those first two games the other team went down and scored, and that could have happened tonight, and our guys rose to the occasion and were able to get them on downs at the end of the game.

鈥淵ou saw the level of play 鈥� we got some pressure on the quarterback, the coverages were tighter, the tackling was good. The things as a coach you kind of look for at the end of a game, our guys were still playing hard and doing the right things, so I was proud of that.鈥�

Starting fast, holding on

CCU got off to a fast start for the third consecutive game and held a 21-3 lead midway through the second quarter.

Washington scored the first touchdown with 4 minutes left in the first quarter on a 15-yard run behind left guard Heston Edwards, as Washington followed pulling tight end Kendall Karr through the hole.

The CCU defense struck on Temple鈥檚 ensuing possession, as interior lineman Sawyer Goram-Welch hit Simon's arm as he threw and Diggs batted the pass into the air. Junior safety Xamarion Gordon, a transfer from Southern California, caught it near the line of scrimmage and returned it 29 yards to the end zone.

鈥淲e always try to get at least two turnovers a game, and if they can result in touchdowns it鈥檚 even better,鈥� Bruce said. 鈥淚t鈥檚 nothing that we鈥檙e trying to do, just capitalizing on opportunities.鈥�

Diggs (6-5, 260), a transfer from Youngstown State, saw more playing time in part because defensive lineman Will Whitson missed the game with an injury and tied for third on the team with six tackles and had the late sack and pass breakup that led to the defensive score.

鈥淒eamontae had a great game for us,鈥� Beck said. 鈥淚t鈥檚 next man up mentality and we needed it.鈥�

After Temple got on the board with a 54-yard Maddux Trujillo field goal, another forced turnover led to CCU鈥檚 third touchdown midway through the second quarter.

Tucker tight-roped the goal line to down an Emile Sebafundi punt inside the 1, and two plays later defensive end Emmanuel Johnson bounced up off the ground after being cut by an offensive lineman and forced a fumble by running back EJ Wilson Jr.

The ball was recovered at the 11 by Bruce, who had a team-high nine tackles including one for a loss a week after being ejected against William & Mary on a targeting call.

Vasko hit Cameron Wright for an 8-yard touchdown pass to give CCU a 21-3 lead.

A pair of Temple touchdowns inside the final 5 minutes of the first half and first 5 minutes of the second half pulled the Owls within four points at 21-17.

鈥淚 think we made some mistakes defensively, some communication errors and some alignment errors,鈥� Beck said. 鈥淎nd credit to them, they were motioning and doing some stuff and making us do some things that put us in those situations.鈥�

Coastal regained command of the game with a 13-play, 75-yard drive that was capped by a 5-yard Washington touchdown run and included three straight runs by Vasko for a combined 35 yards.

鈥淗e鈥檚 taking care of the football," Beck said of Vasko. "We didn鈥檛 turn the ball over again. He鈥檚 operating our offense. We鈥檝e been pretty efficient for the most part. . . . He didn鈥檛 force throws. He didn鈥檛 play careless with the football. He was able to tuck it down and get us some first downs at times."

A sack by sophomore linebacker Tray Brown helped stall a Temple\ drive early in the fourth quarter that resulted in a 37-yard Trujillo field goal, and the Chants were able to stop Temple鈥檚 final possession to secure the win.

鈥淲hat a great victory. I knew it would be a hard game,鈥� Beck said. 鈥�. . . At the end of the day it鈥檚 a 鈥榃鈥�. I鈥檓 really proud of the guys the way they fought. To go on the road and win, and not always play your best ball, and play a team that鈥檚 desperate at 0-2 in their home opener, and to come away with a victory, you鈥檝e got to love that.鈥�

Tucker led nine CCU pass-catchers in the game with four receptions for 35 yards.

Junior running back Simeon Price, a Mississippi State transfer, returned from injury to get his first action of the season and had 29 yards on eight carries, as running back Ja鈥橵in Simpkins and Braydon Bennett missed the game with injuries.

Temple senior linebacker D.J. Woodbury was a menace to the Chants all game, registering a career-high 15 tackles including the only sack allowed by the Chants this season.

Coastal and Virginia are scheduled to kick off at 2 p.m. Saturday and the game is slated to be broadcast on ESPN+.