PHILADELPHIA -- The Temple defense, lit into by coach Matt Rhule during the week after two sloppy performances, on Saturday bailed out an offense that twice failed to convert on fourth down in its own territory and a punt team that had a kick blocked at its 21-yard line.

The result was an effort that kept Memphis, averaging 43.7 points per game, out of the end zone in the Owls' 31-12 victory over the No. 21 Tigers at Lincoln Financial Field.

Temple (9-2, 6-1) can clinch the American Conference East Division title if South Florida loses at Central Florida on Thanksgiving or if the Owls defeat visiting Connecticut next Saturday.

"It was a great win for us and we felt that we were prepared for it," Rhule said. "The guys kept hanging in there and kept fighting. The defense stopped the run, got after the quarterback and did not allow any big plays."

The Owls' defense has yielded 75 points and 953 yards the last two games -- a 60-40 win at SMU and a 44-23 loss at USF.

"Unfortunately, we were not clicking the last two weeks and we said that we had to get back to our fundamentals," Temple linebacker Tyler Matakevich said. "We needed to get back to being a hard-nosed football team for four quarters, and that is what we did today."

Despite turnovers deep in Memphis territory on their first two possessions, Temple managed to take a 14-9 lead into halftime thanks in part to big plays through the air.

"I think we prepared our tails off all week and it showed out there today," quarterback P.J. Walker said. "We were driving up and down the field and we hurt ourselves with turnovers early. I don't want to say we were not focused, but we needed to hold onto the ball."

The Owls capped a 75-yard drive when Walker and Romond Deloatch connected on a 13-yard touchdown with 8:14 remaining in the half to take their first lead, 7-6.

David Hood's 14-yard touchdown run with 4:36 left in the half gave the Owls a 14-6 lead. Brandon Shippen's 49-yard reception two plays earlier brought the ball to the 15-yard line.

Trailing 14-9, Memphis had an opportunity to take an early third-quarter lead.

Temple punter Alex Starzyk rolled to his right rugby style and had his kick blocked by Wynton McManis. That set up Memphis at the Temple 21, but the Tigers came away empty-handed when Jake Elliott's 36-yard field goal hit high up on the right upright.

"They did a great job of keeping is off balance," Memphis coach Justin Fuente said. "When we captured the momentum, we could not do anything with it. We could not run the ball, which usually sets up everything else."

After Memphis stopped Temple on fourth-and-1 from the Owls' 44-yard line, Elliott's 40-yard field goal with 3:41 remaining in the third quarter trimmed Temple's lead to 14-12.

Kip Patton's 15-yard touchdown run on a jet sweep, the first touchdown of the redshirt freshman tight end's career, gave the Owls a little breathing room at 24-12 on the first play of the fourth quarter.

On their next possession, the Owls bled 7:59 off the clock on a 13-play, 62-yard drive that resulted in a 35-yard field goal by Austin Jones with 5:25 to play.

Walker's 19-yard touchdown pass to Saledeem Major with 3:22 remaining completed the scoring.

The Memphis offense, which was held to 232 yards after averaging 541 through the first 10 games, could manage just four field goals. Missed opportunities with great starting field position proved crucial.

"I don't know how many times we started on their side of the field, but you can't just go three-and-out or take a field goal," Memphis quarterback Paxton Lynch said. "We knew they would be a tough and physical defense and just beat us."

NOTES: Temple LB Tyler Matakevich became the fourth player in college football history to record at least 100 tackles in each of four seasons. ... QB P.J. Walker's fourth-quarter touchdown pass to Saledeem Major was the 50th of his career to establish a Temple record. The previous mark was held by Henry Burris (1993-96). ... With his first-quarter field goal, Jake Elliott became the third player in Memphis history to reach 300 points. ... Memphis last failed to reach the end zone in a 24-3 loss last Sept. 27 at Ole Miss. The last time the Tigers did not score a touchdown in a conference game was in a 41-0 loss at UCF on Oct. 29, 2011, when they were in Conference USA.