WEST POINT, N.Y. -- After taking a helmet to his left knee in a bad loss a week ago, Montel Harris barely practiced as Temple prepared for a critical game at Army. Seems like a good idea in retrospect.

Harris rushed for a career highs of 351 yards and seven touchdowns -- both Big East records -- Matt Brown scored twice before leaving the game with an injury, and Temple beat Army 63-32 on Saturday for its fifth straight win in the series.

Harris scored on a 60-yard run and a 1-yard run in the second quarter, a 1-yard run and a 37-yarder in the third, and a 2-yarder, another 37-yarder and another 1-yarder in the fourth to come within one of the NCAA record in 1990 by Howard Griffith of Illinois against Southern Illinois.

"It's a blessing to have a record like that," said Harris, who had 36 carries. "Our goal is always to run the ball well and have a great game. I didn't see this coming. I started off kind of slow at the beginning of the game."

The heroics for Harris began after Brown limped off the field with a hamstring injury after scoring on runs of 12 and 36 yards to stake the Owls to a 14-0 first-quarter lead.

"He (Brown) said, 'You've got to pick it up; it's all on you now,' " Harris said after just the 95th 300-yard rushing game in NCAA history. "Whenever you have a big player go down, you know you've got to try to step it up, fill his shoes. That's what I was just trying to do. We knew we all had to pick it up."

The Owls (4-6) scored only 54 points combined in losing their previous four games, all in the Big East, and they stopped their skid by beating the nation's top rushing team at its own game, gaining 534 yards rushing on 57 carries. Army (2-9), which finished with 407 yards rushing on 62 carries, has lost 16 straight against Big East competition.

"It was a statement win, a statement that we still fight," Temple coach Steve Addazio said. "The team's got a lot of fight in them. We needed to do that. That needed to happen. It builds confidence. It was special to do it here."

Temple, in its first season back in the Big East since 2004, has one more game, at home against Syracuse next week, and is trying to schedule a 12th game in Hawaii.

The loss spoiled senior day at Michie Stadium for Army's 22 seniors, though fourth-year quarterback Trent Steelman left Blaik Field for the final time with more academy records in tow. The Black Knights have archrival Navy in early December, one final chance to finish the year on a positive note.

"I don't think it's the way you want to finish any game," said Steelman, who scored on runs of 7, 1 and 56 yards. "At the same time, we have one more. We can still go out on the right note and finish the season the right way."