Week 2 Preview: Penn State vs. Temple

STATE COLLEGE - Matt Campbell and the Nittany Lions are fresh off their season-opening 45-0 rout of Marshall last Saturday. Yet, that has not stopped the coaching staff and players from preaching that they cannot overlook their next opponent. Penn State travels to Philadelphia to take on in-state foe Temple at Lincoln Financial Field, home of the Philadelphia Eagles. Although this lines up as essentially a home game for Penn State, Philadelphia has not been kind to the Nittany Lions in years past. A little over 11 years ago, the James Franklin-led Nittany Lions traveled into Philadelphia to take on the Matt Rhule-led Temple Owls. After jumping out to a 10-point lead, the Nittany Lions would surrender 27 straight points to the Owls, ultimately losing 27-10, giving Temple its first win over Penn State since 1941 in dominant fashion. A lot has happened in those 11 years, including James Franklin heading to Virginia Tech and Matt Rhule coaching Baylor, the Carolina Panthers, and now Nebraska. So what will this Saturday look like as two totally different teams take the field once again in Philadelphia? While Temple looks to reclaim the magic that was 2015, can Penn State bring another week of dominance to Philly?

Temple players celebrate with fans after beating Penn State 27-10. (2015)

Can Taylor Mouser and D’Anton Lynn re-create their dominance in Week 2? OC Taylor Mouser and QB Rocco Becht had fans reminiscing about past passing games against Marshall. Becht came out on fire and delivered one of the best performances fans have seen in a long time, even against a small school such as Marshall. Becht, who raved all off-season about his new teammate WR Koby Howard, found him 6 times for 161 yards and a touchdown. Howard became the first Penn State wide receiver to eclipse 150 yards in a game since Parker Washington in 2022. The running game, on the other hand, left a lot to be desired. I predict that we see an uptick in production from the running game this week against Temple. Against Marshall, Penn State ran almost exclusively up the middle; a few holes missed by the backs could have led to more explosive plays. I look for Taylor Mouser to implement more outside zone concepts this weekend, which, when they ran it, looked very good against Marshall. Also look for Quinton Martin to get more touches out of the backfield than he got a week ago.

As for the defense, what more is there to say? D’Anton Lynn’s defense delivered the first shoutout in a Penn State head coach’s debut for the first time since 1915! Lynn had the defense firing on all cylinders, led by Iowa State Transfer Caleb Bacon and returning linebacker Tony Rojas. The Nittany Lion defense looked incredibly fast and powerful all game long. I look for the defense to do more of the same against Marshall this weekend. Expect Lynn to dial up a few more pressures with Temple having multiple injuries on the offensive line. My prediction is 1 INT and 5 Sacks for Penn State.

17 Josiah Zayas, 10 Caleb Bacon, 9 Cael Brezina celebrate after a sack against Marshall.

The injury report for this week’s game heavily favors Penn State. As we stated before, Temple has some serious worries on their offensive line heading into Saturday’s showdown. Here is this week’s injury report:

PENN STATE

(Probable) LB Alex Tatsch - ACL

(Probable) TE Gabe Burkle - ACL

(Questionable) DE Max Granville - Undisclosed

(Questionable) OT Owen Aliciene - Undisclosed

(Questionable) DT Armstrong Nnodim - Undisclosed

(Questionable) DT Alijah Carnell - Undisclosed

(OUT) DE Lavar Arrington II - Out 4-6 weeks (Knee Scope)

TEMPLE

(Game-time Decision) OT Kevin Terry - Leg Injury

(Probable) S Avery Powell - Undisclosed

(Questionable) OG Eric King - Foot Sprain