No. 16 Penn State pulls away from Temple, 27-9, at Lincoln Financial Field
The Owls struck first and ran stride-for-stride with the Nittany Lions throughout the first half. But Penn State scored 27 unanswered points to extend Temple's losing streak vs. ranked teams to 13.
Penn State walked into Lincoln Financial Field for the first time in over a decade as heavy favorites over Temple and left having satisfied expectations in a 27-9 win on Saturday.
While the Owls scored first and continued to run stride-for-stride with No. 16 Penn State, they came back to earth in the second half. They faltered under Penn State’s Big Ten pressure and lost to a ranked opponent for the 13th straight time.
“All in all, I thought our kids battled all day long against a good team,” Temple coach K.C. Keeler said. “I told them it was more about us playing clean than anything else, and we didn’t play clean enough.”
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Early goal-line defense
On the first play from scrimmage, Penn State quarterback Rocco Becht went long to Koby Howard for 56 yards, good for the team’s longest pass this season. Suddenly, the Nittany Lions stood 9 yards away from six points.
After a Carson Hansen rush brought the visitors 4 yards closer, Penn State was flagged for an illegal forward pass. On third-and-9, Becht was sacked for a loss of 6 yards. Penn State then missed a 33-yard field goal attempt.
After a three-and-out, the Owls’ second possession ended when Tony Rojas picked off Jaxon Smolik and returned it 13 yards to Temple’s 5-yard line. The Nittany Lions were in prime position, but they gained just 2 yards before Becht decided to throw on fourth-and-goal. The Owls closed all windows and forced an incomplete pass at their front door.
“We almost knew every play they ran and kind of knew what was coming,” Temple linebacker Curly Ordonez said.
The scariest close call came at the start of the second quarter. Becht launched a rocket to Chase Sowell in front of the end zone. Temple cornerback Adrian Laing broke up the pass, and Penn State settled for a 31-yard field goal.
But the pressure in the red zone dwindled as the second quarter rolled around.
Becht settles in
Becht completed just one of three passes in the opening quarter — that 56-yarder in the first minute. The Nittany Lions largely kept the ball in Hansen’s hands for their 11 first-quarter plays on offense.
But Becht, the Iowa State transfer, looked more comfortable in the next 15 minutes, and it translated to the score sheet.
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With the game tied, 3-3, Penn State began its final drive of the first half at its own 17-yard line with 1 minute, 57 seconds remaining. Becht completed four straight passes as the Nittany Lions marched to Temple’s 44. After a 12-yard rush by James Peoples, Becht took back over and connected with Benjamin Brahmer from 23 yards out to take a 10-7 lead.
The drive lasted 1:49, so Temple didn’t have much time to respond, and Penn State scored all 27 of its points unanswered. Backed by a cagey offensive line, Becht looked calm and comfortable in the pocket and finished 268 yards and three touchdowns on 21-of-27 passing. Brahmer, a senior tight end, was Penn State’s leading receiver with five catches for 79 yards and two touchdowns.
Jaxon Smolik takes the reins
In last week’s 38-14 win over Rhode Island, Smolik and Ajani Sheppard split reps, and neither created much separation in coach Keeler’s eyes in the battle for the starting role.
But on Saturday, Keeler went to Smolik to start and stayed there. While Temple went three-and-out on its first drive, Smolik connected regularly on short passes once he settled in. He tallied 59 yards on 10-16 passing.
Against Rhode Island, Sheppard held a clear edge on the ground, but Smolik flipped that on Saturday. He managed to create positive plays on scrambles and squeak past linebackers for 71 rushing yards on seven carries.
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Temple even ran a bootleg play for him, which he executed perfectly. After faking a handoff to Hunter Smith, Smolik burst to his left for 47 yards while most eyes followed his partner.
Sheppard took the field with Temple down, 27-3, and 7:48 left. He made the most of his time and scored a 3-yard rushing touchdown with 1:56 left.
But to Keeler, the competition is ongoing.
“Probably midway through we decided to give Jaxon the ball for the snaps, and Ajani was going to be more of a package guy,” Keeler said. “We’ll evaluate the tape.”
Up next
Temple hits the road for the first time this season to face Toledo on Sept. 19 (3 p.m., CBSSN).
