A real test awaits Temple football team

The tune-up victories have been overwhelming.

Now things get interesting.

The Temple football team, which is 2-0, has shifted its attention to perennial state power Penn State.

"Like a lot of things, you wait and see things through the year and you'll determine which type of football team you will have," Temple first-year coach Steve Addazio said.

Actually, this will be the first game of what will be a revealing three-game stretch for the Owls.

After this weekend, they will head to Maryland before hosting Toledo, picked to win the Mid-American Conference's West Division.

At this moment, the Owls are focused on trying to end a 28-game losing streak against the Nittany Lions (1-1). They couldn't care less about the Terrapins (1-0) or the Rockets (1-1).

Will we see the Owls of the first two weeks, when they routed youthful Villanova and undermanned Akron by a combined 83-10?

Or was Temple's domination just a result of facing overmatched opponents?

After losing by 42-7 to Temple, Villanova (0-2) suffered a 31-10 defeat against Towson last Saturday.

Akron (0-2), which fell by 41-3 to the Owls, had suffered a 42-0 opening loss at Ohio State - the same Buckeyes team that sweated through a 27-22 come-from-behind victory over Toledo.

"Our ability to run the ball, I think, has been consistent," Addazio said. "And obviously, we will be very, very much challenged this week."

Offensively, the Owls have been unstoppable in the first two games.

Bernard Pierce has 297 rushing yards and six touchdowns. The junior tailback could have had more. But with the game out of hand, he sat out the second half against the Zips. Pierce exited the 'Nova game once he scored his third touchdown with 2 minutes, 2 seconds remaining in the third quarter.

Still, he is tied for second in the nation in scoring and ranks sixth in rushing yards.

Quarterback Mike Gerardi and tight end Evan Rodriguez also have stood out. Gerardi has completed 21 of 37 passes for 328 yards and three touchdowns. Rodriguez has a team-high nine receptions for 105 yards.

Defensively, the Owls have 11 sacks - tied for third (51/2 per game) nationally. Temple is tied for fourth in scoring defense (five points per game) and tied for seventh in interceptions (four).

"We had some goals to set" in the first two games, said Addazio, who doesn't think the first two performances were meaningless wins. "We got those accomplished.

"I certainly don't look at any game as 'well, those are out of the way.' That's ridiculous. Every game is a tough football game."