Nothing but Paterno praise for Temple

THIRTEEN MINUTES into a 26-minute question-and-answer session with statewide media, Penn State coach Joe Paterno dropped a bombshell.

Asked to assess the improvement of the Temple football program in recent seasons, Paterno could have said something about the current Owls being better than they have been in quite some time, which they are, and a threat to possibly end the Nittany Lions' domination of the intrastate rivalry, which dates back to the North Philly school's last victory in 1941.

Penn State is an eight-point favorite to extend its all-time record vs. the Owls to 37-3-1, and 28-0 since Paterno succeeded Rip Engle as head coach in 1966.

But instead of merely saying nice things about Temple, which is off to a 2-0 start and has outscored its opponents by 83-10, Paterno suggested that the outfit his erratic Penn State squad will be seeing Saturday afternoon at Lincoln Financial Field might even be historically good.

"This Temple team, by far, is the best Temple team I've ever seen. And that's in all the years we've played," said Paterno, who has been observing Temple teams since he was a 23-year-old Penn State assistant coach in 1950, the year the Lions and Owls battled to the series' only tie. "They've got some size, some speed. They have an excellent quarterback [Mike Gerardi]. They're a good football team."

The 46th edition of a Penn State team guided by Paterno is coming off a 27-11 home loss to Alabama, which is hardly embarrassing given the wealth of Crimson Tide talent. But the Lions committed three costly turnovers, burned all three of their first-half timeouts on their opening offensive possession, dropped several catchable passes, continued to alternate two struggling quarterbacks and, perhaps the most egregious violation of all in Paterno's eyes, seemed to lose heart on Alabama's last touchdown drive.

"It looked like a couple of guys got a little bit discouraged and nobody rose to the occasion to make a play," Paterno said of his defense, which for the most part played well.

For Paterno to be so lavish in his praise of Temple is noteworthy. Despite long stretches of ineptitude, losing seasons haven't always been the norm for the Owls since Paterno arrived in State College. In the 1970s, Paterno had some dandy duels with Wayne Hardin, Temple's winningest coach with an 80-50-3 mark. Hardin's teams dropped heartbreakers 1975 and '76, by respective margins of 26-25 and 31-30, and the 1985 Temple squad, coached by Bruce Arians and featuring standout tailback Paul Palmer, fell by a 27-25 margin.

After that near-miss, however, the Lions regularly plucked the Owls' feathers. Temple was painfully young and in rebuilding mode in 2006, the first year of the Al Golden era. Golden, a former Penn State captain and assistant coach, was on the wrong side of a pronounced talent disparity that year as the Owls fell, 47-0.

How bad was it for Temple? On Penn State's game-opening possession, an interception gave the visiting Owls the ball at midfield. By game's end, the Owls - who played 21 true freshmen in going 1-11 - still hadn't crossed into PSU territory. They finished with two first downs and 74 net yards.

Last season, Golden's last on North Broad Street before taking the Miami (Fla.) job, Bernard Pierce scored two first-quarter touchdowns and the Owls took an early 13-7 lead. But Pierce injured an ankle, was forced to sit out the last quarter-and-a-half, and the Lions finally put Temple away, 22-13, on Michael Zordich's 1-yard touchdown run that capped a 12-play, 96-yard drive.

Former Florida offensive coordinator Steve Addazio replaced Golden and found a well-stocked cupboard, which included Pierce and a veteran offensive line that averages 320 pounds per man.

So, any chance the Lions could be taking the Owls lightly?

"I don't think we're in a position to do anything but run scared ourselves," Paterno said. "We haven't done anything. We weren't a great team last year. We've got to take a good look at ourselves.

"Temple is not going to be easy. We have to be ready to play as well as we can play. If I can't convince [Penn State's players] to do that, then I think we've got the wrong kids out there. Unless they're stupid, when they look at tapes they're going to see what kind of football team Temple has."

Right tackle Chima Okoli (leg) is listed as "probable," but backup tackle Mike Farrell (knee) is "doubtful" . . . Tailback Stephfon Green, cited in a police report for having given alcohol to two minors, won't play for the third straight week . . . West Catholic High product Curtis Drake is listed on the depth chart as the backup to wideout Shawney Kersey.