Penn State, line pick up pieces after rout by Temple

Breakdowns on the offensive line. Quarterback Christian Hackenberg running for his life. The lack of a running game.

Haven't we visited these Penn State trouble areas before?

It's a new season for the Nittany Lions but the same old problems. Temple's defense exploited those areas repeatedly Saturday in a 27-10 thrashing of the Lions at Lincoln Financial Field. The Owls spent the day chasing Hackenberg around his own backfield and sacking him 10 times and stuffing the run.

Despite spring football, summer workouts and nearly a month of training camp and game-week practices, the offensive line exhibited the same issues as last season. This was a unit that returned four starters from a group that yielded 44 sacks of Hackenberg last season.

In his weekly teleconference last week, Franklin referenced the "foundation" that he felt the line set for itself in the Nittany Lions' Pinstripe Bowl victory over Boston College when Hackenberg passed for 371 yards and four touchdowns.

"They were really scrappy in that game and fought to find ways to allow the offense and Christian to have some success, and we saw how that worked out," he said. "So they're building on that."

The building crumbled into a thousand pieces against Temple. Hackenberg might have been better off throwing some balls away or scrambling for some yardage rather than trying to make plays. The line even gave up one or two sacks, Franklin said, when the Owls rushed only three and dropped eight into coverage.

"You shouldn't have pressure on your quarterback when they're rushing three and you have a six- or seven-man protection," he said after the game. "So we've got to get those things fixed."

He also said the blocking issues made it difficult to adjust at halftime.

"It goes back to what we've talked about in the past . . . protection and being able to run the ball," he said. "We're not able to do that right now so we need to make those corrections. There's not a whole lot of plays in the playbook when you can't consistently protect or run the ball."

The line was just a part of what was a forgettable day from the Lions.

The team's best linebacker, Nyeem Wartman-White, a redshirt junior playing his first game in the middle, was "lost for the season," said Franklin, who does not disclose injuries. Wartman-White, a Philadelphia native, suffered an apparent left knee injury in the second quarter covering a punt.

Backup Gary Wooten and starting outside backer Brandon Bell both left the game, presumably with injuries. That prompted Franklin to fill in with two freshmen, Jake Cooper (Archbishop Wood) and Manny Bowen, whom he had intended to redshirt.

The total offense of 180 yards was Penn State's lowest since the infamous 6-4 loss to Iowa in 2004. The Lions had the ball for less than 24 minutes and converted just two of 13 third downs.

Disappointed fans included some former players, who took to Twitter to express their feelings.

Former offensive tackle Adam Gress wrote, "So I wasn't going to be 'that guy' . . . but now I will be . . . Offensive coordinator [stinks]." Said Stephon Morris, who played cornerback for Joe Paterno, "JoePa beat the teams he was supposed to beat."

Franklin hears the criticism.

"People can question, but it's our job to silence the questions," he said. "It's our job to get out on the field and produce and play well. That's our responsibility. And it's our job to silence the critics."

@joejulesinq