Penn State left Philadelphia with a 27-9 win over Temple on Saturday and moved to 2-0, but this one didn’t look anything like the comfortable blowout the Nittany Lions put on Marshall.
The offense needed time to settle in. The defense stayed mostly steady. And the special teams chipped in enough to keep the whole operation moving in the right direction at Lincoln Financial Field.
That was the broad shape of the day, even if the early minutes came with some frustration. Penn State’s first-half offense was sluggish enough to leave the Nittany Lions scoreless until Ryan Barker connected on a field goal with 6:51 left in the second quarter. Still, once the game reached the “middle eight,” the passing attack found its rhythm and the result never really felt in doubt.
Becht was the engine. He went 21-for-27 for 268 yards and three touchdowns, and he still has not turned the ball over this season. He also showed the kind of touch that makes Penn State’s passing game look dangerous when it gets rolling.
That aerial success showed up immediately on the opening snap, when Koby Howard hauled in a 56-yard completion. It kept showing up from there, with Becht finding different answers and spreading the ball around. Benjamin Brahmer led all receivers with 79 yards and two touchdowns, while Chase Sowell accounted for the other score on a screen pass.
Penn State also left some points on the field. Becht missed Andrew Rappleyea on fourth-and-goal in the first quarter, Sowell couldn’t bring in a deep ball in the end zone, and Brahmer dropped what would have been another touchdown.
On the ground, the Nittany Lions never really found a consistent push. Carson Hansen was the clear first option again, with James Peoples behind him for the second straight week, but neither back broke the game open.
Hansen carried 19 times for 4.4 yards per attempt, while Peoples was more efficient at six yards per carry but didn’t quite settle into a steady rhythm. Penn State kept trying to force the issue, but too many runs died quickly after first contact.
The offensive line had mixed results. Becht took a first-quarter sack and felt pressure at times early, but he responded by leaning on shorter throws. The bigger issue was the lack of clean space in the run game, where the blocking rarely created the kind of openings Penn State wanted.
The coaching staff, overall, drew a solid mark for how the team handled a game that stayed closer than expected. The Nittany Lions didn’t panic.
They stayed composed. But there were still a few play-calling moments that stood out, especially an early red-zone sequence where Penn State ran the ball up the middle three straight times.
Temple saw it coming, forced fourth down, and Penn State then came up empty from the 2-yard line.
Defensively, Penn State kept Temple from doing much damage for most of the afternoon. The Owls were held to a field goal until Sheppard scored in the fourth quarter, and the back end did a good job of limiting the passing game. Temple finished with only three completions over 10 yards, and tight end Peter Clarke led the team with just 31 receiving yards.
Zion Tracy and Audavion Collins both made their presence felt in the secondary, combining for three pass breakups. Collins also made one of the game’s biggest defensive plays in the third quarter, saving a touchdown with a tackle on Keveun Mason’s 22-yard run and then breaking up a pass on third down.
Tony Rojas added a first-quarter interception and returned it 13 yards to Temple’s 5-yard line. He led Penn State with seven tackles, while Cael Brezina added six. Even so, the defense had some tackling issues in the first half that will need to be cleaned up before Big Ten play intensifies.
The pass rush never fully took over. Yvan Kemajou was the only Penn State player to record a sack, and Ike Ezeogu was the only other defender credited with a quarterback hurry.
Temple quarterback Jaxon Smolik kept finding ways to extend plays, and he was the Owls’ most effective runner by a wide margin, finishing with 71 rushing yards on 10.1 yards per carry. Penn State also allowed Sheppard to get into the end zone on the ground.
Special teams rounded out the day with a strong showing. Barker missed his first field goal attempt, but he converted all three of his other kicks. Nathan Tiyce’s lone punt was downed inside the 5-yard line, and Daryus Dixson added a blocked field goal attempt.
Penn State didn’t deliver a perfect road performance. It didn’t need to. The offense took a while to wake up, the defense had a few cracks to address, and the special teams helped steady things just enough for the Nittany Lions to walk out of Philadelphia with another win.
In Other News...
Penn States Newcomers Are Already Becoming The Heart Of This Team
Penn States September win over Temple offered an early look at how quickly the new faces on this roster are settling in. In a 27-9 victory, the Nittany Lions leaned on a transfer-heavy 2026 group that has already become part of the teams identity, with several newcomers making their presence felt on both sides of the ball. Quarterback Rocco Becht was sharp, tight end Ben Brahmer was a reliable target, and the overall depth from the portal additions gave the game a very different feel than a typical early-season tune-up.
What stood out most was how many of those newcomers were involved in the decisive moments, not just filling snaps. Becht completed 21 of 27 passes for 268 yards and three touchdowns, while Brahmer caught five passes for 78 yards and two scores, and other transfers chipped in across offense and defense as Penn State controlled the afternoon. For a program trying to blend established expectations with a roster full of fresh arrivals, this was the kind of performance that suggests the integration is happening faster than most teams can reasonably expect. [Read more 🡒]
Penn State Showed Exactly How Much Rocco Becht Already Means
The reaction around Rocco Becht in the Temple game said plenty about where he stands with Penn State. When Becht took a late hit near the sideline, the response from his teammates and coaches was immediate, a flash of protectiveness that reflected how tightly this group has bonded around its quarterback. Matt Campbell pointed to that unity afterward, and it fit with the way Penn State has looked to rally behind Becht as he has grown into a steadier, more confident presence.
Bechts rise has been one of the clearer on-field stories of the season, especially after the setbacks that had slowed him before. He has settled in as one of the Big Tens most efficient passers and has given Penn State a level of stability it did not always have a year ago. The hit itself will fade, but the response around it showed how much his teammates already trust him, and how much the program has come to depend on him. [Read more 🡒]
Penn States Temple Win Revealed Something Worth Watching In The Backfield
For one afternoon, Jaxon Smolik turned the matchup into a familiar sight for Penn State fans, only in a different uniform. The former Nittany Lions quarterback was Temples primary signal-caller against his old team, throwing for modest yardage but doing enough with his legs to keep the Owls moving. Penn State also got a close-up look at its own defensive speed when linebacker Tony Rojas jumped a Smolik pass and returned it to the Temple 5-yard line, one of the cleaner momentum swings in the game.
On the other side, the Lions backfield may have been the more encouraging subplot. Carson Hansen and James Peoples combined to rush for 136 yards, and coach Matt Campbell pointed to the groups physicality and growth after the game. For Penn State, that kind of production is exactly the sort of detail that can matter later in the season, especially if the run game keeps looking like a reliable part of the offense rather than just a supporting piece. [Read more 🡒]