PHILADELPHIA -- Penn State spent the first half searching for its rhythm, then found it in a hurry.
The No. 16 Lions left Lincoln Financial Field with a 27-9 win over Temple on Saturday afternoon, and the story of the game was simple: a sluggish opening gave way to a second-half takeover. Penn State led 10-3 at the break, then put the Owls away over the final 30 minutes.
The difference after halftime showed up everywhere. Penn State scored 17 points and piled up 217 offensive yards in the second half, while adding 82 rushing yards and 12 first downs.
Temple managed just one first down in that stretch. For a team that looked sharp in its opener against Marshall, that final half was much more like the version Penn State wanted to show from the start.
The offense’s early issues were impossible to ignore, especially inside the red zone. Penn State got there twice and came away empty both times. Ryan Barker missed a 33-yard field goal to end one drive, and the other stalled after the offense failed on a fourth-down pass from the Temple 2.
The run game never helped those possessions along, and coach Matt Campbell made it clear he wasn’t satisfied.
“I don’t think there was any explanation other than we didn’t play very well,” Campbell said when asked about the red zone troubles.
“We didn’t play very well in the first half, the first quarter of the game offensively.”
“I think you go back and you look at those three runs down in the red zone. They’re all there.
“The first one, it’s a bad run. The second one we get beat on the inside.
The third one we get beat at right guard. “We’re off by an inch.
It’s a game of inches. Especially when you play on the road.
You have to have great execution.”
There was also a major setback on defense before the game even became about Temple’s offense. Edge rusher Max Granville did not play, and Campbell said Saturday that Granville is out for the year after suffering an injury in practice. Granville had been working his way back after missing all of 2025 with a long-term injury, so the loss lands hard.
Penn State (2-0) will need more from the edge group moving forward, with Ike Ezeogu, Alexander McPherson, Yvan Kemajou and Caleb Bacon all in line for bigger roles. The staff may also choose to get true freshman Jackson Ford more involved.
For now, though, the takeaway from Saturday is clear: Penn State recovered from a flat start, then looked the part of a team capable of taking control once it settled in. The early red-zone misses made things messier than they needed to be, but the second half gave the Lions the kind of finish they’ll want to carry into Big Ten play.
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 🡒]