Penn State picked up more than just a road win over Temple in Week 2. The Nittany Lions also moved to 2-0, climbed again in the AP Top 25, and got a major jolt on the volleyball side with a sweep of Stanford at The Palestra. There was also a tough injury update for defensive end Max Granville.
Head coach Matt Campbell said after the Temple game that Granville is out for the season. Granville arrived in Happy Valley in 2024 with expectations of being a major piece on the defense, and his College Football Playoff snap count backed that up.
He then suffered a season-ending injury in 2025, but stayed put when the coaching change came through. Campbell’s staff was high on what he could bring, and he had looked like “a beast” during the summer.
Then, on Thursday before Week 2, Granville went down with another season-ending injury. Campbell told reporters about the setback in his postgame press conference, but did not say what the injury was.
On the field, Penn State’s trip to Temple was far from tidy, but the response after a rough first quarter mattered. The Nittany Lions opened with three drives that featured a sack, a missed field goal, a single completion, and a careless penalty by quarterback Rocco Becht, among other issues.
After that, though, they settled in. Penn State leaned into steady, in-game adjustment rather than forcing the issue, and the defense stayed consistent while the offense started to click.
Temple was held to nine points, leaving Penn State close to going nearly two full games without allowing a touchdown.
That win, combined with results elsewhere, pushed Penn State up to No. 14 in the AP Top 25. The Nittany Lions opened the year at No. 18, moved to No. 16 after Week 1, and climbed two more spots after Week 2. Oklahoma’s loss to Michigan and Oregon’s loss to Oklahoma State helped create room for that rise.
The biggest headline away from football came Friday night, when Penn State volleyball took down No. 4 Stanford in a sweep at The Palestra.
The Cardinal entered at 4-1, with its lone loss coming against Texas A&M in the match before facing Penn State. The Nittany Lions had already played a tough one against No.
3 Kentucky at Wrigley Field, then swept DePaul before meeting Stanford.
Penn State got balanced production across the board. Kennedy Martin finished with 14 kills, Whitney Lauenstein had 11, and Haley Burgdorf added 10.
Burgdorf was especially sharp, making just one error, hitting .450, and serving up two aces. Martin also led the team with 13 digs, one more than libero Ava Falduto.
The sweep still took work. Penn State held Stanford to a .206 hitting average, but the difference was how the Nittany Lions closed each set.
That was the problem against Kentucky. This time, they handled it.
The first set went to extra points before Penn State pulled it out 27-25, then the Nittany Lions finished the last two sets 25-20 and 25-21.
Pro Football Focus also released its Week 2 honors, and Penn State’s defense showed up in a big way. Becht was named the Big Ten quarterback selection, but no other Penn State offensive player earned recognition. On defense, linebacker Tony Rojas, cornerback Zion Tracy, and cornerback Audavion Collins all landed on the Big Ten team.
Rojas led Penn State with seven tackles, including five solo stops, and added an interception. Tracy recorded five tackles, four of them solo, along with one defended pass. Collins chipped in three tackles, two solo, and two defended passes.
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 🡒]