Penn St. has one more hurdle before embarking on their Big Ten Conference schedule. While Temple has not been much of a hurdle in the past two meetings as the combined 78-0 score suggests, this might be the best Temple team in recent memory. The Owls are 1-2 but have been very competitive in their two losses to UConn and Buffalo and beat Army by four touchdowns. Might not seem like stiff competition but neither does Coastal Carolina and Syracuse.
Penn St. is ranked third in the NCAA with a 55.3 points per game scoring average and eighth in yards per game with a 536 yard average. The scary part is that Penn St. could have even better stats but Coach Paterno has called off the dogs sometime just after halftime. The Nittany Lions will pound the ball with Evan Royster and when Temple crowds the line, Daryll Clark will go over the top to Jordan Norwood, Deon Butler and Derrick Williams.
Temple¬†will rely heavily on QB Adam DiMichele since the Owls running game¬†is ranked #100 in the NCAA. WR Bruce Francis is DiMichele’s favorite target with 11 catches and 3 touchdowns. Temple’s best chance to be competitive¬†is to utilize DiMichele’s scrambling ability and spread Penn St.’s defense.¬†
Temple is a 28 1/2-point underdog and that might be a bit understated. Penn St. will be polishing their game plan heading into the meat of their schedule and being in front of the home crowd at Beaver Stadium will not allow a letdown.
Penn St. 51-10