What We Learned From Penn State's Week 2 Win Over Temple

The Nittany Lions faced a road grind against the Owls, who held firm early.

Penn State Nittany Lions quarterback Rocco Becht looks to throw a pass against the Temple Owls at Lincoln Financial Field. | IMAGN IMAGES via Reuters Connect

PHILADELPHIA | Penn State quarterback Rocco Becht thought Saturday’s 27-9 win over Temple was “a good game for us to have.” The Nittany Lions, and especially their offense, fought through growing pains against the Owls after putting up 45 points against Marshall in their opener.

Penn State scored only three points through the game’s first 29 minutes and did not score after being gifted the ball at the Temple 5-yard line by a Tony Rojas interception.  

“To be humbled coming off of a good win [was needed],” Becht said. “Coming out here and playing Temple, a good team, we just started off a little slow. We made the adjustments after the first quarter and at halftime. I mean, we were a lot better in the second half, but I think we needed this early before we get into conference play.”

Here’s what we learned about Penn State as it improved to 2-0 through an often-underwhelming performance against the Owls.  

Penn State’s offense is not complete — yet

Penn State Nittany Lions running back Carson Hansen (21) pushes forward with the ball gainst the Temple Owls at Lincoln Financial Field. | IMAGN IMAGES via Reuters Connect

Becht threw a dime over the middle on the game’s first play to wide receiver Koby Howard, who turned it into a 56-yard gain. There it was: Penn State was building on a strong Week 1 performance. 

Then the offense stalled. Three plays, one penalty and a 6-yard loss later, Penn State sent out kicker Ryan Barker to put three on the board. But he missed the chip-shot 33-yard attempt, the first miss under 40 yards in his career.  

That first drive wasn’t a blip. The offense continued to struggle, as it didn’t score after the interception and gained eight yards on seven plays after the Howard catch. A late touchdown to tight end Ben Brahmer salvaged what would’ve been a 3-3 tie at halftime. 

It was an interesting start to Penn State’s Week 2 game. But it wasn’t necessarily unforeseen. Despite their 45-0 win over Marshall, the Nittany Lions’ offense still has unknowns. 

Most notably, the run game has been inconsistent but got better as the game wore on. The backs averaged 4.74 yards per carry, and Carson Hansen led the way with 84 yards on 19 carries. But that group, Hansen in particular, struggled to find its consistent footing. There were a few drives where the ground game was effective, and others where it was almost non-existent.  

“There were some really great Carson Hansen runs,” Penn State coach Matt Campbell said. “I feel like how I probably felt last week; we're a hair off on some things. I thought there was probably good growth. I thought we were really physical at the point of attack again today. I thought we took a step forward, but the team that we want to be and the team that we were today are still not equal.”

Penn State Nittany Lions quarterback Rocco Becht runs with he ball after avoiding a tackle from Temple Owls safety Josiah Jackson during the fourth quarter at Lincoln Financial Field. | IMAGN IMAGES via Reuters Connect

Another question mark is red-zone offense. Penn State was 2-for-4 in the red zone but couldn’t convert on two early chances. One of the scoreless drives followed Rojas’ interception that set up the offense at the Temple 5-yard line.

“We didn't play very well in the first half or the first quarter of the game offensively,” Campbell said. “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, and then the third one we get beat at right guard. We're off by an inch. But it's a game of inches, and especially when you're playing on the road, you have to have great execution. We didn't do it.”

Penn State’s secondary might be as good as we thought 

Penn State Nittany Lions coach Matt Campbell walks on the sideline vs, the Temple Owls at Lincoln Financial Field. | IMAGN IMAGES via Reuters Connect

Penn State's secondary earned Pro Football Focus’ highest national grade (82.7) in Week 1. That group continued its dominance at Lincoln Financial Field on Saturday. 

Temple starting quarterback Jaxon Smolik, the former Nittany Lion, went 10-for-16 for 59 yards and an interception. The secondary was all over the Owls’ receivers, and Smolik largely connected with his wideouts on check downs. And when he did, the secondary did a great job tackling.

Temple backup quarterback Ajani Sheppard came in halfway through the fourth quarter with Penn State up 24 and threw for 48 yards, leading a scoring drive in the final moments of the game. Beyond that blip (it was the first touchdown Penn State allowed this season), the Nittany Lions were unbeatable on basically anything 10 yards. 

It wouldn’t be crazy to say this unit, which features budding star Daryus Dixson, Audavion Collins and Zion Tracy, is one of the best in the Big Ten, and maybe the country. Tracy moved into the starting lineup after playing limited snaps in the opener as he continued returning from a camp injury. 

“From a secondary standpoint, I think again those guys continue to show up,” Campbell said. “Zion, it's great to have him back at full strength and health, which you can tell. He's playing great football and had a tough assignment at times today. He's a really good football player. Again, AC made some great plays. I thought we did some really good things in the secondary.”

Penn State needs to use Ben Brahmer more 

Penn State Nittany Lions tight end Benjamin Brahmer (18) celebrates a touchdown with Anthony Donkoh (68) against the Temple Owls at Lincoln Financial Field. | IMAGN IMAGES via Reuters Connect

Brahmer caught a slant for eight yards with 30 seconds left in the first half. The Penn State offense quickly lined up after with him in the slot, opting not to call one of its two timeouts with the clock waning. Becht snapped the ball, Brahmer ran up the seam and then split two defenders to catch a 23-yard touchdown, the first of his two in the game. 

Brahmer added a third touchdown in the fourth quarter and finished his day with five catches for 79 yards. His stat line could’ve been even bigger. Brahmer dropped what likely would’ve been another touchdown in the third frame, too. 

Brahmer (6-7, 250 pounds) is someone offensive coordinator Taylor Mouser should use more, specifically in the red zone. He plays out wide a bunch, which could open up some jump-ball opportunities or 1-on-1 matchups in the end zone. His performance on Saturday was something that Penn State should build on.

“I made a joke with [Becht] and told him I don't know how many times you can leave a 6-foot-7 guy open,” wide receiver Chase Sowell said postgame, “but I was happy to see him in the end zone.”

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