Penn State is off to Philadelphia for a Week 1 meeting with Temple at Lincoln Financial Field to start the 2015-16 campaign. A win would give the Nittany Lions two straight season opening victories but Penn State will have to navigate a strong Temple defense to do so.
With kick just over a day away, here are a few things to know as Penn State and Temple take the field.
This Offseason:
Temple managed to avoid any major storylines this offseason which is good news for head coach Matt Rhule. The Owls are looking at a solid schedule in 2015 with Penn State, UCF and Notre Dame all coming to town with trips to Cincinnati and SMU later in the year. For the most part the biggest question for Temple is if the program can take the next step under Rhule. The former Nittany Lion is 8-16 all-time at Temple.
The Good:
Temple is an experienced team and it shows on the depth chart as the Owls return all 11 starters on defense and eight on the offensive side of the ball. Temple is coming off a year with the fourth ranked scoring defense but struggled to score points throughout the season. This weekend Temple will need a good outing from quarterback PJ Walker against Penn State’s own stout defense to pick up the win. The good news for Temple fans is the return of the speedy Robby Anderson to the receiving corps. If Temple can move the ball against Penn State’s defense and score points it could be a good afternoon in Philadelphia. If not, it might just be yet another Nittany Lion win.
The Bad:
While Temple is certainly better than perhaps most fans want to give the Owls credit for, there is little doubt that the offense is still a work in progress. In the last seven games of the 2014 season, Temple failed to score more than 20 points in a single game just scraping by with a 10-6 win over Tulane to close out the season at 6-6. Temple kept it close with Penn State on the road, but late turnovers made a potential upset afternoon into another routine 30-13 Penn State win.
With nothing to go on this year as far as the Temple offense it’s hard to say if those problems still exists. But given the fact there is little reason to assume otherwise, Bob Shoop and his defense might just have another strong start to the year.
The Player To Watch:
Until further notice the player to watch in all Penn State games is left tackle Paris Palmer. If he plays well Penn State has a chance to be a very good team. If he struggles, Penn State might just be in for another year of Hackenberg falling on his back to the tune of 44 sacks yet again. The good news for Penn State is that while Temple sack-leader Praise Martin-Oguike is expected to play this weekend against Palmer, he will be significantly limited coming off of an injury.
The Prediction:
At the end of the day Penn State has more answers and weapons to anything Temple is going to throw its way. The Nittany Lions might be a little rusty, but Temple might not be able to score many points. If Penn State can get out to an early lead, that might be all it takes with Bob Shoop and his defense.
27-13 Penn State.
