Penn State Weathers First Adversity of Season in Win Over Temple

PHILADELPHIA — Less than three weeks ago, Penn State head coach Matt Campbell stood in front of the media and evaluated his program’s development throughout the offseason.

While he expressed optimism for the group’s overall growth, Campbell also cited the importance of facing adversity during the season to reveal the team’s true character.

“I wish I could sit here and tell you we’re going to be perfect on Saturdays,” Campbell said in August. “We know that’s not true. How we respond to imperfect will define who we become.”

The Nittany Lions were very imperfect on Saturday in a win at Temple.

It began with arguably the team’s most consistent player, kicker Ryan Barker, missing a 33-yard field goal on the opening drive. To that point in his Penn State career, he was 34-for-38 with no misses from inside 40 yards — and two misses came on blocked kicks.

Two drives later, the Nittany Lions failed to convert on four downs from the Temple 5-yard line following an interception. Running backs Carson Hansen and James Peoples combined for 3 yards on three carries.

“Just having a better start off the rip and being able to finish in the red zone, that’s probably the biggest thing that I would say for myself and just us as a whole on offense,” Hansen said after the game. “And I know we can do it. I believe that we can do it. So we’re going to fix it this week and be ready for Buffalo.”

The defense, which pitched a shutout a week ago against the Thundering Herd, also had its lapses. That includes allowing a 47-yard quarterback run on the ensuing Owl drive, which resulted in a field goal to take the lead.

Midway through the second quarter, the Nittany Lions found themselves trailing Temple as massive favorites. On a day where the Owls honored their 2015 team that defeated the Nittany Lions 27-10 in their last trip to Lincoln Financial Field, tensions quickly spiked and bad memories came flooding back. Every incompletion and short-yardage run aggravated the large contingent of Penn State fans in the stadium.

“Where does that start? I think it has to start with the head football coach, our detail,” Campbell said. “And then it goes to our coaches, and then our players, and our accountability. We were off. I felt like we really gained some opportunity to grow in the second and third quarter. I didn’t think we wavered and flinched. I give a lot of credit to our players.”

On the sidelines, wide receiver Chase Sowell said he and quarterback Rocco Becht took responsibility for the offensive struggles as veterans of the team. 

“I literally went up to him and told him that it starts with us,” Sowell said. “You know, starts with the older guys that have been in this offense that have played, we just got to be better.”

Sowell reminded Becht to slow things down and be less antsy in the pocket. Becht reassured Sowell after an earlier drop. And the Nittany Lions responded to imperfect.

The offense steadied the ship with a 10-play, 62-yard field goal drive, then added a touchdown from tight end Ben Brahmer to take a lead into halftime.

“That obviously boosted that momentum going forward,” Sowell said. “But we got to start faster, and obviously, it starts with me.”

On their first drive of the second half, Becht sliced through Temple’s defense, including three completions to Sowell for 41 total yards and a touchdown, breaking the game open.

Before Sowell took a screen pass to the house, he looked at fellow wide receiver Brett Eskildsen and asked “you got me?” Eskildsen replied “I got you,” and his block paved the way for Sowell to reach the end zone untouched.

Sowell said he found his teammates after the play to tell them “how much I love them.”

With a 17-3 lead, things began opening up in the run game and the defense held its own. When the dust settled, Penn State emerged victorious by a 27-9 score, capping an imperfect win for Campbell and Co.

And though they weathered the storm, the lessons remain. Hansen said moments like these can lead to an increased focus during practice.

“Never take a rep off,” Hansen said. “Working on all the little details … whatever it is, you got to be able to work on those things and have urgency about it because if you don’t, it’s gonna eat you up.”