Top 10 Ways Penn State’s Rocco Becht DOM-inated Against Temple

PHILADELPHIA — Penn State quarterback Rocco Becht is the glue. The eraser. The motivator. The fighter. The cheerleader. The playmaker. The spark.

The Nittany Lions’ slow-starting 27-9 victory over Temple here at Lincoln Financial Field on Saturday proved all of that. And more.

For two games, the Iowa State transfer has been the best player on the field for Penn State. And the catalyst of its win over the Owls. Let us count the ways:

1. THE DOM-INATORS. After the game, Becht connected with Philadelphia Eagles security chief Big Dom DiSandro outside the Penn State locker room in the bowels of The Linc. It was definitely a mutual admiration society.

Big Dom, who spent the game on the PSU sidelines, has deep ties to the Nittany Lions. He went to Penn State, his son is a student there now and Big Dom works with Nick Sirianni, the Eagles’ head coach. Sirianni and Penn State head coach Matt Campbell were roommates as players on the Mount Union College football team.

2. FIRST IMPRESSION. The Nittany Lions got the ball to start the game and on the very first play opened with a Becht deep ball — a 56-yard pass from Becht to wide receiver Koby Howard, who broke free on a post route. In two games, Howard has caught passes from Becht for 42 (TD), 23, 16, 42, 12, 26, 56, 8 and 4 yards.

3. TWO-MINUTE DRILL at the end of the first half. Ahead just 10-3 with under two minutes to go in the first half, Penn State got the ball at its own 17. Becht then led the Nittany Lions on a 10-play, 83-yard drive in just 109 seconds that culminated in his 23-yard touchdown pass to tight end Ben Brahmer.

Becht completed all six of his passes on the drive, for 64 yards, to four different players. He also ran for a yard as well.

“What really gets us all going is two-minute situations,” Becht said. “I feel that’s what gets me in a groove. To continue to throw the ball rep after rep gets me in a good groove. That’s what we did. We saw that.”

4. STEP RIGHT UP. “I think what I really appreciated,” said Campbell post-game, “was who steps up, who responded— the guys you expect. You know, Rocco steps up. He makes really big plays in the moments that kind of get you back in the football game.”

5. 12 AND 7. Becht had two key consecutive completion streaks. After the deep ball to Howard, he missed on his next three throws. But, then he completed a dozen straight in the second and third quarters. After another 1-of-4 string, he finished the game with seven more consecutive completions.

6. NO MISTAKES. In two games, Becht has not had a turnover (no picks, no fumbles), with just two sacks — one each vs. Marshall (5 yards) and Temple (6 yards).

7. THE ROCCO PASSING LINE:

Temple — 21-27, 268 yards, 3 TDs

Marshall — 13-18, 274 yards, 4 TDs

2026 — 34-45 (75.5%), 542 yards, 7 TDs

8. TEAMMATES FEED OFF OF THE QB? “I think so, yeah. It looks like it,” he said when I asked him post-game if that’s his role. “They’re continuing to make the good catches down the field, the running backs are continuing to make blocks in the pocket and continuing to make good runs. And everyone is feeding off it, yes sir.” 

9. PHILLY SPECIAL FAN CLUB. Becht said that upwards of 500 friends and family were at the game. Quite a feat, since he’s from Florida. But, his father Anthony, a former NFL star and now a UFL head coach, grew up in the Philly suburbs and was a high school football star at Monsignor Bonner, where he was all-city, all-county and all-Catholic Conference.

10. TAKING A HIT. In the fourth quarter Becht ran out of the pocket for 12 yards and after he was out of bounds, he took a late from former Nittany Lion and current Temple cornerback Kolin Dinkins, who was flagged for 15 yards. It got a bit heated, with teammates restraining Becht. The PSU QB rebounded quickly, and two plays later he threw his second of two 23-yard TD passes to Brahmer.

“I’m all good. I hopped right back,” Becht said. “That just shows who we are as a team — coaches, players, staff. We continue to build on one another. We’re always there to have each others’ backs. It’s knowing when these things happen, to keep our cool. Kind of get them off our sideline, get them away. But never overreact or commit a foul.”