Saturday, Sept. 5 • 3:30 p.m. • ESPN
PENN STATE
at
TEMPLE
Lincoln Financial Field (68,532/Grass)
Philadelphia, Pa.
Bob Wischusen, Brock Huard and Shannon Spake
Temple Radio - WPEN-FM 97.5 (flagship)
THE GAME
Saturday’s game will be the 44th meeting between Pennsylvania’s two Division I state institutions … The Owls are looking for their first win against the Nittany Lions since Oct. 18, 1941, when Temple was a 14-0 winner … Temple won three of the first four meetings against Penn State, but the Nittany Lions hold a 39-3-1 series lead.
PENN STATE
0-0
Head Coach
James Franklin (East Stroudsburg ’95)
7-6, second season at Penn State
31-21, fifth season as collegiate head coach
NOTES
Penn State returns 15 starters from last year’s team, which went 7-6 overall and 2-6 in the Big Ten, but capped the year with a 31-30 overtime win against Boston College in the Pinstripe Bowl … Penn State has won 849 games in its history, good for eighth all-time … After opening with the road trip to Temple, Penn State plays a string of five straight home games … The Nittany Lions ranked among the national top 10 in pass efficiency defense (second), total defense (second), rushing defense (third) and scoring defense (seventh) last year … QB Christian Hackenberg has started 25 straight games and is one of just eight Penn State players with at least 5,000 career passing yards … Hackenberg threw for 2,977 yards and 12 touchdowns with 15 interceptions last season … RB Akeel Lynch led the Nittany Lions in rushing last year with 678 yards and four touchdowns … WR DaeSean Hamilton has team highs with 82 receptions and 899 receiving yards … DT Anthony Zettel was an All-Big Ten first team selection last year after he registered eight sacks with 17 tackles for loss and three interceptions .
TEMPLE
0-0
Head Coach
Matt Rhule (Penn State ’97)
8-16, third season
NOTES
Temple improved by four wins in Matt Rhule’s second season on the Owl sideline … With 19 returning starters, expectations are high in Philadelphia for 2015 … Temple won four of their first five last season on their way to a 6-6 overall record … It was Temple’s fourth season at .500 or better in the last six years … Temple’s calling card last year was its defense, which ranked fourth nationally in scoring (17.5 ppg) … Ten starters return on defense, including LB Tyler Matakevich … Matakevich is a legitimate All-America candidate who could become just the seventh player in NCAA FBS history to register four seasons with at least 100 tackles … Matakevich had a team-high 117 tackles last season … DE Praise Martin-Oguike had a team-high 7.5 sacks last year, while DE Matt Ioannidis led the squad with 11 tackles for loss … The secondary is led by CB Tavon Young, who had four interceptions … Offensively, the key player will be QB P.J. Walker, who enters his third year as a starter … Walker threw for 2,317 yards and 13 touchdowns last year … The Owls received a boost with the return of WR Robby Anderson, who had a team-high nine touchdown receptions in 2013 and returns to the lineup after missing last season.