PHILADELPHIA - Temple dropped a 27-9 contest to No. 16 Penn State on Saturday afternoon in front of 61,714 fans at Lincoln Financial Field.
The Owls held the Nittany Lions scoreless in the first quarter and took a 3-0 lead early in the second before Penn State scored 27 consecutive points. Temple moved to 1-1 on the season, while Penn State improved to 2-0.
Keveun Mason led Temple on the ground with 76 yards on 14 carries, giving him 234 rushing yards through the first two games of the season. Curly Ordonez paced the defense with 12 tackles, including a sack and a tackle for loss.
Temple's defense set the tone early against the No. 16 Nittany Lions. Penn State opened the game with a 56-yard completion that moved the ball inside the Temple 10, but the Owls forced a 33-yard field goal attempt that went wide. Later in the quarter, Tony Rojas intercepted Jaxon Smolik and returned it to the Temple five-yard line, but the Owls again held firm, stopping Penn State on fourth-and-goal from the two.
Temple turned that defensive stand into the game's first points. Smolik sparked a 91-yard drive with a career-long 47-yard rush and later converted third-and-12 with a 13-yard completion to Peter Clarke. Carl Hardin finished the possession with a 24-yard field goal to give the Owls a 3-0 lead.
Penn State tied the game with a 31-yard Ryan Barker field goal before taking the lead just before halftime. Rocco Becht capped an 83-yard two-minute drive with a 23-yard touchdown pass to Benjamin Brahmer, sending the Nittany Lions into the break ahead, 10-3.
The Nittany Lions created separation in the second half. Becht connected with Chase Sowell for a 16-yard touchdown on Penn State's opening possession of the third quarter, and Barker added a 39-yard field goal late in the period. Becht found Brahmer again for a 23-yard score in the fourth to make it 27-3.
Temple answered on its final possession. Ajani Sheppard completed a 39-yard pass to Jayce Freeman to move the Owls inside the Penn State 10 and then scored on a three-yard run for the first touchdown of his career, producing the 27-9 final.