Penn State 34, Temple 27

UNIVERSITY PARK, Pa. – GoPSUSports.com – Trace McSorley connected on 18-of-24 passes for 287 yards and a touchdown, including a pair of 52-yard throws and the Penn State defense held Temple to 38 yards rushing, as the Nittany Lions defeated Temple, 34-27, in front of a “Stripe Out” crowd Saturday afternoon in Beaver Stadium.

Penn State (2-1, 0-0 Big Ten) led Temple (1-2, 0-0 American) by as many as two touchdowns in the first half, as Chris Godwin totaled 111 yards and a touchdown in the first 30 minutes. The Owls capitalized on Nittany Lion miscues in the second half to pull within three, 27-24, midway through the fourth quarter, but running back Saquon Barkley answered for Penn State by breaking off a 55-yard touchdown run with 7:20 remaining.

Penn State jumped out to a 21-7 lead in the first half. A 52-yard touchdown strike to Godwin for the game’s first score was quickly answered by a 67-yard reception by Temple’s Romond Deloatch, setting up an 8-yard touchdown run for running back Jahad Thomas. However, Penn State went back ahead with 2:50 remaining in the first quarter, as running back Andre Robinson capped a 13-play, 69-yard drive with three consecutive runs, including a 3-yard plunge into the end zone for his first career touchdown. McSorley capped a drive midway through the second quarter with a dive into the end zone for a 21-7 advantage.

Temple assembled a field goal drive just before the break to head into the locker room trailing 21-10.

The Nittany Lions restored their 14-point lead with a 40-yard Tyler Davis field goal just under six minutes into the second half. However, Penn State allowed a 9-yard touchdown drive and a 1-yard touchdown drive with only a Davis field goal in between after turnovers gave the Owls short fields.

Penn State’s lead was down to 27-24, but Barkley’s touchdown scamper resulted in a 34-24 lead that proved to be enough, as Temple could only muster a field goal for the final margin.

The 106 points scored by Penn State through three games is the most by a Nittany Lion team since the 2008 squad put up 166 points in that span (Coastal Carolina – 66; Oregon State – 45; at Syracuse – 55).