Temple Game Early Thoughts

[bjf1984]

I don't think PSU should be intimidated by Temple. PSU should have a speed advantage at a lot of places.

Yes this Temple team returns 19 starters, but last year's team was not exactly a Top 25 team.
They were held to 14 points or under 6 of their last 7 games.

And PSU's offense -- the same offense that was struggling mightily late last season -- did manage to score 23 points on Temple.

To me the most important stat is that PSU ran the ball for 254 yards (Akeel Lynch ran for 130 on 18 carries).

So obviously Temple has to be taken seriously -- they can win this game, no question. But barring a real mess on the OL for the second year in a row, PSU should be able to take them. More experience on the OL, a big stable of big, fast receivers, and possibly a lot more speed at running back -- I think that is trouble for them.

tboyer, I think you hit the nail on the head:

"But barring a real mess on the OL for the second year in a row, PSU should be able to take them"

That is the key.....and while I am reasonably optimistic the OL will show improvement.....I do not think it is UNREASONABLE that the Offensive Line may be a hot mess in Week 1.

Even with a hot mess up front, PSU could pull out a close win on the strength of its defense.....but that would be far from guaranteed.

 

[91Joe95]

With all this talk about Temple, I don't see any discussion on which is better - Geno's or Pat's.

 

[fairgambit]

Please explain why another year of experience is a plus for us, but not for Temple.

tboyer can speak for himself but my thought is our players are much better across the board. Experience helps both teams, but better players with another year of experience tend to reach a much higher level than average players with another year of experience.

 

[Bobpsu]

I'd take Temple and the points.

Take em'

 

[stneumann83]

With all this talk about Temple, I don't see any discussion on which is better - Geno's or Pat's.

Campos deli on market street is better than both in my opinion. But if I had to choose it would probably be Pat's.

 

[Cletus11]

The staff will have PSU ready and out there with something to prove in Week 1. As one of the poster's said, this is not OSU or MSU with some high level talent, this is Temple. This is a better Temple program than it has been in a long time with Golden, Addazio, and now Rhule actually making them respectable, but do not confuse Temple with a legit P5 program. The issue with PSU in the last few years is that there were spots on the field that just was not up to the talent/experience level and was exposed. That will not be the case this year. The Oline is going to be better than last, ZERO doubt about it.

But what is going to make the huge difference is the playmakers on offense. Between the Lynch starting and the bevy of freshman RB's and the returning WR's, this offense is going to make BIG plays they did not make last year. You have heard about it in practice, the long run by Allen or Barkley, the deep TD pass to a WR. Those big plays did not happen last year due to lack of experience at the WR position and lack of explosiveness at the RB position, neither of which will be occurring this year.

 

[tallahasseelion]

I'd take Temple and the points.

i'll go psu 24-6 (temple gets two field goals off turnovers and that is it). defense sets the tone for the season. ahh, maybe 31-6.

 

[dawgduice]

Quite frankly, I have NO IDEA on what to expect against Temple. We know the most about our team and have a tendency to have high expectations that might not be realistic. As for Temple we all have a problem "believing" they might be good.
In short, this game will tell us a great deal about what the year may look like for PSU.

PSU 28-14.

 

[psuro]

The most important thing about both those scores is who won the game.

Well, PSU better realize that Chuck Fusina and Scott Fitzkee aren't around to bail them out this time.

 

[NJPSU]

How many Temple players could start for PSU? Not too many.

 

[fairgambit]

Temple game won't be easy. Probably be decided by the team that makes the fewest mistakes.

The biggest mistake was already made by Temple...putting us on their schedule.

 

[fairgambit]

Quite frankly, I have NO IDEA on what to expect against Temple. We know the most about our team and have a tendency to have high expectations that might not be realistic. As for Temple we all have a problem "believing" they might be good.
In short, this game will tell us a great deal about what the year may look like for PSU.
PSU 28-14.

I have a problem believing it because there is little to support it. OK, Temple has a bunch of guys coming back from a team that finished 6-6 against much weaker competition. From that, Temple fans, and some of our own, are suggesting they are the 2nd coming of Alabama. They are not. They are an average team, playing in a weak conference, with players that, for the most part, no top 20 team had any interest in. We will shut them down and then have to listen to Rutgers fans for the following 2 weeks telling us how great they are.

 

[pandaczar12]

As much as I dislike Pitt, I have a lot of Pitt friends and know a lot about their program. They would beat Temple as well, by 10 more more.

Don't let reality ruin the fun. I don't believe most of the stuff I post about Pitt.

 

[fairgambit]

Don't let reality ruin the fun. I don't believe most of the stuff I post about Pitt.

Good point. I don't believe most of the stuff I post about Rutgers either. Deep down, I believe Rutgers is much worse than I make them out to be.

 

[tboyer]

Please explain why another year of experience is a plus for us, but not for Temple.

Actually in this case I think the extra year does mean more for PSU. You had true freshman and first-year starters ALL over this team last year. I think the jump between true freshman and sophomore performance is usually the biggest jump -- especially at positions like OL where true freshman come in totally physically unprepared for Power 5 conference play. Not that the O-linemen will be great their second year, but the second year is big. By midway through this season the OL will be fairly battle-tested -- there won't be much defenses can do to confuse them.

Obviously Temple benefits from more experience, but they were not nearly as green as PSU last year. PSU was more green than just about any major college team last year.

It's impossible to know, but I think there are lots of reasons this PSU team could be a lot better. 1) Depth means competition at most positions and MUCH better practices. Depth also means people won't have to play hurt, and more people can play and get experience, which builds more depth. 2) Coaches are in their second year too and know the opposition much better than they did last year. 3) I just don't believe Hack would have another year like last year -- he should be a LOT better having learned some important lessons. Also it will be his second year in the new offensive system -- last year a lot of the year he was fighting the system, now he'll know it backward and forward.

 

[mmp121]

Here is my question to all you chicken little (the sky is falling) naysayers. What were you thinking LAST year when PSU was going overseas to play UCF (coming off a 11-1 regular season in 2013 and 12-1 for the year) where they beat us @ home in 2013 by 3 points?

Were we all worried about a weak offensive line? Or an unknown D? Did ANY of you have us winning that game?

Not to mention we put up our 3rd highest point total against Temple last year (30). Highest output was 48 against UMASS, 2nd highest was in the bowl win against BC @ 31.

I am not saying that we should discount Temple. They will be a good, disciplined, well coached team. They have a chance to keep up with us for a quarter or two (just like last year).

Our team from last year (we played Temple as our 10th game last year) where most of the team was bruised, battered and maybe even a bit demoralized with the slew of close losses was able to put together a solid W against last years Temple team, where it was obvious that if you wanted to beat us, you had to stuff the box (as Northwestern showed), and put pressure on the short passes.

Temple won't know what our weaknesses are this year, nor will they know what our strengths are. Granted, because of the closed scrimmages, neither will we know that information.

I say have faith and trust that while we won't be head and shoulders better than last year, I would say that if we came out of the chute last year against Temple instead of UCF, we would have won by more than 30-13.

 

[ILLINOISLION]

It's actually VERY simple.

The ONE key to the Temple game.....and virtually ALL games.....is to not beat yourself.

When a team loses, it's 75-80% because they lost the game themselves. When you lose, the other team actually only really beats you maybe 20-25% of the time.

 

[dawgduice]

Here is my question to all you chicken little (the sky is falling) naysayers. What were you thinking LAST year when PSU was going overseas to play UCF (coming off a 11-1 regular season in 2013 and 12-1 for the year) where they beat us @ home in 2013 by 3 points?

Were we all worried about a weak offensive line? Or an unknown D? Did ANY of you have us winning that game?

Not to mention we put up our 3rd highest point total against Temple last year (30). Highest output was 48 against UMASS, 2nd highest was in the bowl win against BC @ 31.

I am not saying that we should discount Temple. They will be a good, disciplined, well coached team. They have a chance to keep up with us for a quarter or two (just like last year).

Our team from last year (we played Temple as our 10th game last year) where most of the team was bruised, battered and maybe even a bit demoralized with the slew of close losses was able to put together a solid W against last years Temple team, where it was obvious that if you wanted to beat us, you had to stuff the box (as Northwestern showed), and put pressure on the short passes.

Temple won't know what our weaknesses are this year, nor will they know what our strengths are. Granted, because of the closed scrimmages, neither will we know that information.

I say have faith and trust that while we won't be head and shoulders better than last year, I would say that if we came out of the chute last year against Temple instead of UCF, we would have won by more than 30-13.

Actually, my biggest concern is the OL (shocker). Last year we could not run at all against UCF. That was ignored because UCF had a good experienced DL. Our offense was ALL Hack !!! We should have guessed we would be in trouble all year long after what we saw in game 1. That is my question, if we can't run at all against Temple (experienced DL or not) I think it will be another "long year".
We win the game 28-14, but I'm just as interested in HOW.

 

[PennStateNate]

So one thread has this program on the rise and this one has us struggling against Temple?

If you lose to Temple, or struggle against Temple we aren't on the rise IMO.

 

[littleguyscoach]

Lol you people have no clue what you are in for on Sept 5th . Just keep thinking this is gonna be a cake walk. Temple has at least two lineman better than any lineman on your roster our dline is quicker and more experienced than yours with losing your two best de's to graduation and your MVP mlb is gone we have one of the best mlb in the country . Your te's are no way better than Colin Thompson I mean Jesse did graduate didn't he? You have no kicking game to speak of with the graduation of ficken and Hack is over rated , he always makes bad decisions when pressured and isn't accurate and trust me he will be pressured all day. Just throw out last years game our defense was on the field all day and just wore down . I was a fan of psu for close to 50 years and jumped ship when PSU grad Matt Rhule came to Temple BEST DECISION I EVER MADE besides Franklin couldn't coach his way out of a wet paper bag but he is a great recruiter so come strong be cause we want every single one of you see this first hand !!!!!

Temple 17
PSU 0

 

[PSU-Knocker]

Lol you people have no clue what you are in for on Sept 5th . Just keep thinking this is gonna be a cake walk. Temple has at least two lineman better than any lineman on your roster our dline is quicker and more experienced than yours with losing your two best de's to graduation and your MVP mlb is gone we have one of the best mlb in the country . Your te's are no way better than Colin Thompson I mean Jesse did graduate didn't he? You have no kicking game to speak of with the graduation of ficken and Hack is over rated , he always makes bad decisions when pressured and isn't accurate and trust me he will be pressured all day. Just throw out last years game our defense was on the field all day and just wore down . I was a fan of psu for close to 50 years and jumped ship when PSU grad Matt Rhule came to Temple BEST DECISION I EVER MADE besides Franklin couldn't coach his way out of a wet paper bag but he is a great recruiter so come strong be cause we want every single one of you see this first hand !!!!!

Temple 17
PSU 0

Come back after the game, we always like to hear from "coaches". On that 17 - 0, are you willing to give me 10 points and PSU say for a hundred?

 

[demlion]

Lol you people have no clue what you are in for on Sept 5th . Just keep thinking this is gonna be a cake walk. Temple has at least two lineman better than any lineman on your roster our dline is quicker and more experienced than yours with losing your two best de's to graduation and your MVP mlb is gone we have one of the best mlb in the country . Your te's are no way better than Colin Thompson I mean Jesse did graduate didn't he? You have no kicking game to speak of with the graduation of ficken and Hack is over rated, he always makes bad decisions when pressured and isn't accurate and trust me he will be pressured all day. Just throw out last years game our defense was on the field all day and just wore down . I was a fan of psu for close to 50 years and jumped ship when PSU grad Matt Rhule came to Temple BEST DECISION I EVER MADE besides Franklin couldn't coach his way out of a wet paper bag but he is a great recruiter so come strong be cause we want every single one of you see this first hand !!!!!

Temple 17
PSU 0

I hope you are not teaching this sort of blind dumbassery to the little guys you coach. If you read the whole thread you will see that some folks are giving Temple their props and are worried about how PSU will do. I think that is a pretty good tribute to a team which has not beaten PSU since approximately Pearl Harbor Day, chief. Your defense was on the field all day last year because they could not get off the field. How has that changed--you have the same players this year as you did then, right? Oh, they're in better shape, is that it?

 

[Blueblood4eva]

Lol you people have no clue what you are in for on Sept 5th . Just keep thinking this is gonna be a cake walk. Temple has at least two lineman better than any lineman on your roster our dline is quicker and more experienced than yours with losing your two best de's to graduation and your MVP mlb is gone we have one of the best mlb in the country . Your te's are no way better than Colin Thompson I mean Jesse did graduate didn't he? You have no kicking game to speak of with the graduation of ficken and Hack is over rated , he always makes bad decisions when pressured and isn't accurate and trust me he will be pressured all day. Just throw out last years game our defense was on the field all day and just wore down . I was a fan of psu for close to 50 years and jumped ship when PSU grad Matt Rhule came to Temple BEST DECISION I EVER MADE besides Franklin couldn't coach his way out of a wet paper bag but he is a great recruiter so come strong be cause we want every single one of you see this first hand !!!!!

Temple 17
PSU 0

Oh my, yet another team on our schedule playing in their self anointed Super Bowl. Rutgers will be upset with you, muscling in on their Super Bowl, and next year we add Pitt to the Super Bowl list. Has Maryland declared Super Bowl status just yet, or is it still no hand shake #Big Rival? Keep dreaming fellas, because a disproportionate number of Super Bowls ended in blowouts. Thanks anyway for recognizing that , "We Are, Penn State".

 

[littleguyscoach]

Oh my, yet another team on our schedule playing in their self anointed Super Bowl. Rutgers will be upset with you, muscling in on their Super Bowl, and next year we add Pitt to the Super Bowl list. Has Maryland declared Super Bowl status just yet, or is it still no hand shake #Big Rival? Keep dreaming fellas, because a disproportionate number of Super Bowls ended in blowouts.

When was the last time penn state has mattered on the national scene lol your not our super bowl Notre Dame is sorry

 

[bmw199]

It is an honor that half our opponents sees us as their superbowl. It is my understanding that's how it was in the 70's and 80's too, as I am too young to know for sure.

 

[Blueblood4eva]

It is an honor that half our opponents sees us as their superbowl. It is my understanding that's how it was in the 70's and 80's too, as I am too young to know for sure.

You are correct, Sir. If I remember correctly and it's not just a senior moment!

 

[Blueblood4eva]

When was the last time penn state has mattered on the national scene lol your not our super bowl Notre Dame is sorry

Notre Dame is sorry too! We agree on that.

 

[demlion]

When was the last time penn state has mattered on the national scene lol your not our super bowl Notre Dame is sorry

Has Temple ever beaten anyone ever who "mattered on the national scene?" I know you do not intend this, but this is actually pretty funny, Coach.

 

[PennStateNate]

Littleguyscoach just sounds like a bad name.

 

[littleguyscoach]

Has Temple ever beaten anyone ever who "mattered on the national scene?" I know you do not intend this, but this is actually pretty funny, Coach.

We will have a chance on Halloween this year!

 

[demlion]

We will have a chance on Halloween this year!

HAA! I'll put you down for a "No."

 

[stneumann83]

Lol you people have no clue what you are in for on Sept 5th . Just keep thinking this is gonna be a cake walk. Temple has at least two lineman better than any lineman on your roster our dline is quicker and more experienced than yours with losing your two best de's to graduation and your MVP mlb is gone we have one of the best mlb in the country . Your te's are no way better than Colin Thompson I mean Jesse did graduate didn't he? You have no kicking game to speak of with the graduation of ficken and Hack is over rated , he always makes bad decisions when pressured and isn't accurate and trust me he will be pressured all day. Just throw out last years game our defense was on the field all day and just wore down . I was a fan of psu for close to 50 years and jumped ship when PSU grad Matt Rhule came to Temple BEST DECISION I EVER MADE besides Franklin couldn't coach his way out of a wet paper bag but he is a great recruiter so come strong be cause we want every single one of you see this first hand !!!!!

Temple 17
PSU 0

Well Penn State was the second youngest team in ncaa division one last year so naturally yes we lost some great players but we do have almost everyone back. Look I think this game will be tough. That's what I said when I started this thread. But by the time we play each other in September, it will have been almost 27,000 days to the day when temple last beat Penn State. That is why there is not much respect from penn state fans like myself because respect is something that is earned. Temple has a long way to go in earning any respect from penn state just like rutgers and Maryland. Until any of those mentioned programs beat penn state on a regular basis, the kind of respect you guys want just will not be there. Sorry.

 

[Miketb31]

Fair gambit seems to forget that PSU lost to a bad 5-7 Northwestern team, a bad 5-7 Michigan team, and barely beat a terrible 4-8 Indiana team

Anyone else see the irony that "Temple" and "PSU" could be used interchangeably in his statement here :

"I have a problem believing it because there is little to support it. OK, Temple has a bunch of guys coming back from a team that finished 6-6 against much weaker competition. From that, Temple fans, and some of our own, are suggesting they are the 2nd coming of Alabama. They are not. They are an average team"

 

[Miketb31]

Fair gambit has posted 15,000 messages!? Man that is one pathetic loser. no job? I'll continue my career as a doctor while you spend yours trying to convince forum monikers that you are a sports guru and actually serve a purpose in life. See you at the Linc Sept 5th!

 

[fairgambit]

Fair gambit seems to forget that PSU lost to a bad 5-7 Northwestern team, a bad 5-7 Michigan team, and barely beat a terrible 4-8 Indiana team
Anyone else see the irony that "Temple" and "PSU" could be used interchangeably in his statement here :
"I have a problem believing it because there is little to support it. OK, Temple has a bunch of guys coming back from a team that finished 6-6 against much weaker competition. From that, Temple fans, and some of our own, are suggesting they are the 2nd coming of Alabama. They are not. They are an average team"

And every one of those teams was better than all the teams on Temple's schedule, other than Penn State and UCF, and those were both Temple losses. The good thing about this "controversy" is that we will know very soon how good both Temple and Penn State are. As I said before, once Temple fans are silenced we will have to deal with the Rutgers trolls.

 

[Miketb31]

Better than the #23rd ranked ECU team that we beat? I cant believe your PSU buddies haven't banned you from posting

 

[fairgambit]

Better than the #23rd ranked ECU team that we beat? I cant believe your PSU buddies haven't banned you from posting

Mike, you're a Temple troll and I usually don't even respond, but I took the bait. I have a weakness sometimes. This will be my final statement. You can respond if you choose but I will not be here to see it. Penn State will dominate Temple because we have better players. We will win easily, by 21 or more. You can run your mouth all you want until the game. I suspect you will slink away silently afterward. Peace.

 

[Miketb31]

Not a troll, just pointing out how you have no facts for the garbage you post, other than your typical "we have better players," "we will win by 21 cuz we have 3rd stringers better than their starters." You are a joke. Keep pretending your 7-6 PSU team is primed to turn into a playoff contender.

Everytime I hear you say how great PSU is gonna be, I'll just remember the pair of 5-7 teams you lost to last year...

 

[pandaczar12]

Fair gambit seems to forget that PSU lost to a bad 5-7 Northwestern team, a bad 5-7 Michigan team, and barely beat a terrible 4-8 Indiana team

True, but you forget that PSU was under unjust sanctions. Those unjust sanctions have been lifted, because well they were unjust. What was Temple's excuse last year?

Also, PSU beat Ohio State, the eventual national champion. (Granted the refs stepped up and made some "mistakes" to spot them 10 points) How would have Temple done against them?

Fair gambit has posted 15,000 messages!? Man that is one pathetic loser. no job? I'll continue my career as a doctor while you spend yours trying to convince forum monikers that you are a sports guru and actually serve a purpose in life. See you at the Linc Sept 5th!

No one wants to hear about your PhD in basket weaving, and being a professor in a self perpetuating major.

Better than the #23rd ranked ECU team that we beat?

Which Poll are you quoting? Because the coaches poll has Missouri at #23. ECU was not one of the "other schools receiving votes:... but Penn State was! In fact I didn't see them in any Final season poll top 25. I did see them at #69 on a poll though. Pretty far off from #23.

Not a troll, just pointing out how you have no facts for the garbage you post, other than your typical "we have better players," "we will win by 21 cuz we have 3rd stringers better than their starters." You are a joke. Keep pretending your 7-6 PSU team is primed to turn into a playoff contender.

Everytime I hear you say how great PSU is gonna be, I'll just remember the pair of 5-7 teams you lost to last year...

So PSU doesn't have better players than Temple? Temple is poised to have their first breakout year in... ever. But PSU coming off unjust sanctions and some great recruiting classes is just going to be 7-6 again? Every time I hear you say how bad PSU is I'll just remember the OT victory against Ohio State last year.

 

[demlion]

Better than the #23rd ranked ECU team that we beat? I cant believe your PSU buddies haven't banned you from posting

ECU was 8-4 and finished the season out of the top 25 after losing to Florida in their bowl game. Nice win over the hokies, who beat Ohio State, which won the national title. But let's not pretend that makes ECU title contenders, ok?

Two things I'll say about this thread: Temple got more props than trolls like you are giving us credit for (which may well turn out to be more than they deserve) and this: fairgambit needs no defense from me, but he is a good fellow.

There is a reason they play these games, and since Pearl Harbor Day, it has been to make people like you STFU.