I'm glad it's a quality game and I expect it to be competitive, but take a look at Temple's schedule last year.
They lost 5 of their last 7, beating only Tulane and East Carolina.
Their defense was good but it had to be because their offense struggled almost as much as PSU's.
After Oct. 11, when they beat Tulsa 35-24, the most they scored the rest of the year was 14 in a 34-14 loss to UCF.
Their defense will be good, but I think the PSU offense will be well prepared and eager to show its improvement.
If this were still the Paterno years, Joe would go into this game with only about 3 1/2 offensive plays prepared and a goal of punting a lot and a safe 13-3 win.
I don't think that's the way Franklin coaches. I think Franklin will want his offense to look good off the bat. Plus PSU may not have anything close to a Division 1 quality kicking game this year, so they HAVE to move the ball.
PSU should have some mismatches on O. They will have some trouble with that Temple front 7, but they also should have some big-play potential on the field for the first time since Alan Robinson graduated. I don't know that PSU will be able to sustain drives, but they should be able to score at least a couple TDs on big plays.
But really where PSU should have a clear edge is the PSU D on the Temple O. This PSU secondary is really athletic, so athletic they will be able to play tight and play for turnovers. They have enough speed that they don't have to give everybody a 15 yard cushion, and they have intelligent ball-hawking safeties.
So I would count on the D to come up some turnovers in this game. I'm betting 3.
So ... no blowout. I would go with 24-14 or something like that. Away game will mean little. The stadium will have plenty of enthusiastic PSU fans to make noise.
They lost 5 of their last 7, beating only Tulane and East Carolina.
Their defense was good but it had to be because their offense struggled almost as much as PSU's.
After Oct. 11, when they beat Tulsa 35-24, the most they scored the rest of the year was 14 in a 34-14 loss to UCF.
Their defense will be good, but I think the PSU offense will be well prepared and eager to show its improvement.
If this were still the Paterno years, Joe would go into this game with only about 3 1/2 offensive plays prepared and a goal of punting a lot and a safe 13-3 win.
I don't think that's the way Franklin coaches. I think Franklin will want his offense to look good off the bat. Plus PSU may not have anything close to a Division 1 quality kicking game this year, so they HAVE to move the ball.
PSU should have some mismatches on O. They will have some trouble with that Temple front 7, but they also should have some big-play potential on the field for the first time since Alan Robinson graduated. I don't know that PSU will be able to sustain drives, but they should be able to score at least a couple TDs on big plays.
But really where PSU should have a clear edge is the PSU D on the Temple O. This PSU secondary is really athletic, so athletic they will be able to play tight and play for turnovers. They have enough speed that they don't have to give everybody a 15 yard cushion, and they have intelligent ball-hawking safeties.
So I would count on the D to come up some turnovers in this game. I'm betting 3.
So ... no blowout. I would go with 24-14 or something like that. Away game will mean little. The stadium will have plenty of enthusiastic PSU fans to make noise.
