Temple @ Penn State preview

Last Meeting ( Sep 5, 2015 ) Penn State 10, Temple 27

After what happened last season in the opener at Temple, Penn State can't waste any time lamenting over a 42-39 loss to Pittsburgh when the Owls come calling Saturday. Last season, Temple, which had lost 31 straight games to the Nittany Lions, sacked star quarterback Christian Hackenberg 10 times - the most by one team in one game in FBS - and embarrassed the Lions 27-10.

"Obviously, last year we're all aware of," Penn State third-year coach James Franklin told reporters this week. The season before, 30-13 here in State College. The year before that, in 2012, was (24-13). In 2011, at Lincoln Financial Field was 14-10. This game has become more and more competitive." Nobody is more competitive than Penn State runner Saquon Barkley, whose five touchdowns last week helped the Lions rally from a 21-point deficit and provided a chance to win when a potential scoring pass went through the hands of wideout DaeSean Hamilton and Trace McSorley followed a few plays later with the Lions' fourth turnover, an end-zone interception with 1:15 left. Temple bounced back from a season-opening loss to Army last week, holding Stony Brook to 133 yards in a 31-0 shutout. This week’s game will not be without controversy in Happy Valley, as Penn State plans to commemorate the 50th anniversary of Joe Paterno's first game as coach, a decision that has been met with stiff resistance in some areas, including the school's student newspaper.

TV: Noon ET, Big Ten Network. LINE: Penn State -8.5.

ABOUT TEMPLE (1-1): Playing behind a suspect offensive line, quarterback Phillip Walker, the school's all-time leading passer, is 23-of-49 for 292 yards and three TDs - all against Stony Brook - with four interceptions and six sacks. The Owls are hopeful for the return of running back Jahad Thomas (1,262 yards, 17 rushing TDs in 2015), who gained 135 yards on 29 carries with two TDs last season against the Lions but missed the first two weeks this year with a dislocated thumb. Filling in for Thomas, Ryquell Armstead has 30 carries for 125 yards and two TDs.

ABOUT PENN STATE (1-1): In his second career start, McSorley went 24-of-35 for 332 yards against Pitt, including converting a fourth-and-16 in the final drive, and Barkley ran for 85 yards on 20 carries. ''We started off slow, they punched us in the mouth first,'' Barkley said after the game. ''We responded but we've just got to come out earlier and be ready to play earlier.'' The Lions' new up-tempo offense is averaging 36 points and 380 yards per game but the revamped defensive front, after the departure of three defensive lineman to the NFL, is yielding an average 245.5 yards on the ground - almost 100 more per game than last season.

EXTRA POINTS

1. Temple fourth-year coach Matt Rhule, who last season led the Owls to their first top-25 ranking in 36 years, played linebacker for Penn State from 1994-97 and started his coaching career there as a volunteer assistant.

2. The Nittany Lions will be hosting their second annual "Stripe Out" game, as sections of stands will alternate between blue and white attire. "We want to not allow, as best we can, the crowd and the atmosphere to affect us," Rhule told reporters this week. "It's really, really hard. It's a really, really loud place."

3. Barkley's five total TDs (four rushing, one receiving) last week are the most by a Lion since Ki-Jana Carter tallied five times against Michigan State in 1994.

PREDICTION: Penn State 33, Temple 17