The Penn State Nittany Lions beat the Temple Owls, 24-13, in a game that was not as close as the score would indicate.
The Penn State offense was able to eat huge chunks of yardage all day, but penalties and mistakes at key times prevented them from blowing Temple out. The Nittany Lions opened the scoring at the end of the first quarter when Matt McGloin found Allen Robinson for a 41-yard touchdown pass.
Temple answered with a field goal in the second quarter, but a pair of McGloin rushing touchdowns on either side of halftime made the game 21-3, and effectively out of reach for the Owls. Penn State kicker Sam Ficken, who was 1-5 on FG attempts for the year, connected on a 20-yard kick late in the fourth to make it 24-6, to the loud approval of the fans in attendance. The Owls were able to quickly push the ball down the field and made the game 24-13, but the ensuing onside kick fell into Penn State's hands.
Starting running back Bill Belton missed his third straight game, but Zach Zwinak (85 yards on 16 carries) and Michael Zordich (76 yards on 15 carries) kept things moving for the Nittany Lions on the ground. Allen Robinson had another good game, hauling in five passes for 82 yards and a touchdown, bringing his TD count to five for the season.
It was a frustrating game for Temple, whose offense was bottled up for much of the game. Chris Coyer struggled throwing the ball, and ended the day going 13-26 for 124 yards and a touchdown. However, the Owls' last drive accounted for 65 of those yards and the touchdown, a 1-yard pass to Matt Brown. Montel Harris led Temple with 43 yards receiving.
Box Score Hero: McGloin accounted for almost all of Penn State's points, going 24-36 for 318 yards, a touchdown and an interception. He also punched in two rushing touchdowns.
Rankings Ramifications: Neither team is likely to be ranked after this game.
But Did They Cover? Penn State came into the game as a 7-point favorite, so they covered the spread.
For More On This Game: For more on Penn State, check out Black Shoe Diaries, as well as Big Ten blog Off Tackle Empire. For more on Temple, head over to SB Nation Philadelphia and Big East Coast Bias.
Next Week's Schedule:
Penn State: Sep. 29 at Illinois
Temple: Oct. 6 vs. South Florida
This story originally appeared on SBNation.com.
