Score Before Halftime Turns the Game in the Direction of the 16th Ranked Nittany Lions
PHILADELPHIA, PA 9/12/2025 –
There were those who expected a dominant win by Penn State. There were others who hoped for a monumental upset by Temple. The game turned out to be a defensive struggle that turned to the Penn State Nittany Lions in the second half resulting in a 27 – 9 win over the Temple Owls at the Linc.
“I thought our kids battled all day long against a good team. No moral victories in our world,” said Temple Coach K.C. Keeler. “When we look at the tape we’ll be disappointed. If we played cleaner I think we had a chance, it’d be a tight one at the end.”
The start the game did not appear to be a tough, slog through the weeds battle. On the first offensive play Nittany Lions quarterback Rocco Becht completed a pass to wide receiver Koby Howard that covered 56-yards advancing the ball to the Temple 19-yard line. A face mask penalty advanced the ball to the nine. The Temple defense rose up and forced Penn State to attempt a 33-yard field goal attempt that was wide-left. Defensive game on!
Late First Half Score for PSU
The teams traded field goals in the second quarter. The home team got a 33-yarder by Carl Hardin, set up by a 47-yard run by quarterback Jaxon Smolik. Visitors matched that with a 31-yarder by kicker Ryan Barker. on the ensuing possession Temple punted. Penn State took over at their 17-yard line with 1:57 until intermission. There was enough time.
The Nittany Lions methodically marched down the field and got the decisive score on an 18-yard scoring toss from Becht to Benjamin Brahmer with 8 seconds remaining for a 10 – 7 lead.
“Completely on me. That was my man,” said Owls safety Saboor Karriem. “If I had it back I probably would have played it different. I got to be able to get that done.”
Second Half All Lions
The Cherry and White took the second half kickoff and drove to within field goal range. The key play was a 26-yard run by Kaveun Mason, who rushed for a total of 76 yards. An attempt at three-points by Hardin was blocked.
The Blue and White answered with a 8-play, 66-yard drive in 6:08 capped by a 16-yard touchdown pass from Becht to wide receiver Chase Sowell. Barker connected from 39-yards away. Penn State finished their scoring in the fourth quarter when Becht threw his third scoring toss of the day, a 23-yarder to Brahmer.
Temple got a touchdown with under two minutes remaining in the game. Quarterback Ajani Sheppard crossed the goal line from 3-yards away. The two-point conversion failed.
Temple Defense Has Potential
The game was not and could not be a shootout for the Owls to win. It needed to be close contest. It fell somewhere in between. Temple ran the ball on 33 of the 55 plays. Penn State threw the ball on 27 of 61 offensive snaps. The Lions gained a total of 416 yards, 199 in the first 30 minutes, 217 in the second half. The defense is showing talent this season.
“I think we have a pretty stout defense,” Keeler said. “I think there is some inexperience, and we’re not battle tested yet. I think playing clean is about reading your keys and trusting. Do your job, and a lot of the day we did that. But there was a couple of key plays that we put our eyes somewhere else, and those plays hurt us.”
Owls linebacker Curly Ordonez a game-high 12 tackles including a contest-best 9 solo stops.
The Temple offense is still trying to find their stride gaining 283 total yards, 176 on the ground. The Owls had to play conservative. The team had four offensive linemen out due to injury. The group had to adjust. And they wanted a slow pace to try to frustrate the Nittany Lions.
2016 Championship Team Honored
The Owls saluted the 2016 American East championship team. The salute included a video tribute from then Coach Matt Rhule.
Next Up
Temple plays their first road game next week at the Toledo Rockets of the MAC.
Written by: Glenn Papazian
Contact: glenn@phillycollegesports.com
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