| Score by Quarters | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | Score |
| Temple | 0 | 0 | 3 | 0 | 3 |
| Penn State | 0 | 31 | 7 | 7 | 45 |
| Scoring Summary | ||
| 2nd | 14:27 | PSU - Brackett 20-yard pass from Clark (Kelly kick) |
| 10:49 | PSU - Royster 32-yard run (Kelly kick) | |
|
09:23 | PSU - Clark 11-yard run (Kelly kick) |
| 04:35 | PSU - Zug 17-yard pass from Clark (Kelly kick) | |
| 00:00 | PSU - Kelly 44-yard field goal | |
| 3rd | 10:43 | TEM - Brownell 25-yard field goal |
| 10:05 | PSU - Green 69-yard run (Kelly kick) | |
| 4th | 13:57 | PSU - Powell 7-yard run (Kelly kick) |
UNIVERSITY PARK — Daryll Clark thought something was amiss when Penn State’s offense took the field for the first time Saturday.
His suspicions were confirmed when the Nittany Lions, who had averaged 16.3 points in the first quarter in their first three games, were shut out in the opening 15 minutes by Temple.
“The feeling was flat when we came out, and I had asked a couple of players, ‘How are you feeling right now?’” the senior quarterback said. “And they were like, ‘Man, we’re trying to get a rhythm going, trying to get the blood flowing, but it was just a little difficult today.’” For one quarter, anyway.
Getting a spark from a freshman tailback, No. 16 Penn State (4-0) snapped out of its early funk to pile up 31 second-quarter points on the way to a 45-3 rout of the Owls (1-3) before 105,106 in Beaver Stadium.
“Sometimes you think you’re ready to go,” said Penn State coach Joe Paterno, who coached half of his 376th career win from the press box because of a nagging leg injury, “but you don’t have that little edge.”
Stephfon Green, who ran for 132 yards in his fourth career game, scampered 27 yards to Temple’s 20-yard line on the first play of the second quarter. On the next play, Clark found wide receiver Brett Brackett, who had watched a first-quarter pass flutter through his hands and become his quarterback’s first interception of the season, for a 20-yard touchdown over the middle.
The Nittany Lions, who gained 67 yards on 16 plays in the first quarter, picked up 224 yards — and four touchdowns — on their first 17 plays of the second quarter.
Clark, who finished 13-of-20 for 196 yards, added a 17-yard touchdown pass to backup wide receiver Graham Zug and scored on an 11-yard keeper. Evan Royster, who carried just nine times, had 32 of his 73 yards on a touchdown run through the heart of the defense. Clark’s backup, Pat Devlin, shook off one of five Penn State fumbles to guide the Nittany Lions to the 27-yard line and set up Kevin Kelly’s 44-yard field goal just before halftime.
It was the sort of performance Penn State fans have come to expect from their high-powered offense during what has been an unchallenging non-conference schedule, just one that started a few minutes later than anticipated.
“Every game can’t be a perfect game,” said wide receiver Deon Butler, who led Penn State with four catches for 66 yards. “We came out with a couple mistakes. I don’t blame it on anything as far as a letdown or sluggishness. There were mistakes made today and Temple had a good game plan and came in and executed early. It took us a while to get going, but I think that was just the circumstances.
The Owls, who had lost on the final play in both of their previous two games, were in little position to take advantage of Penn State’s sluggishness after their best player left the game after their first offensive series. Senior quarterback Adam
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DiMichele, who had accounted for 78 percent of Temple’s offense in the first three games, did not return after a sack by Penn State defensive end Aaron Maybin injured his right, throwing shoulder on the game’s fifth play.
“We wanted to come out and establish the fact that our defense was going to play dominant the whole game and we wanted to definitely come out and send a message,” said Maybin, who made two sacks Saturday to bring his team-leading total to six. “It was unfortunate that he went down the way he did, but I think that it was a good play for our defense because it gave us a lot of confidence going into the game.”
Maybin, end Josh Gaines (two sacks) and linebacker Navorro Bowman (three sacks, a forced fumble and an interception) provided DiMichele’s inexperienced backup, redshirt freshman Chester Stewart, with a diverse and overwhelming education. Stewart finished 16-of-30 for 116 yards and three interceptions and was also the Owls’ leading rusher with 37 yards on 18 attempts. Temple finished with 16 net yards rushing on 28 attempts.
Penn State’s kickoff coverage team allowed 221 yards on six returns by Temple’s Travis Shelton and Jamal Schulters, and only hustle by Knowledge Tim-mons kept Shelton’s 74-yard return in the second quarter from going for six points. But the rest of the defense, as it has for most of the season, responded when it had to.
On the first play after Shelton’s return, Stewart overthrew Dy’Onne Crudup and the ball went directly to Penn State cornerback Tony Davis. Clark followed with a deep pass to Butler, who gained 66 yards before being tackled by a swarm of eight Owls. With linebacker Tommie Weatherspoon dragging him to the ground, Clark then lobbed an ill-advised screen pass to Green, who grabbed it anyway and picked up 17 yards to set up Penn State’s third touchdown, a quick sprint to the end zone by Clark.
A false-start penalty, sacks by Maybin and Bowman and a kick-catch interference penalty set up the Nittany Lions at the Temple 48-yard line, and they needed just six plays to make it 28-0, Clark zipping a slant pass to Zug for a 17-yard score.
Jake Brownell broke Temple’s 10-quarter scoreless streak against the Nittany Lions with a 25-yard field goal four minutes into the third quarter, but the Owls didn’t have long to enjoy it. Green broke off a 69-yard touchdown run on Penn State’s second play from scrimmage. A 7-yard scoring run by freshman receiver Chaz Powell early in the fourth quarter completed the scoring.
Penn State opens its Big Ten season at 8 p.m. Saturday in Beaver Stadium against No. 22 Illinois, which was idle this week. Paterno should have plenty to admonish his team for during practice this week after what he called a “very, very sloppy performance,” but seemed to be as ready for a stiff test as his players.
“I think the kids are anxious to get into it and I’m anxious to get into it,” he said, “just to see what kind of football team we have.”