Penn State doing everything to evoke 2015 Penn State upset and it might be working

2015 was the penultimate game in the longstanding Penn State-Temple rivalry before a 10-year hiatus. It was also the last time the Nittany Lions and Owls met in Philadelphia and, more notably, the last time Temple pulled an upset over its in-state rival. 

As the two programs rekindled the rivalry on Saturday, both programs, led by new head coaches, Temple did everything possible to evoke that 2015 upset, not just on the field by taking a 3-0 lead, but by honoring the 2015 team that won 10 games, including the win over the Nittany Lions. 

Both programs are in a very different place than they were 11 years ago, but the Owls look content to hang around and potentially put a scare in Matt Campbell’s team after they rolled to a 45-0 win over Marshall a week ago at Beaver Stadium. 

Temple honoring the 2015 Owls at halftime is a perfect troll

11 years ago, Penn State alum Matt Rhule, who was shown on the video board inside Lincoln Financial Field, was at the helm in Philadelphia and led a team surprisingly chock-full of NFL players, including Dion Dawkins and quarterback PJ Walker, to a 27-10 win over James Franklin’s Nittany Lions in Year 2 of a rebuild and still under scholarship limits as a result of the Jerry Sandusky scandal. 

The Owls sacked Christian Hackenberg 10 times in that game for one of the program’s signature wins of the 21st century. Penn State leads the series 40-4-1 all-time, but that win looms large in the recent memories of the rivalry, so bringing that team out in Week 2 is a savvy move by the program now led by K.C. Keeler, who is in his second year. 

It would have been even better for Temple, however, had James Franklin still been leading Penn State. Instead, it’s Campbell in charge and with his veteran quarterback, the Nittany Lions looked to regain their footing after a shaky start. 

Rocco Becht’s crisp two-minute drill eases the mounting pressure on Penn State

For a big-time upset to come together - and this one would be - with the No. 16 Nittany Lions entering as 23.5-point favorites, the underdog needs to put some early pressure and hang around long enough to let it seep into the minds of the powerhouse program. It seemed that was happening early. 

Penn State made two trips inside the Temple 10-yard line, including once off a Tony Rojas interception deep in Temple territory, but came away empty on both opportunities. First, Ryan Barker missed a chip-shot field goal. Then the Nittany Lions got stopped on a fourth-down try, with veteran quarterback Rocco Becht missing Andrew Rappleyea in the end zone. 

Then, with 1:52 left in the first half, Penn State took over at its own 17-yard line. Becht calmly led a 10-play, 83-yard touchdown drive, culminating in a 23-yard touchdown pass to Benjamin Brahmer. Becht needed just one timeout to traverse the field. The score certainly doesn’t quell all concern generated by an underwhelming performance, but it does put Penn State in a much more comfortable position at the intermission. 

Add us as a preferred source on Google

Follow