Penn State vs. Temple: 10 possibly interesting facts

Penn State opens up the 2015 season on the road this weekend against the Temple Owls. Here are some facts about the series and Temple you may find interesting.

1. The last time Temple beat Penn State, the Owls took a 3-1 series lead

Before the series slanted totally in favor of the Nittany Lions, Temple took control of the series in the earlier years of the in-state rivalry. Temple’s last win came on October 18, 1941, at which time the Owls took a 3-1 lead in the series.

Temple won the first meeting between the two schools roughly a decade earlier on October 10, 1931. The game, played in Philadelphia, saw Penn State return home without scoring a point in a 12-0 setback. Of course, Temple and Penn State were polar opposites in 1931. The Owls went on to put together a record of 8-1-1 by adding wins against Bucknell, Albright and Villanova in other in-state games. Temple also added a win against Missouri in Kansas City, defeating the Tigers 38-6. Temple’s only loss that season was on the road at Carnegie-Mellon. Meanwhile, Penn State limped through a 2-8 season with losses to Waynesburg, Dickinson, Pittsburgh, Colgate, Lafayette and West Virginia in addition to the road loss to the Owls. Penn State’s only wins that year came against Lebanon Valley and Lehigh (which, ironically, was played in Philadelphia).

Penn State was a better team in 1943, going 7-2 that season with wins over Syracuse, West Virginia, Pittsburgh and South Carolina to close out the year, overcoming a 1-2 start including losses to Colgate and Temple. This season marked the fourth meeting between Penn State and Temple, and all four games had been played in Philadelphia. Temple also went 7-2 in the 1943 season with wins over Kansas, Georgetown, Villanova and Holy Cross but losses on the road at Boston College and Michigan State.

2. Tim McCarver was two days old the last time Temple beat Penn State

Before he was that baseball announcer that causes so many baseball fans to be turned off by a FOX broadcast of a baseball game, McCarver was a two-time all-star baseball player and two-time World Series champion with the St. Louis Cardinals. He had other stops along the way in his career with the Philadelphia Phillies, Montreal Expos, St. Louis Cardinals, Boston Red Sox and one last time with the Phillies. McCarver was born on October 16, 1941, two days before Penn State’s most recent loss to the Owls.

3. Joe Paterno wasn’t halfway through high school the last time Temple beat Penn State

For many fans it can be hard to remember Penn State football before Joe Paterno, but trust me when I say it actually happened. But it happened so long ago that the last time Temple celebrated a victory over the Nittany Lions, the long-time head coach at Penn State was still getting settled in at Brooklyn Preparatory School (he graduated in 1944, so I’m just assuming he was a freshman in the fall of 1940).

4. Penn State has held Temple to fewer than 21 points in 12 straight meetings

If Temple is going to score an upset of Penn State in Week 1, the offense will have to make some things happen. While Temple’s defense has tended to play well against Penn State over the last few meetings, the offense has failed to capitalize on opportunities. Temple has managed to go 12 straight games (dating back to 1995) without scoring more than 14 points, and that just is not enough to get it done against the Nittany Lions. The last time Temple broke the 20-point mark was in 1994, when the Owls scored 21 points when hosting Penn State in historic Franklin Field. Ki-Jana Carter left that game early with an injury (he turned out to be OK later on).

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5. Top five highest scoring games by Penn State vs. Temple

Penn State has had a decided edge on offense over the years against Temple, and have scored at least 40 points 14 times in the series. The most points score din a game against the Owls is 66 points, which came in the 1995 meeting after Penn State squeaked by Texas Tech in the season opener the week before. The top five scoring outputs by Penn State in the series are listed below;

1. Penn State 66, Temple 14 (Sep 16, 1995)
2. Penn State 52, Temple 10 (Sep 13, 1997)
3. Penn State 50, Temple 7 (Nov 15, 1980)
4. Penn State 49, Temple 8 (Sep 12, 1992)
5. Penn State 48, Temple 10 (Oct 6, 1990)
   Penn State 48, Temple 21 (Oct 1, 1994)

6. Top five highest scoring games by Temple vs. Penn State

Let’s flip the script here and list the top five scoring outputs by the Owls against the Nittany Lions. As you might expect, it is not quite as lopsided…

1. Penn State 31, Temple 30 (Oct 30, 1976)
2. Penn State 27, Temple 25 (Sep 14, 1985)
   Penn State 26, Temple 25 (Sep 6, 1975)
3. Penn State 48, Temple 21 (Oct 1, 1994)
4. Penn State 23, Temple 18 (Sep 24, 1983)
5. Penn State 45, Temple 15 (Sep 6, 1985)

7. Penn State has been shut out twice by Temple. Temple has been shut out by Penn State 10 times

The early years of the series were not kind to Penn State. The Nittany Lions were blanked twice by the Owls, once in 1931 and again in 1941. Both games resulted in losses for Penn State. Penn State, like the series itself, holds a decided edge in the shutout category though. Penn State’s defense has pitched a shutout 10 times against the Owls. That includes a four-year stretch in which Penn State’s defense held Temple scoreless from 1945 through 1948. More recently, Penn State shutout Temple in back-to-back seasons in 2006 and 2007. Penn State outscored Temple in those two games by a combined score of 78-0.

8. Temple is 2-39 vs. “Power conference” non-conference opponents since 1991

Last year Temple opened the season with a dominating performance against James Franklin’s former program, Vanderbilt. There was nothing Temple could do wrong on the road against the SEC’s Commodores. The win by Temple was not too surprising given the level Vandy was expected to drop (and not just because it lost Franklin to Penn State), but it was a rarity for the Owls. Temple’s win over Vanderbilt was its first against a power conference opponent in non-conference play since beating Maryland (then of the ACC) in 2011. Before that? Temple’s last win against a power conference opponent in non-conference play came in 1990, before Temple joined the Big East. In 1990 the Owls defeated Wisconsin (in Madison!), Virginia Tech, Pittsburgh, Rutgers and Boston College. Temple has gone 2-39 in non-conference games against teams from the so-called power conferences since joining the Big East, although a good chunk of those losses came against Penn State.

9. Temple head coach Matt Rhule was a part of Linebacker U

Sure to be played up a bit this week is the fact that Temple’s head coach once played for Joe Paterno. Matt Rhule, entering his third season as a head coach, is well versed in Penn State’s history and tradition. Rhule played linebacker for the Nittany Lions from 1994 through 1997 before jumping into the coaching profession in 1998. After graduating from Penn State, Rhule started his coaching career as a linebackers coach at Albright College in Reading, PA. He then moved to Buffalo to coach defensive line for two seasons, then to UCLA in the same role and then to FCS Western Carolina. At West Carolina Rhule served as a linebackers and special teams coach for one year, then was promoted to assistant head coach for two seasons. He then switched role son the coaching staff and coached the running game and offensive line in addition to retaining his special teams duties. That is when he was brought on to the Temple coaching staff under Al Golden (another coach with a Penn State connection). Rhule was a part of the Temple staff for six seasons before jumping to the New York Giants for one year, before finally returning to take over the program.

10. Penn State going for 3-0 in Lincoln Financial Field

This week Penn State will play its third game in Lincoln Financial Field since the stadium opened in 2003, and it will be looking to go 3-0 in the new football home of the Temple Owls. How many other teams have gone undefeated in Lincoln Financial Field to date?

Navy has yet to lose a game in the Linc. The Midshipmen are an astounding 11-0 inside the stadium, with a good amount of those games coming in the annual Army-Navy Game at the expense of Army. Seeing so many teams undefeated in the Linc may not be a shock given the overall history of the Owls, which have now played in the stadium under three separate conferences (Big East, MAC, the American Athletic Conference as well as some time as an independent). But there are also a couple of NFL franchises yet to lose a game in the Linc. One is not too surprising, the New England Patriots. Joining the Patriots with an unblemished record against the Philadelphia Eagles in the stadium? The Seattle Seahawks and Cincinnati Bengals. In fact, no team form the city of Cincinnati has lost a game in Lincoln Financial Field, with the Bengals and Bearcats each 2-0. (Note: NFL preseason games do not count)

Penn State can join Boston College and the Seahawks with the second best undefeated mark in Lincoln Financial Field with a win on Saturday.

Undefeated In The Linc

1. Navy (11-0)
2. Boston College, Seattle Seahawks (3-0)
3. Cincinnati, Cincinnati Bengals, Louisville, Maryland, Penn State, Pittsburgh, Toledo, Rutgers, Western Michigan (2-0)
4. Fordham, Houston, Memphis, Miami, New England Patriots, UCF, Virginia, Virginia Tech (1-0)

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