Penn State pulls away from Temple for 27-9 victory
Trending
PHILADELPHIA - Penn State hasn't had many opportunities to play at Lincoln Financial Field, and it probably would like to keep it that way.
The Nittany Lions eventually pulled away from Temple, winning 27-9, before 61,714 on a sun-splashed Saturday afternoon.
Penn State had lost its last trip here, 27-10 in 2015.
Trailing 3-0, the Lions tied the game on Ryan Barker's 31-yard field goal. Barker had missed from 33 earlier.
Penn State took a 10-3 halftime lead when Rocco Becht found tight end Ben Brahmer for a 23-yard touchdown with :08 left in the first half, capping a 10-play, 83-yard drive.
State built on its lead (17-3) by going 66 yards on eight plays early in the third quarter with Chase Sowell scoring on a 16-yard screen pass.
The Lions added an exclamation point in the fourth quarter when Becht found Brahmer for a second 23-yard TD with 7:48 remaining for a 27-3 lead.
Becht was 21-of-27 for 268 yards, three touchdowns and no interceptions for the day.
Brahmer and Sowell each caught five passes, Brahmer for 79 yards and Sowell for 58.
Carsen Hanson led the Penn State ground game with 84 yards on 19 carries.
The Lions' defense struggled early, but tightened up in the second half and kept the Owls off the scoreboard until backup QB Ajani Sheppard scored with 1:56 remaining to set the final score at 27-9 after a failed 2-point conversion.
Penn State, now 2-0, returns to action next Saturday by hosting Buffalo at noon. The Big Ten Network will televise.
Temple (1-1) visits Toledo at 3 p.m. Saturday.
The Mirror will have a complete report in Monday's print edition.