Temple’s Jahad Thomas (5) hurdles teammate Robby Anderson (19) as he rushes during the second half of an NCAA college football game against Penn State, Saturday in Philadelphia. The play was called back after a holding penalty was called against Temple. Temple won 27-10.
PHILADELPHIA — It got worse. Long before the final whistle came, it got worse for Penn State.
Worse than anything that came in 2014, expected to be the nadir of the sanctions era. Especially on offense.
Ten points scored by Penn State. Ten sacks allowed by Penn State.
That kind of worse.
With the defense hurting and the offense plunging back into 2014 levels of despair, the Nittany Lions suffered their first loss to Temple since 1941 — two months before the attack on Pearl Harbor.
The 27-10 defeat at Lincoln Financial Field was a sobering reminder that the Lions’ depth and overall standing of a program still isn’t back to normal.
“I’m just as disappointed as everyone who watched it,” Lions coach James Franklin said. “People can question us, and it’s our job to silence the questions.”
As Temple players belted out “High Hopes” in their locker room, à la legendary Phillies broadcaster Harry Kalas, Penn State players marched silently into theirs.
Between the news that middle linebacker Nyeem Wartman-White was lost for the season with an apparent knee injury and the pounding they took up front, the Lions simply looked shell-shocked after the game.
Most depressing of all for the Lions, their offense actually sunk lower than the misery of 2014 over the final three quarters as a 10-0 lead gradually faded into a lopsided 17-point loss.
Christian Hackenberg, sacked 44 times a year ago — more than any other FBS quarterback in the nation — went down 10 times against a veteran and motivated Owls defense. That adds up to 120 sacks over the course of a regular season.
And it didn’t matter how many men Temple brought on the rush.
There were some blitzes that weren’t picked up. There were some plays where Hackenberg held onto the ball for too long.
But there was also a third-and-long in which the Owls rushed just two men. Defensive end Nate D. Smith— all 6-foot, 236 pounds of him — knifed between Paris Palmer and Brendan Mahon on the left side and flushed out Hackenberg.
Tight end Brent Wilkerson didn’t manage to get a hand on him on the backside of the play, allowing Smith to bring Hackenberg down for an embarrassing loss.
“I’m just going to say move on to Buffalo,” Hackenberg said of his message to his O-line with the Bulls up next on the schedule. “I think we all need to look in the mirror and see what we can do better. We’re going to do that and we’re going to get focused.”
Any kind of turnaround is going to have to come from the same unit that struggled on Saturday. Though backup Derek Dowrey played a few series at guard, the Lions used largely the same five linemen all afternoon.
There’s a reason for that.
“Literally, our best five are playing.” Franklin said.
That about sums things up for the Lions.
It was a staggering result, given how the game started.
Getting into the no-huddle offense that served the team so well under Bill O’Brien, the Lions scored on their first two possessions, getting a 34-yard field goal from new kicker Joey Julius and a 42-yard touchdown run from Akeel Lynch.
After that? Forty plays on offense. Thirty-five total yards.
Penn State’s drive chart from the second quarter on read: Punt, Punt, Punt, Punt, Punt, Punt, Interception, Punt, Punt, Turnover on downs, End of game.
Hackenberg, who broke the school’s single-game passing record in last season’s opener with 454 yards, finished with 103 against the Owls on 11 of 25 passing.
Wyoming Valley Conference alum Eugene Lewis said there weren’t any surprises from Temple’s defense.
“No, we prepared for it all week and in camp,” the junior wideout said. “We just didn’t do what we were capable of doing today and that’s basically it. We have to focus more on the details.
“Am I surprised? Yeah. I hate losing. This team hates losing. … We’re a way better team than what we put out there today.”
In the end, Temple outgained the Lions 317-180 and got three rushing touchdowns — two from Jahad Thomas and one from quarterback P.J. Walker.
Walker’s score came after defensive end Sharif Finch jumped the route on a swing pass and returned the interception to the Lions 2. That gave the Owls their first lead, one they would never relinquish.
“We’ve got a lot of work to do,” Franklin said. “I don’t need to tell you that. It’s obvious to everybody.
“We’ll watch the film. Be very, very honest with ourselves, including myself. Look in the mirror. We’ll be very critical.”
Reach Derek Levarse at 570-991-6396 or on Twitter @TLdlevarse
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