Penn State Sports Magazine
Issue link: https://comanpub.uberflip.com/i/1546586
6 O C T O B E R 2 0 2 6 W W W . B L U E W H I T E O N L I N E . C O M T ypically, the biggest improvement a team can make is from Week 1 to Week 2. The 2026 edition of the Penn State football team didn't neces- sarily get that memo; the Nittany Lions floundered their way to a 27-9 victory over Temple on Sept. 12 in Philadelphia. It wasn't pretty, but hey, it was quick. Step back from the ledge, though. The victory was far from a mirror image of Week 1, when Penn State was crisp and clean and everything in between in a 45-0 rout of Marshall, but it's unlikely a harbinger of unfortunate things to come for the Nittany Lions. Look across college football, and you'll be hard-pressed to see the same version of a team for an entire season, let alone week to week. The win against Marshall masked some flaws that the Owls were able to expose, but one frus- trating afternoon won't alter the direc- tion this team is headed. And as always, it's better to learn those lessons and still have a win to show for it at the end of the day. Truth be told, this one could have easily headed in the direction of the Marshall game. Penn State came out swinging with a 56-yard hookup from redshirt senior quarterback Rocco Becht to sophomore receiver Koby Howard on the game's first play, and the party was on. Well, it should have been. But un- like in their season opener when they put 17 first-quarter points on the board at Beaver Stadium, the Nittany Lions weren't able to finish off their posses- sions decisively. Three drives into Tem- ple territory, two of which went inside the Owls' 10, were rewarded with zero points. You know things aren't going your way when even your most reliable point scorer, redshirt junior kicker Ryan Barker, can't put a makeable attempt through the uprights. Don't try to dig too deep on this one. That's the game right there. The Owls presented their throat to step on, and the Nittany Lions didn't take them up on the offer. Never mind that Penn State scored on every single drive until it ran the clock out in the second half; the Nittany Lions gave an opponent a chance to believe in itself, and that al- lowed the game to stay close. The tape will show a team that felt pretty good about itself after the previ- ous week and started expecting things to fall into place. Becht's nonchalant start of the game seemed to be indica- tive of that mindset. To his credit, he was able to right the ship and put forth a second consecutive sharp perfor- mance. Becht's ability to flip the switch (and that's a simplified metaphor, not actual analysis) isn't going to be as easy for those around him who aren't as ex- perienced. Penn State will also take a great deal of frustration away from this one, and rightly so. The Nittany Lions had a chance to squash the bug and missed. It's a lesson, one of many that will play out over the next three months. In the midst of that frustra- tion, the Lions got a look at what life is going to be like without redshirt sophomore defensive end Max Granville, one of their most promising young players who is now out for the season with an injury he suffered in practice a few days before the trip to Philly. Not having Granville wasn't the reason Penn State allowed 176 rushing yards to Temple. But the Nittany Lions are down to a four-man rotation, which is far from ideal. While se- nior Ikenna Ezeogu was solid against the Owls, the rest of the group was out of sorts at times. Temple's biggest runs came on scrambles when quarterback Jaxon Smolik broke contain or found room to maneuver on cutback runs. Sophomore defensive end Yvan Ke- majou got sucked inside too much and collapsed the edge (not in the good way). He did get a sack, though. After a standout performance in Week 1, se- nior edge rusher Caleb Bacon was just solid against Temple and didn't pro- vide much in terms of a pass rush. Granville's biggest value was as the guy who could get to the quarter- back without defensive coordinator D'Anton Lynn having to make adjust- ments. With that option off the table, Penn State will have to compensate by bringing pressure from elsewhere. That's fine, but it takes away a chip to play with in the back seven. Even if Granville hadn't gotten hurt, we wouldn't be seeing the same version of the Nittany Lions week in and week out this fall. College football has grown closer to the NFL in that regard. But good teams can play poorly and lose. This one — still a good, solid team with its own flaws — did not do that in its first road test of the season. ■ Defensive coordinator D'Anton Lynn will have to find a way to gen- erate pressure with an edge-rushing corps that will not be at full strength the rest of the season. PHOTO BY GREG PICKEL Change Will Be The Only Constant This Fall JUDGMENT CALL O P I N I O N SEAN FITZ SEAN.FITZ@ON3.COM