Penn State Sports Magazine
Issue link: https://comanpub.uberflip.com/i/727005
P R E G A M E R E P O R T T E M P L E @ P E N N S T A T E N O O N , S E P T . 1 7 B T N TEMPLE FACTS COACH Matt Rhule (Penn State, '97) COACH'S RECORD 19-21 in four seasons; career record: same 2016 RECORD 1-1 (0-0 American Athletic Conference) RECORD VS. PSU Penn State leads the all-time series, 39-4-1. MOST RECENT MEETING Penn State jumped out to a 10-0 lead, but Temple responded with 27 points over the final three quar- ters to win, 27-10, at Lincoln Fi- nancial Field on Sept. 5, 2015. The loss snapped a 39-game unde- feated streak for PSU that dated back to 1941. GOOD NEWS Temple DE Sharif Finch is the NCAA's active leader in punt blocks with five, while fellow DE Praise Martin-Oguike is currently tied for first with the most forced fumbles (8) among current play- ers. BAD NEWS Star RB Jahad Thomas has yet to play a snap in 2016 after dislocat- ing his thumb in preseason. He re- turned to practice Tuesday but left early after catching a pass with the injured hand. DID YOU KNOW? Rhule is one of many former Nit- tany Lion football players return- ing for Saturday's game. Marking the 50th anniversary of Joe Pa- terno's first game as PSU's head coach, 500 or more lettermen are expected to be on hand for the commemoration. T I M O W E N | O W e N . t I m . b W I @ g m a I L . C O m S e p t e m b e r 1 4 , 2 0 1 6 b L U e W H I t e O N L I N e . C O m Listen to Temple head coach Matt Rhule dis- cuss Penn State's football roster and the famil- iarity with which he speaks grabs your attention. The names, their classes, their skill sets, it's almost like he grew up a fan, or even went to the school. Oh, wait. That's right. He did. Rather than ogling at the players' heights and weights, however, Rhule is meticulously studying the Lions this week – in addition to twice over the past two seasons. Rhule returns to his alma mater and hometown Saturday for the Owls' showdown against the Nittany Lions, as he tries to gain the advantage in a previously unbalanced se- ries that has gone 1-1 under his and James Franklin's watch. Previewing the matchup Tues- day at his press conference, Rhule ran through the PSU lineup with ease, highlighting which players will have his team's utmost atten- tion in Beaver Stadium. "Penn State has a tremendous football team," said Rhule. "I would start by saying that Saquon Barkley is as good of a run- 1 BALANCED LINE Matt Rhule returns home aiming for another win vs. PSU Although he played only sparingly in last year's game, Rhule said Saquon Barkley is one of the best RBs he has seen in college. Photo by Steve Manuel