Penn State Sports Magazine
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I think that kind of set back our growth as a young football team, be- cause we were more in preservation mode than we were in development." In full pads each day, the Owls had possibly the year's hardest week of practice. On Monday, less than a week before Temple's game against Penn State, Addazio still hadn't let up. He's fully aware of Penn State's 36-game winning streak and its 41-year dominance over the Owls. He's also aware of how close Temple came to winning a year ago. That was until fullback draft picks. This season, only 13 sen- iors are on the team. Addazio has al- ready played six true freshmen and eight redshirt freshmen. Though Tem- ple hauled in one of the best recruit- ing classes in the program's history in 2011, those players are still young and have little game experience. The majority of STEVE ADDAZIO "We have kids who thought one day when they were Michael Zordich scored with less than three min- utes left, spoiling the home team's upset. This year, if his team gets a lead, he doesn't want to relinquish it. He's hoping he got that point across to his team dur- ing the bye week. "We had a real rough week of prac- tice last week," Addazio said Monday. "We had full pads, we were getting after it, we were beat up and injured, and we still did that because we're going to develop this young football team. … We had another rough one today, and were going to have another rough one tomorrow, full pads. And we're going to keep working hard and developing, and we're going in there and playing as hard as we can play. That's our mind-set, not what the stats are, not how many years [Penn State has beaten Temple.] That doesn't mean anything to me because when we go into the stadium, each guy's got to buckle his chin strap, and its going to be one guy vs. one guy, 11 vs. 11. That's what it is." Like Penn State, Temple opened the season with new starters at almost every position on offense, and its de- fense was mostly revamped, too. Last season Temple graduated 22 mem- bers of the winningest senior class in school history, including three NFL S E P T E M B E R little about going to Penn State. Then they weren't recruited. ... Those are the things that create a lot of intensity." Temple's roster con- sists of Pennsylva- nia natives, many of whom grew up yearning to play for Penn State. For one reason or the other, though, they weren't heavily recruited. This weekend's matchup, Addazio said, is their chance to get back at their in-state rival. "It's a measuring stick," Addazio said. "That fosters a great deal of rivalry into a game. It's just nat- ural. That's what happens, you know what I mean? We have [Pennsylvania] kids who thought one day when they were little about going to Penn State. Then they weren't recruited, so they go to Temple with a chance to play. Those are the things that create a lot of intensity." Not since 1941 has Temple beaten Penn State, and that adds to the in- tensity, too, at least for the storylines. Penn State coach Bill O'Brien doesn't care much for the winning streak, partially because this is his first game in the series, but also because Temple is now in the Big East and improving each year. He knows the streak can be snapped any game. "I don't know what they were like in 1940," O'Brien said, "but in 2012 this is an excellent Temple team with a bunch of good players." Addazio, a longtime friend of O'Brien and a fellow New England native, had similar praise for Penn State. "You're going in there, going into a hornet's nest," Addazio said of Penn State. "You're playing a really good football team. Their defense is real strong, every bit as strong as it was a year ago. They're still Penn State." 1 9 , 2 0 1 2 2 BWI'S FORECAST NATE BAUER 2012 RECORD 1-2 Teams that can throw the foot- ball will have plenty of success against PSU this season. Temple is not one of those teams. The defense holds, while the Lions' passing game skates by for the win. PENN STATE 21, TEMPLE 10 PHIL GROSZ 2012 RECORD 1-2 Temple hasn't beaten PSU since 1941, and that isn't changing Saturday. The Owls have a one- dimensional offense perfectly suited for PSU's defense to stop. PENN STATE 31, TEMPLE 10 MATT HERB 2012 RECORD 2-1 The Nittany Lions won't be back to full health for this one, but they look to be healthy enough to handily overcome a rebuilding Temple squad. PENN STATE 28, TEMPLE 13 TIM OWEN 2012 RECORD 1-2 Matt Brown is dangerous. Either on a run or a return, he's poised to break a long play. Otherwise, this isn't the same Temple of a year ago. The Lions' front seven is too much for Temple's young and battered offensive line. PENN STATE 24, TEMPLE 10 RYAN SNYDER 2012 RECORD 2-1 Temple's defense is down this year, which should allow PSU to move the ball, but a turnover or two will keep this closer than it should be. PENN STATE 23, TEMPLE 14 ERIC THOMAS 2012 RECORD 1-2 This is about as sure of a pick as you can make all season. PENN STATE 33, TEMPLE 12 B L U E W H I T E O N L I N E . C O M