PENN STATE FOOTBALL 'Lions tailback spot still up for grabs

They used four in their 23-10 win over Temple without someone stepping up.
STATE COLLEGE, Pa. (AP) -- Penn State went into its opener against Temple without a clear idea of who would emerge as a lead tailback. After a 23-10 victory over the Owls, Penn State's tailback situation isn't any clearer.
Four Nittany Lion tailbacks combined for 184 rushing yards in the win. Ricky Upton, who topped the depth chart, is still waiting for his first start; Starter Michael Robinson still wants to play quarterback; true freshman Austin Scott got the most carries; Tony Hunt, another true freshman, also played.
"I feel 100 times better about the running game," quarterback Zack Mills said. "I was a little worried with the inexperience in the backfield, but we proved we could run the ball today."
Still undecided
But Mills wouldn't venture a guess on who would run the ball. Nor would Upton, who was expected to start against Temple.
"Right now, your guess is as good as mine when it comes to the running game and how the coaches want to play it," Upton said.
None of Penn State's backs was very effective early in the game. Through three quarters, the Owls were still outrushing Penn State, and no Nittany Lion back had more than 39 yards.
But the Temple defense wore down as the game progressed. Robinson swept around the left side and sprinted 53 yards to set up Penn State's final touchdown; fullback Sean McHugh's 4-yard run made it 20-3 with 7:45 remaining.
Half of Scott's carries and all of Hunt's came in the fourth quarter.
"The coaches had a great plan against Temple: to wear them down by the end of the first half," offensive tackle Chris McKelvy said. "The persistency of running at them finally paid off in the fourth quarter."
Fans like Scott
It was Scott and Hunt who set up Robbie Gould's third and final field goal, a 40-yarder with 1:48 remaining. Fans particularly liked Scott -- who set Pennsylvania records with 3,853 rushing yards and 53 touchdowns last year at Parkland High School -- cheering every time he took the field, and even booing once in the third quarter when he was pulled from the game.
"I wouldn't jump at anything right now," coach Joe Paterno said. "I'd like to look at the tape of the game and some things like that. I thought Upton did a pretty good job when he was in there, too. He had a couple of strong runs. He's not quite as fast as those kids are, but he's still a pretty good football player."
None of Penn State's backs was as impressive as Temple's Makonnen Fenton, who rushed for 118 yards on 23 carries. Zamir Cobb had six catches for 105 yards.
Temple had 357 yards total offense and 21 first downs to just 310 yards and 16 first downs for Penn State. But the Owls were unable to convert their yards into points.
"Obviously we need to find a way to score more points," Temple coach Bobby Wallace said. "The dropped passes were the story of our first half. We catch those and we're a much more successful offense."