STATE COLLEGE Penn State triumphs despite little offense

Temple had more total yards than the Nittany Lions.
STATE COLLEGE, Pa. (AP) -- Penn State made just enough big plays to overcome its own anemic offense.
Three field goals by Robbie Gould and big plays by Tony Johnson and Michael Robinson led Penn State to a 23-10 victory Saturday over Temple in the opener for both teams.
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."
At times, the Nittany Lions looked good. Robinson -- who played quarterback, tailback and wide receiver in addition to returning punts -- lined up as a tailback to set up Penn State's final touchdown with a 53-yard run to the Temple 19-yard line. Sean McHugh scored on a 4-yard run for a 20-3 lead with 7:45 left.
"When he's in the backfield, I think it causes a lot more problems for them defensively, because they have to worry about exactly what he's going to do, and Mike's a heck of a runner," quarterback Zack Mills said.
Temple made it 20-10 with 4:49 left, scoring its only touchdown on a 3-yard run by Makonnen Fenton after Collin Hannigan threw a 27-yard pass to Zamir Cobb on a fake punt to set up the score. Gould kicked a 40-yarder with 1:48 left.
The win was No. 337 for Penn State coach Joe Paterno, the all-time leader among major-college coaches. Penn State leads the series 31-3-1 and hasn't lost to Temple since 1941.
Poor rushing first half
Penn State's gained just 45 yards rushing and seven first downs in the first half.
When Derek Wake blocked a punt to give the Nittany Lions the ball on the Temple 32, they promptly lost two yards and Gould's try was wide right.
Most of Penn State's 79 first-half passing yards came on a 56-yard touchdown pass from Mills to a wide-open Tony Johnson for a 7-0 lead early in the second quarter.
"We were adequate today," Joe Paterno said. "I said at the beginning of the year that we'd have to play ourselves into being a good football team."
Temple0307--10
Penn St.07610--23
Second Quarter
PSU--Johnson 56 pass from Mills (Gould kick), 13:18.
Tem--FG Davis 33, 0:00.
Third Quarter
PSU--FG Gould 37, 4:23.
PSU--FG Gould 32, 0:40.
Fourth Quarter
PSU--McHugh 4 run (Gould kick), 7:45.
Tem--Fenton 3 run (Davis kick), 4:49.
PSU--FG Gould 40, 1:48.
A--101,553.
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TemPSU
First downs2116
Rushes-yards40-16241-231
Passing19579
Comp-Att-Int17-37-06-19-1
Return Yards5925
Punts-Avg.7-274-39
Fumbles-Lost1-01-0
Penalties-Yards6-471-5
Time of Possession33:2026:40
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INDIVIDUAL STATISTICS
RUSHING--Temple, Fenton 23-118, Washington 8-30, McGann 9-14. Penn St., Robinson 9-84, Scott 12-69, McHugh 6-33, Upton 4-19, Mills 7-14, Hunt 3-12.
PASSING--Temple, McGann 16-33-0-168, Hannigan 1-2-0-27, Washington 0-1-0-0. Penn St., Mills 6-17-1-79, Robinson 0-2-0-0.
RECEIVING--Temple, Cobb 6-105, Fenton 4-11, Stubbs 3-45, Szarka 2-20, Goodman 1-10, Hannigan 1-4. Penn St., Palmer 3-17, Johnson 1-56, Robinson 1-6, Upton 1-0.