Temple has no answer for Paterno-less Lions

The Penn State coach missed his first game in nearly three decades.
STATE COLLEGE, Pa. (AP) -- Levi Brown clutched the football tightly against his chest. There was a special handoff he needed to make after Penn State's 47-0 rout of Temple.
"The game ball is going to going to Coach [Joe] Paterno," the left tackle said. "Wherever he's at, I'm going to take it to him."
With Paterno watching from home, missing his first game in nearly three decades, Penn State (7-4) overwhelmed the Owls. Tony Hunt had a career day with 167 yards rushing and four touchdowns, Derrick Williams scored on a 75-yard punt return and the Nittany Lions held Temple (1-10) to two first downs.
The 79-year-old Paterno, recovering from left leg surgery, missed a game for just the second time in his 41 years as Penn State coach. He watched from home a day after being released from Mount Nittany Medical Center, handing the reins to his assistant coaches Saturday.
He did give his squad a pep talk over a speakerphone, though.
"What really hit home is when he said, 'Good luck guys, I love you,' " linebacker Paul Posluszny said. "Even though he wasn't here, he was definitely with us in spirit."
Key performance
Posluszny and Brown, the team captains, planned to stop by Paterno's house Saturday night to present the game ball. Had he been there in person, JoePa might have given it to Hunt, who surpassed the 3,000-yard mark for his career Saturday.
Two of his scoring runs came in the game's first six minutes, including a 26-yard scamper capped when the senior extended the ball over the goal line just before getting shoved out of bounds to give Penn State a 14-0 lead.
The Lions stopped the Owls on the next drive, so Jake Brownell boomed a 53-yard punt that would have pinned Penn State deep and swung momentum.
Instead, the Owls were penalized and forced to punt again. Williams backpedaled after looking the ball into his chest before bursting past would-be tacklers to jet untouched into the end zone for a 21-0 lead.
Penn State led 31-0 at the half, and Nittany Lion reserves took the field by midway through the third quarter.
Temple, with Division I-A's worst offense, mustered just 74 total yards. Quarterback Adam DiMichele was 7-of-17 for 52 yards and one interception, and ran for minus-13 yards on seven carries.
"As I sit here, I'd have to dig pretty deep to find some things I was pleased about," Temple coach Al Golden said.
The win gets Penn State one step closer toward a possible berth in the Outback Bowl on Jan. 1; bowl representatives watched the contest from the press box.
First though, Penn State needs to win their season finale next week against Michigan State, a game which doctors have said Paterno could possibly coach -- as long as it's from a coach's box above the field.
For now, the players will have to do with get-well visits at Paterno's house and listening to what Brown called the coach's "squeaky voice" over the phone.
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