Nittany Lions roar as road show hits Philly’s Lincoln

Penn State shut out Temple, 31-0.

PHILADELPHIA (AP) — The blue-and-white die-hards staked their Penn State flags in the parking lot before the game, left the stadium bellowing “We are ... Penn State!” and loved watching the Nittany Lions rout Temple yet again.

It was a miniature Happy Valley in South Philadelphia and the kind of scene Al Golden used to enjoy in his days as a Penn State tight end. Witnessing — and suffering — from the other sideline as Temple’s coach is still tough to accept.

Anthony Morelli threw a pair of touchdowns to Jordan Norwood and Rondney Kinlaw rushed for a career-high 168 yards and a TD to lead Penn State to a 31-0 win over Temple on Saturday, its second straight shutout against the Owls.

“This was like a home game for me,” said Penn State linebacker Dan Connor, a Wallingford, Pa., native. “It was awesome. It was so much fun to play out there in front of my family and friends.”

The Nittany Lions (8-3) improved their career record to 33-3-1 against the Owls and a nifty 24-0 under coach Joe Paterno. Temple (3-7) has not beaten Penn State since a 14-0 win on Oct. 18, 1941.

Morelli threw for 260 yards and three TDs and Derrick Williams had seven catches for 104 yards. Penn State had 202 yards rushing to only four yards for Temple.

“We’re in good shape,” Paterno said. “I still second-guess myself, but I think overall we have done just as well as we have done.”

The game drew a Temple record of 69,029 to Lincoln Financial Field and marked only the third time in the five years the Owls have played there that attendance went over the 30,000 mark. The Owls fans were overwhelmed by Penn State supporters.

The traveling, tailgating Penn State fans started to pack the lots by 8:30 a.m. and traffic snaked around the various streets leading to the sports complex.

Fans were still finding their soaked seats when Morelli connected with Norwood in the corner of the end zone for a 15-yard TD on Penn State’s first drive.

The Nittany Lions used a pair of sensational catches to go up 14-0. Morelli’s big heave found Williams, who leapt over Jaiquawn Jarrett to catch the ball for a 52-yard gain. Penn State gave Temple no time to regroup and Morelli tossed a 22-yard TD to Norwood in the same corner of the end zone on the very next play.

“It wasn’t the same route, it was two different plays,” Morelli said. “They were pretty good. I don’t know where I would rate them, but they were good enough to get the points.”

The Owls have three wins this season (the same total as the other Linc tenants, the Philadelphia Eagles) and coach Al Golden may have finally started the long-woeful program on a path toward respectability in the Mid-American Conference. The Owls, though, showed they still have a long way to go if they want to beat a major conference team like the Big Ten’s Penn State.

“I was proud of the poise our team had in that environment,” Temple QB Vaughn Charlton said.