Penn State gets its kicks vs. Temple

Associated Press

STATE COLLEGE, Pa.

Collin Wagner tied a school record with five field goals, Evan Royster ran for 187 yards and No. 23 Penn State’s defense dominated in the second half in a 22-13 win Saturday to survive a scare from upstart Temple.

The Nittany Lions (3-1) had little trouble moving the ball until they got inside the 40, but Wagner’s right leg bailed them out. His 21-yarder with 1:38 left in the third quarter finally gave Penn State a 15-13 lead.

Temple (3-1) had been outscored 154-9 in its previous four games with Penn State, but took a 13-6 lead in the first quarter on Bernard Pierce’s two touchdown runs. He later left the game with an apparent right ankle injury, and the Owls offense stalled after halftime.

Fans at Beaver Stadium breathed a collective sigh of relief after Michael Zordich’s 1-yard touchdown run gave Penn State a nine-point lead late in the fourth.

The Nittany Lions could have had more, but stalled when they drove into Temple territory. Temple’s turnaround nearly project took a huge step forward in Happy Valley. They haven’t beaten Penn State since 1941.

But the Nittany Lions swarmed Temple quarterback Chester Stewart, who had to assume the workload with Pierce out. Stewart finished 8 of 19 passing for 46 yards and three picks.

His Penn State counterpart, true freshman Rob Bolden, finished 18 of 28 for 223 yards. He looked out of sync at times in the red zone, but made some key completions to help set up Zordich’s TD with 3:35 left to cap a 12-play, 96 yard drive.

Things looked good early on for Owls coach Al Golden, a former player and assistant under Joe Paterno. Temple outplayed its opponents using the time-worn Penn State blueprint of pouncing on mistakes and turnovers, and getting just enough production out of the running game.