Penn State is hitting the road for the first time under the leadership of head coach Matt Campbell. After an impressive season debut for the 2026 Nittany Lions, Penn State now heads to Philadelphia to take on the Temple Owls in Lincoln Financial Field, home of Saquon Barkley and the Philadelphia Eagles. Penn State's long history against Temple has been almost as one-sided as they come, but this is the first meeting between the two programs since Penn State's Big Ten championship season of 2016. Despite the time off in the series, Penn State will continue the trend of being a heavy favorite when they line up against Temple this weekend.
Here are our game predictions for this weekend's matchup between Penn State and Temple.
Paul White, Contributor: Penn State 38, Temple 21
I could definitely see
this being a trap game where the Owls make it much closer than it should be. They have several former Penn State players that would love to stick it to their old school. Not to mention the fact that there is a bit of a rivalry between these schools that make the stakes even higher. I expect Penn State to win, but it could be a lot closer than last week.
Player of the game: Benjamin Brahmer, Penn State tight end
Christopher Sheppard, Contributor: Penn State 45- Temple 17
The Nittany Lions go a couple hours down the road for their first road matchup of the season against a familiar foe and a familiar face in former backup QB Jaxon Smolik. Temple is an unusual opponent with Smolik sharing snaps with the dual-threat QB Ajani Sheppard. Therefore, expect the Nittany Lions to potentially face some confusion early. Still, the blue and white should roll in this one as the defense settles in, with Tony Rojas continuing to pad his stats.
Player of the game: Tony Rojas, Penn State linebacker
Kevin McGuire, Lead Writer: Penn State 42, Temple 16
The last time Penn State walked into Lincoln Financial Field in Philadelphia did not go so well. But that 2015 debacle, which is still probably echoing in the nightmares of Christian Hackenberg to this day, is essentially ancient history at this point. And if last week proved anything to me, it is that Matt Campbell knows how to have his team locked in and focused no matter the opponent. I'm expecting more of the same this week against the Owls, and I think we'll see the running game having more of an impact this week. I'm not predicting any back going off for 100 rushing yards, but I do feel the combo of James Peoples and Carson Hansen will be more consistently productive than they were a week ago. But I also want to see more Koby Howard making plays with his hands too.
Player of the Game: Rocco Becht, Penn State quarterback
This article originally appeared on Nittany Lions Wire: Final score predictions for Penn State vs. Temple in Week 2
