Penn State opened up the season against an unfamiliar opponent in Marshall, but they’ll get a team that they have a long history with in Week 2. They’ll travel to eastern Pennsylvania to take on the Temple Owls in the first meeting in a decade between the two squads.
Temple won three of its first four games in the series in the early 1900s, but it has been Nittany Lions domination ever since. They are 39-1-1 against the Owls in the last 41 meetings and will look to continue their nearly flawless resumé against them this week.
One thing Penn State should be wary of is the fact that Temple beat them back in 2015, so this won’t be an easy game. Even the game that the Nittany Lions won in 2016 was a dogfight. The Blue and White squeaked out a 34-27
win in a game where quarterback Trace McSorley had nearly 300 yards passing to go along with two touchdowns — one rushing and one receiving.
It was a back-and-forth affair where the good guys finally pulled away in the fourth quarter. That game was just the first saga in a confusing 2016 season that also saw the team beat Ohio State.
Penn State has played the Owls six times dating back to 2010, and not a single game has been decided by more than 17 points. While that number is typically indicative of a blowout, it’s a relatively close margin against a team of Temple’s caliber.
This game should be a good gauge of where the team is right now. Will they be able to buck the trend and secure another blowout to begin the season, or will they be pulled into the history of this series and have to scratch and claw for a win?
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This article originally appeared on Nittany Lions Wire: Can Penn State rewrite recent history vs. Temple?
