Temple Falls to #16 Penn State

Saturday, September 12

12:00 p.m.

Temple University

1-1 , 0-0

Penn State

2-0 , 0-0

Team	1st	2nd	3rd	4th	Final F
Penn St.	0	10	10	7	27
Temple	0	3	0	6	9

Temple Falls to #16 Penn State

9.12.26 | Football

Box Score Photo Gallery

PHILADELPHIA - Temple dropped a 27-9 contest to No. 16 Penn State on Saturday afternoon in front of 61,714 fans at Lincoln Financial Field.

The Owls held the Nittany Lions scoreless in the first quarter and took a 3-0 lead early in the second before Penn State scored 27 consecutive points. Temple moved to 1-1 on the season, while Penn State improved to 2-0.

Keveun Mason led Temple on the ground with 76 yards on 14 carries, giving him 234 rushing yards through the first two games of the season. Curly Ordonez paced the defense with 12 tackles, including a sack and a tackle for loss.

Game Highlights

Tackling the Opposition

Linebacker Curly Ordonez finished the day with a team-high 12 tackles, including nine solo, one sack, and one tackle for loss. This is the most against a ranked opponent since Amir Tyler and Shaun Bradley totaled 12 tackles against No. 19 SMU. First player since at least 1999 with 12 tackles and at least 1 sack against a ranked opponent

Mason Keeps Rolling

Keveun Mason rushed for 76 yards on 14 carries, giving him 234 rushing yards through Temple's first two games. That is the most by an Owl through two games since Jahad Thomas totaled 328 yards in 2015.

Smolik Breaks Loose

Jaxon Smolik broke free for a career-long 47-yard rush in the first quarter. It was the longest run by a Temple quarterback since Chris Coyer scored on a 74-yard run at Ball State in 2011.

Temple held the ball for 33:07 and converted both of its fourth-down attempts.
Dante Atton placed three of his four punts inside the Penn State 20-yard line.
Ajani Sheppard scored the first touchdown of his career on a three-yard run in the fourth quarter.

How It Happened

Temple's defense set the tone early against the No. 16 Nittany Lions. Penn State opened the game with a 56-yard completion that moved the ball inside the Temple 10, but the Owls forced a 33-yard field goal attempt that went wide. Later in the quarter, Tony Rojas intercepted Jaxon Smolik and returned it to the Temple five-yard line, but the Owls again held firm, stopping Penn State on fourth-and-goal from the two.

Temple turned that defensive stand into the game's first points. Smolik sparked a 91-yard drive with a career-long 47-yard rush and later converted third-and-12 with a 13-yard completion to Peter Clarke. Carl Hardin finished the possession with a 24-yard field goal to give the Owls a 3-0 lead.

Penn State tied the game with a 31-yard Ryan Barker field goal before taking the lead just before halftime. Rocco Becht capped an 83-yard two-minute drive with a 23-yard touchdown pass to Benjamin Brahmer, sending the Nittany Lions into the break ahead, 10-3.

The Nittany Lions created separation in the second half. Becht connected with Chase Sowell for a 16-yard touchdown on Penn State's opening possession of the third quarter, and Barker added a 39-yard field goal late in the period. Becht found Brahmer again for a 23-yard score in the fourth to make it 27-3.

Temple answered on its final possession. Ajani Sheppard completed a 39-yard pass to Jayce Freeman to move the Owls inside the Penn State 10 and then scored on a three-yard run for the first touchdown of his career, producing the 27-9 final.

Inside the Box Score

234Mason Rushing Yards Through Two Games

176Temple Rushing Yards

12Ordonez Tackles

33:07Time of Possession

Keveun Mason rushed for 76 yards on 14 carries and now has 234 yards through two games.
Jaxon Smolik rushed for 71 yards on seven attempts, including a career-long 47-yard gain.
Temple finished with 176 rushing yards and averaged 5.3 yards per carry.
Peter Clarke led Temple with six receptions for 31 yards, while Jayce Freeman had a game-long 39-yard reception.
The Owls were perfect on fourth down at 2-for-2 and scored on both red-zone trips.

What It Means

Temple moved to 1-1 after facing its first ranked opponent of the season. The Owls held a Big Ten opponent scoreless in the first quarter for the first time since doing so at Maryland in 2018. Keveun Mason now has 234 rushing yards through two games, the fourth-most by a Temple player through the first two games of a season since 2000.

Mason Through Two

Keveun Mason has rushed for 234 yards through the first two games of the 2026 season, the most by a Temple running back through two games since Jahad Thomas totaled 328 yards in 2015. Since 2000, Mason's 234 yards rank fourth among Temple players through the opening two games of a season.