Temple September 8, 2015

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VOLUME 78 ISSUE 1 Penn State vs. Temple September 8, 2015

The Letter Poor Harvey Pollock. Follow us on Harvey covered Temple sports Twitter and forever and was reputed to be Check out the new one of the last living persons who Football Letter Blog witnessed Temple’s last victory over Penn State 74 years ago, when he was a sophomore at the PSU 10 0 0 0 - 10 school. TEMPLE 0 7 10 10 - 27 This respected and affable fellow would sometimes regale young CONTENTS writers in the press box with tales about that 14–0 Temple win in 1941. The Letter And he longed to see another one. Notes from the Cuff Alas. Poor Harvey passed away in the spring without seeing that Other Sports milestone. News of Note Game Photos While the long-suffering Harvey was not there to savor Temple’s 27–10 Statistics triumph over the Nittany Lions in Philadelphia’s Lincoln Financial Field Saturday, several younger generations of Temple alumni, fans and students were. In fact, the announced sold-out attendance of 69,176 was a historical record for a Temple home game. Although probably half that crowd wore blue and white, those in cherry and white enjoyed it PAST ISSUES immensely—and deservedly so—as they rollicked in the stands View past issues and on the field after the game’s end. FAN ZONE It had been a long time in Football Schedule coming. And that made so much Team Roster sweeter their team’s domination GoPSUSports.com over the visiting rivals, as the Radio/TV Listings Owls plucked the Nittany Lions clean and squelched all the pre-season Big Ten Football TV excitement and expectations that accompanied the 2015 Penn State Schedule team. Big Ten Standings Big Ten Schedule and Temple, which had come close in a number of those contests, finally Results broke the streak of 31 Lion wins, since the Owls spoiled the first Penn Staters in the Pros Homecoming of Penn State coach Rip Engle in 1950 with a 7–7 tie. For advertising info, contact: And they did so in convincing fashion, holding the Lions to 180 yards of Angelo Scialfa total offense—their fewest since their 6–4 loss to Iowa 11 years 609-259-1910 [email protected] ago—while wearing down State’s defense with P.J. Walker’s crisp passing and Jahad Thomas’ relentless rushing through the last three quarters. Walker completed 15 of 20 passes for 143 yards, and Thomas carried the ball 29 times for a net of 135 yards and two touchdowns. On the other side, Christian Hackenberg completed only 11 of 25 aerials for 103 yards, as blitzing Owls victimized State’s offensive line to sack Hack 10 times. His one interception was almost a pick-6. Junior tailback Akeel Lynch gained 78 yards on just 10 carries and true freshman Brandon Polk gained 33 and 17 yards on his two carries. Defensive end Carl Nassib and linebacker Brandon Bell led a Lion defense that itself inflicted 15 tackles on the Owls for 49 yards in losses—the most in the nation Saturday. Third-year Temple Head Coach Matt Rhule, a State College native and former Academic All-Big Ten linebacker at Penn State in the mid-90s, accomplished what Wayne Hardin, Bruce Arians, Jerry Berndt, Ron Dickerson, Al Golden, and Steve Addazio had not been able to as Temple coaches, while Penn State established a 39–3–1 series advantage during the last seven decades. Ruhle said he followed the example of his Penn State mentor Joe Paterno in counseling his team to be respectful of their opponents and contain their celebration until after the final whistle. He actually gave them a walk-through Friday on how to comport themselves and show that they expected to win. Rhule was stoic in his public comments preceding the contest, saying only that Temple needed to win one of its first two games. Actually, the Owls’ encounter next week in Cincinnati is more important to their season’s outcome, because it is with one of the other favorites to win the American Athletic Conference crown. (The fledgling 12-member conference will hold its first championship game Dec. 5, pairing the winners of its East and West divisions.) But based on the post-game celebrations in the Linc parking lots and all the way up Broad Street to the Temple campus, the Owl fans may have felt differently. The Temple headmaster—one of the 10 youngest in Division I football—said he was proud of and happy for Temple’s players, fans, faculty, administration and trustees. Penn State, favored by a touchdown, started the game smartly, as its defense did not allow the home team a first down until the last play of the first quarter, and the offense marched quickly to a field goal and touchdown. On the Lions’ first offensive snap, Brandon Polk came in motion from the left flank, took a handoff from quarterback Hackenberg and sped around right end and down the sideline for 33 yards. Tailback Akeel Lynch rushed for five yards. Wide receiver Geno Lewis dropped three passes from Hackenberg but caught two others for 15 yards to put State on the TU-17 on fourth down. From there freshman Joey Julius split the uprights on his first collegiate field goal try of 34 yards.

On the Nittany Lions’ second possession, Hackenberg converted a third- and-nine situation with a crisp pass to Chris Godwin, slanting across the middle for 18 yards. On the ensuing play, Lynch sliced through a hole on the left side and scampered untouched on a 42-yard touchdown jaunt. And it began to look like the oddsmakers were conservative in their predicted 7-point margin for the visitors. But suddenly, with six-and-a-half minutes left in the first quarter, someone in the cavernous NFL stadium flipped the momentum switch. Penn State’s offense went into hibernation, and the cautious Owl offense, which had gained only 25 yards to that point, opened up for 292 yards, three touchdowns, two field goals and 27 points the rest of the way. For those same 53-and-one-half minutes, the aggressive Temple defense, which returned 10 starters from last year after ranking No. 4 nationally in scoring defense, shut out the Nittany Lions. The visitors were limited to only 57 yards of total offense, including a net of minus-13 on the ground and 70 through the air. Unleashing a barrage of blitzes, the Owls sacked Hackenberg 10 times for 64 yards in losses, while allowing him to complete only eight more passes in 18 attempts for 70 yards. In the first quarter, the unruffled Owls hadn’t gotten beyond their own 32-yard line and punted on fourth-and-one, fourth-and-three and fourth- and-one situations, before finally converting a third-and-four from their own 28, as quarterback P.J. Walker completed a 13-yard pass to wide receiver John Christopher. Still, it wasn’t until the middle of the second quarter that Temple mounted its first scoring drive, after the Owl defense had stymied Penn State’s offense by sacking Hackenberg four times on three successive Lion possessions. Even when Lion linebacker Brandon Bell sacked Walker for a five-yard loss and forced a fumble that was recovered by State defensive end Torrence Brown at the TU-43 early in the second quarter, the Owls didn’t panic. Starting from the TU-7 after a Penn State punt, the Temple offense, which had heretofore managed only 46 yards in 16 plays, caught fire and traveled 93 yards on a 12-play drive. Walker directed the march, while completing back-to-back passes to Ventell Bryant for 25 and 16 yards. Even a monster sack by Lion defensive end Carl Nassib, who tossed Walker for a 12-yard loss, could not stop the Owls. Tailback Jahad Thomas covered 53 yards on six carries. His longest rush of the day—31 yards—put the ball on the PS-2. Two plays later Walker faked a handoff in the middle then pitched out to Thomas who waltzed around left end the final yard to paydirt. And Temple put its first seven points on the board with just over two minutes left in the half. Penn State’s defense suffered a severe loss in the second frame, when middle linebacker Nyeem Wartman-White went down with a season- ending injury on a special teams play. The Philadelphia native, who was so eager to play in the Eagles’ stadium, had gotten tickets for at least a dozen family and friends who came to watch him. The second leading tackler on the squad as an outside backer last year, Wartman-White was moved to the middle to replace graduated All-Big Ten linebacker of the year Mike Hull as the quarterback of the defense. He called the signals, made sure everyone knew their assignments and was the heart of the front seven. His replacement, Gary Wooten, was banged up later, as was Brandon Bell, forcing Coach James Franklin to burn the redshirts of true freshmen Jake Cooper and Manny Bowen. True freshman John Reid started at one corner, when it was determined before the game that starter Grant Haley could not play. Akeel Lynch ran for 16 yards on the first play of the second half, but Temple quickly retook control of the action for the final 29 minutes of the game. Three completed passes by Walker, a little trick-er-ation and a seven- yard run by Thomas set the stage for Austin Jones’ 40-yard field goal to tie the score at 10 with 6:32 left in the third quarter. Temple’s QB first tossed a 20-yarder to tight end Kip Patton. On the next play he handed off to Thomas, who headed around left end but lateraled the ball to WR Christopher, coming in the opposite direction. Christopher stopped and threw a 25-yard pass to Walker, who had run down the right sideline after his handoff to Thomas. Walker then completed back-to-back aerials 16 yards to Thomas and 11 yards to WR Robby Anderson. Late in the third quarter Hackenberg completed a quick eight-yard pass to Godwin on the right flank, but when he tried the same pass again on the next play, backup defensive end Sharif Finch picked it off with one hand and rambled 26 yards to the PS-2. This set up Walker’s short burst up the middle for the touchdown that gave Temple its first lead of the game (17–10) just a minute before the end of the third quarter. The final frame belonged to the home team, as Thomas capped a five-play 49-yard drive with a 24- yard scamper around left end for his second TD. And that iced the contest for the high-flying Owls. Jones’ second field goal—a 30- yarder—completed the scoring five minutes and 41 seconds before the final whistle. Sean Chandler set up that march by returning a short line- drive punt by Danny Pasquariello 15 yards to the PS-38. Walker passed 19 yards to Romond Deloatch, and Thomas carried a couple of times for 11 more before Jones’ boot. Meanwhile, the blitzing Temple defense sacked Hackenberg five more times to stifle any Nittany Lion advance and set off a cherry-and-white celebration that had been pent up for 74 years. Several positives came out of the game for Penn State. Five true freshmen and 10 redshirt freshmen made their debuts. Wide receiver Brandon Polk and cornerback John Reid started in their inaugural collegiate contests, while running back Saquon Barkley, and linebackers Jake Cooper and Manny Bowen got their first action. Redshirt first-year players were punt returner and running back Mark Allen, kickoff returner Koa Farmer, place-kicker Joey Julius, defensive end Torrence Brown, cornerback Amani Oruwariye, linebacker Troy Reeder, defensive tackle Antoine White, offensive tackle Chasz Wright, wide receiver DeAndre Thompkins and special teams player Nick Scott, who made the tackle on the opening kickoff. Polk dashed 33 yards on his first collegiate touch. Lynch had the game’s longest rush of 42 yards and averaged 7.8 yards on his 10 carries. Chris Godwin was the game’s leading receiver, catching five passes for 81 yards, and hauled in the game’s longest of 30 yards. Farmer returned the first kickoff of his career 35 yards and averaged 25.6 yards on five returns. Julius connected on his first field goal and PAT attempts. First-time starter at defensive end former walk-on senior Nassib was the leading tackler on either team with a career-high 10 stops. Eleven Nittany Lion defenders were involved in tackles for loss, as their total of 15 TFL’s for 49 yards in losses led the nation Saturday. Next Saturday’s home opener against Buffalo will kick off at noon and be televised by ESPN2. For the Glory,

Part of your Penn State Alumni Association's mission is to strengthen the connection of alumni to the University and to provide valued services to members. The Football Letter is just one of the many benefits of membership provided to support that mission. VOLUME 78 ISSUE 1 Penn State vs. Temple September 8, 2015

Notes from the Cuff Black Shoes. Basic Blues. No Names. All Game. Follow us on That’s the mantra for the 2015 Nittany Lions, who Twitter and have reinstated the tradition of having no names Check out the new on the backs of their jerseys. For the last three Football Letter Blog years, names on the jerseys granted recognition to the players who stuck with Penn State after the imposition of NCAA sanctions. While it will be more PSU 10 0 0 0 - 10 inconvenient for fans watching on television and TEMPLE 0 7 10 10 - 27 those who have trouble remembering players’ numbers, the tradition that emphasizes team over individual was resurrected by Coach James CONTENTS Franklin in response to feelings expressed by The Letter former players and long-time fans … Notes from the Cuff Carl Nassib (2.5/14), Brandon Bell (2.5/8), Anthony Zettel (2.5/5), Other Sports Trevor Williams (2.0/4), Austin Johnson and Troy Reeder (1.0/4), Garrett News of Note Sickels (1.0/3), Gary Wooten (1.0/2), Jordan Lucas and Tarow Barney Game Photos (0.5/2) and Curtis Cothran (0.5/1) were all involved in Penn State’s Statistics nation-leading 15 tackles for 49 yards in losses against Temple Saturday … First-year kicker Joey Julius boomed all three of his kickoffs into the end zone Saturday. Two Owl returners got only to the 15- and 21-yard lines, both short of the 25, where the one touchback was spotted … Redshirt freshman Mark Allen returned his first four punts 14, three, four, PAST ISSUES and 12 yards for an 8.2 average …

View past issues Redshirt freshman Koa Farmer returned his first five kickoffs 35, 30, 25, 18 and 20 yards for a 25.6 average … FAN ZONE Penn State started one senior, five juniors, four sophomores and one freshman on offense, and four seniors, three juniors, three sophomores Football Schedule Team Roster and one freshman on defense … GoPSUSports.com State is now 106–21–2 in season-opening games … Radio/TV Listings The Nittany Lions have a 39–4–1 all-time record against Temple. All four Big Ten Football TV Schedule of their losses and 12 of their wins have come in Philadelphia … Big Ten Standings Temple Coach Matt Rhule said he was giving the game ball to Wayne Big Ten Schedule and Results Hardin, the former Temple coach who came within one point of beating Penn Staters in the Pros Penn State in each of the first two years he coached the Owls. The Lions nipped Temple, 26–25, in Franklin Field in 1975 and, 31–30, in Veterans For advertising info, contact: Stadium in 1976. Those night games bookended Philadelphia’s year-long Angelo Scialfa list of events to celebrate the nation’s Bicentennial … 609-259-1910 [email protected] Temple’s all-American Conference linebacker Tyler Matakevich entered Saturday’s game with 355 career tackles—the most of any returning player in the NCAA. He was again the leading tackler for the Owls with seven total stops, including three quarterback sacks for 20 yards in losses … The Lions’ 2015 opener was the second straight away from home, but was still a few thousand miles closer to Beaver Stadium than last year’s in Ireland … A total of 51 Nittany Lions compiled a 3.0 grade point average in the spring semester, and 18 of them earned dean’s list recognition with a 3.5 or better GPA.

News of Note HUDDLE WITH THE FACULTY Follow us on Alumni and friends can catch light refreshments and some food for Twitter and thought at “Huddle with the Faculty,“ the popular free lecture series Check out the new hosted by the Penn State Alumni Association each home football Football Letter Blog Saturday at The Nittany Lion Inn. The first two presentations in the 24th annual Huddle series are: Sept. 12 (Buffalo): “Preservation and Use in PSU 10 0 0 0 - 10 TEMPLE 0 7 10 10 - 27 Our National Parks: Trying Not to Love them to Death,” featuring Peter Newman, professor and head of Recreation, Park, and CONTENTS Tourism Management The Letter As use of national parks continues to rise, along Notes from the Cuff with the number of visitors and types of Other Sports activities enjoyed, we’re challenged to balance News of Note preservation with that use in parks, wilderness, Game Photos and related areas. Penn State faculty and Statistics graduate students are helping the National Park Service explore ways to protect the ecological and experiential values of parks. This presentation will focus on the protection of natural soundscapes and other important values in places like Yosemite National Park, Muir Woods National Monument, Rocky Mountain National Park, and other places that make the U.S. National Park system world famous. PAST ISSUES Peter Newman is professor and head of the Department of Recreation, View past issues Park, and Tourism Management, with a joint faculty appointment in the Graduate Degree Program in Acoustics at Penn State. His research FAN ZONE focuses on informing visitor management (soundscapes, visitor flow, integrated transportation) in the context of protected areas Football Schedule management. He currently has studies active in Rocky Mountain National Team Roster Park, Bandelier National Monument, Denali National Park, and Grand GoPSUSports.com Teton National Park. Newman served as a National Park Service Ranger Radio/TV Listings in Yosemite National Park from 1997–99. Big Ten Football TV Schedule Sept. 19 (Rutgers): “Opera is Alive at Penn Big Ten Standings State,” featuring Jennifer Trost, associate Big Ten Schedule and professor of music. Results Penn Staters in the Pros All “Huddle with the Faculty” programs start

For advertising info, promptly at 9 a.m. and include free parking at contact: the Nittany Parking Deck. Angelo Scialfa 609-259-1910 Huddle with the Faculty is presented by the Penn [email protected] State Alumni Association and sponsored by The Village at Penn State with support form The Nittany Lion Inn and Penn State Press.

Hintz Family Alumni Center Open House Hours A reminder to all visitors that the Hintz Family Alumni Center’s open hours change during football season. On home football game days, the Alumni Center opens at 8:00 a.m., and closes one hour before kickoff. Note: For the Sept. 19 home game against Rutgers—with an 8:00 p.m. kickoff—the Alumni Center will be open from 10:00 a.m.

–5:00 p.m. We are also open on the Sundays after home games from 10:00 a.m.–2:00 p.m. During away football weekends, the Alumni Center is open only on Saturdays from 11:00–3:00 p.m. For questions, call the Alumni Association at 814-865-6516. Stripe Out Set for Primetime Clash with Rutgers The first Penn State Stripe Out in Beaver Stadium will take place when the Nittany Lions face Rutgers in a primetime clash on Saturday, Sept. 19, at 8:00 p.m. Fans are now able to find out if they should don their blue or white as the colors for each section have been unveiled. Fans can find details—including a link that shows colors to wear by section—by visiting GoPSUsports.com. Join Keegan-Michael Key and Ian Rosenberger at Alumni Zone Meet Penn State celebrities Keegan-Michael Key and Ian Rosenberger at the Alumni Zone after the Homecoming contest against Indiana on Oct. 10. The annual Homecoming tailgate, sponsored by the Alumni Association, will begin as soon as the game ends and go until 6:30 p.m. For more information and to register, click here. Homecoming Events Scheduled For a run down of events during Homecoming weekend, which takes place Oct. 9–10, check out our website. Highlights include a student- alumni ice cream social at the Hintz Family Alumni Center, the Homecoming parade, and post-game Alumni Zone tailgate. Pep Rally Details Available for Ohio State Game Penn State and Ohio State won’t clash until next month, but we already have all the details for the pre-game pep rally and Friday night mixer. To view details about the Nittany Lions’ game in Columbus, including a map of the area, visit the Alumni Association’s website. And for alumni, students and fans on social media, use and share #PSUpeprally for everything trending about the 2015 Penn State pep rallies. Penn State Student-Athletes Contribute to Community Penn State’s student-athletes had a big year of community impact in addition to their successful athletic endeavors. Here’s the proof: During the 2014–15 academic year, approximately 800 student-athletes who comprise 31 varsity programs contributed more than 5,300 hours of community service. “I’ve been so impressed with the service and servant’s hearts that our student-athletes and programs have,” said Director of Athletics Sandy Barbour. You can read more on GoPSUsports.com.