Penn State handles Temple
Penn State capitalized on five Temple turnovers, Akeel Lynch rushed for 130 yards and the Big Ten’s Nittany Lions became bowl-eligible for the first time since 2011 with a 30-13 victory Saturday over AAC foe Temple.
Penn State (6-4) rushed for a season-high 254 yards as Bill Belton added 92 yards on 19 carries. Lynch rushed 18 times and scored on a 38-yard touchdown.
The Nittany Lions held Temple (5-5) to 268 yards and intercepted quarterback P.J. Walker four times.
Tied 6-6 late in the third quarter, Penn State capitalized on turnovers on four straight Temple possessions late in the third and early in the fourth to pull away.
Grant Haley, one of four Penn State freshmen to play in the secondary, returned a Walker pass 30 yards for a touchdown and a 27-13 lead. Christian Campbell, Adrian Amos and Jesse DellaValle also had interceptions and Austin Johnson recovered a Walker fumble.
Sam Ficken kicked three field goals to become one of just three kickers in Penn State history to have at least 50 career field goals.
Walker was 17 of 38 for 187 yards and the four interceptions. Penn State quarterback Christian Hackenberg was just 12 of 26 for 112 yards and a pair of interceptions.
“The difference was up front all game long and we haven’t been able to say that too often this year,” Penn State coach James Franklin said. “We started out doing what we wanted to do; we were dominant at the line of scrimmage.”
ANOTHER GAME
South Florida 14, SMU 13 at Dallas: Mike White threw a pair of fourthquarter touchdown passes, the second with four seconds left, to lift the Bulls.
The Mustangs (0-9, 0-5) took the lead in the second quarter. Matt Davis tossed a 3-yard touchdown pass to Justin Lawler with 26 seconds left in the first half and SMU leading 3-0. South Florida (4- 6, 3-3) fumbled the ensuing kickoff, and Cody Rademacher kicked a 49-yard field goal as time expired to make it 13- 0.
W hite got the Bulls on the board with a 12-yard strike to D’Ernest Johnson with just under eight minutes left, capping a fiveplay, 48-yard drive.
After holding the Mustangs to a three-and-out, South Florida took over at its 25 with 6:02 remaining. White directed a 21-play drive, finding Andre Davis for a 4-yard touchdown with four seconds to go.