Neil Rudel on Penn State: No timeout for Lions? No problem
Trending
PHILADELPHIA — Penn State was in the midst of a most lackluster performance, tied 3-3, when it drove to the Temple 32 with 24 seconds remaining in the first half.
Logic dictated the Nittany Lions use one of their two available timeouts at that moment.
The clock kept ticking in part because Matt Campbell thought the Lions had gained a first down on the previous play.
Instead, it was a yard short, and Penn State wasted 10 seconds before Rocco Becht hit Ben Brahmer for a 23-yard touchdown - the only TD of the first half - to breathe some much needed life into the Lions.
Penn State used the momentum to roll to an 27-9 victory after needing 39 minutes and 52 seconds to score a TD in the first half Saturday at Lincoln Financial Field.
"It was dicey," Campbell said about his strategy. "Obviously, it worked out in our favor."
As he saw the clock running, Campbell was still confident in the play the Lions planned because of Temple's defensive alignment.
"I wanted that play called," he said about the pass to Brahmer. "We thought that was exactly what we got (defensively). Do we take the timeout or do we get the play off?"
But he was also quick to point out, "It was great execution by those two players. They certainly made the head coach look good."
It was a telling example of having confidence in a senior quarterback to manage the situation.
"We work two-minute drills all the time - end of half, end of games, and we've been able to be successful," Becht said. "That was the opportunity to put points on the board."
"I think we caught them on their toes," Brahmer, who caught two TDs and now has three this season, said.
The Lions needed a touchdown there because they let a game Temple team hang around too long by not finishing drives.
"Scoring right before the half was huge," receiver Chase Sowell, who caught a second-half TD but dropped one earlier, said.
Becht called Penn State's red-zone offense, "Not the best."
State was inside the Temple 15 three previous times in the first half and had a mere three points to show for it.
"I was ticked when we got to the locker room," Campbell said.
While the Lions answered every question satisfactorily in their season opener, a 45-0 win over Marshall, they took a step sideways here.
In addition to the red-zone troubles, Campbell wasn't pleased with a few blown defensive assignments, and the Lions' running game again looked less than impressive.
Temple averaged 5.5 yards per carry as the Lions had trouble containing the edge.
"Defensively, we have to be better, and we have to demand better," Campbell said.
That was offset by pitching a second-half shutout until Temple scored at the end - "we didn't finish the game (well)," Campbell said - and converting two long touchdown drives and a field goal to go up 27-3.
Campbell tried to stay positive, but he also admitted, "The team we want to be and the team we were today," are not the same.
Becht said the timing for a less-than-perfect performance could benefit the Nits.
"It was a good game for us to have," he said. "To be humbled coming off a good win, I think we needed this early before we get into (Big Ten) conference play."
"We definitely needed something like this to learn and grow from," Sowell said.
Penn State's forgiving schedule has been a national topic for several months. The Lions (2-0) will host Buffalo on Saturday.
And considering they're still working out the kinks and inevitably feeling their way through the coaching transition, maybe that's not a bad thing.
Neil Rudel covers Penn State football and can be reached at nrudel@altoonamirror.com.