Temple University Athletics
Owls to Take Flight for State College for In-State Battle with Nittany Lions on Saturday
11.6.06 | Football
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Nov. 6, 2006
PHILADELPHIA - Temple, under the direction of first-year head coach Al Golden, travels to State College, Pa. to meet Penn State, under the leadership of 41st-year mentor Joe Paterno at 107,282-seat Beaver Stadium Saturday in a 3:30 p.m. kick- off. Temple employs a multiple offense and a 3-4 defense. Penn State utilizes both a multiple offense and defense. The game is the fifth and final contest for the Owls against a BCS conference-member opponent this season. The meeting also marks the first contest of a six game series between the Owls and Nittany Lions, with four games to be played at Beaver Stadium (2006, 2009, 2010, 2012) and two to take place at Lincoln Financial Field (2007, 2011).
Golden is one of four Temple coaches that will be returning to the site of their collegiate career this Saturday. Defensive coordinator Mark D'Onofrio, running backs coach Jeff Nixon and defensive line coach Matt Rhule also played under Paterno. Golden played TE from 1987-91, was a team captain with D'Onofrio as a senior, and won the team's 1991 Ridge Riley Award. D'Onofrio played LB from 1988-91, leading the team in sacks in 1989 and tackles in 1990. Nixon (RB, 1995-96) and Rhule (LB, 1994-97) played together in blue and white after also being teammates at State College HS.
Saturday's game will be televised by ESPN Regional Television, with Dave Ryan calling the action and Jay Walker providing the commentary. Available via the ESPN Game Plan package, WPVI-TV 6 will carry the game in the Philadelphia market. The radio broadcast will air on WPHT 1210 AM with Harry Donahue issuing the play-by-play and Steve Joachim serving as analyst. Live Gametracker stats and live radio audio via Yahoo Sports are available on the Temple Athletics web site, www.owlsports.com.
Temple has played 21 true freshmen thus far this season, the most in Div. I-A. Thirty-seven Owls have seen their first collegiate action this season, including five redshirt freshmen. In total, 68 different players have competed. Of those 68, 46 have two or more additional seasons of eligibility remaining after the 2006 campaign.
Temple (1-9) is coming off a 42-26 home loss to Central Michigan (6-3, 5-0) last Saturday afternoon. Redshirt sophomore QB Adam DiMichele, who ranks 39th nationally in pass efficiency (134.56), threw for three TDs and caught another to account for four scores, while completing 24 of 35 passes for 228 yards. Redshirt senior RB Tim Brown had his fourth 100-yard performance in eight games this season, carrying 23 times for 101 yards, while also completing the scoring aerial to DiMichele. Brown ranks 34th among all I-A ball carriers, averaging 85.75 yards on the ground per game. Sophomore WR Bruce Francis made two scoring grabs, as the Owls out-scored the visitors 19-14 in the second half.
Penn State (6-4, 4-3) is coming off a 13-3 loss at No. 17 Wisconsin (9-1, 6-1) last Saturday afternoon. The Nittany Lions generated just 201 total yards and committed three turnovers in the loss. With a tackle in the second quarter, All-America LB Paul Posluszny became the all-time leading tackler in Penn State history. PSU ranks seventh nationally in sacks, dropping opposing QBs an average of 3.30 times per game.
