Charlie of Nittany Lion Whiteout took part in our pregame Q&A, and will once again help us out in our "Last Look" Q&A.
1. Temple was so close to pulling out the upset, but the better team prevailed, and Penn State is now 3-0. At what point in the game did you begin to think "No way, Temple might win"?
The moment Temple scored their second touchdown. Although there was plenty of time left in the game, it was the defensive lapse I feared entering the game. Fortunately the defense eventually settled down and put on a clinic holding the Owls to 46 total yards in the air.
2. Sticking with the first question, when did you see the momentum turn in Penn State's favor?
I saw the momentum shift with 6:53 left in the 3rd quarter. Temple still held a 13-9 lead but Penn State's defense once again stifled Temple (with Stewart almost being sacked on the Temple 1 on 3rd down) and forced them to punt from their own 10 yard line. Devon Smith caught the punt at Penn State's 45 and would have taken it to the house had he not been tripped on the 7 yard line. Although that fantastic return would eventually be negated by a holding call, it provided the boost Penn State needed. It was tangible proof how easy it was to reclaim the lead with just a play.
3. Temple's Chester Stewart played very poorly, and did nothing to help his team; however, Rob Boldin did good enough to get the victory. How would you grade Boldin's performance in last weekend's game?
Bolden's performance was mediocre at best, going 18 of 28 for 223 yards but no touchdown. But he did exactly what was asked of him and that's to play smart and not turn the ball over. Chester Stewart is the perfect example of how detrimental it is to a team's success when you turn the ball over. Stewart single handedly accounted for 3 of Temple's 4 turnovers and makes it that much harder to overcome.
It was really great to see Evan Royster return to last season's form. He was unable to break the 100 yard mark through the first 3 games of this season, but accounted for 187 yards on 26 carries against Temple. But it would be foolhardy to expect such production against Iowa. Iowa's rushing defense is allowing just 65.5 yards a game, that's good for 3rd best in the nation. Even with Royster's record day against Temple, Penn State is averaging 159.3 total rushing yards a game, ranked 61st in the nation. Advantage, Iowa. I would just be happy if Royster breaks 100 against the Hawkeyes, but if the only way we can beat the Hawkeyes is through the air, then I'm all for it.
5. Where would you rank Penn State among Big Ten teams, as of now? Which team do you fear the most? How about player?
To date, Penn State has beaten the teams they were supposed to, and lost to the one most expected them to lose. But very few people expected the improvement shown by that team in Ann Arbor. So at this point I consider the Nittany Lions to be the 4th best team in the conference tied with Michigan and Michigan State but still well behind the preseason favorites Ohio State, Iowa, Wisconsin. No one in the league wants to face Ohio State and Terrelle Pryor right now.
--We thank Charlie of Nittany Lion Whiteout for helping us throughout the week of the Temple-PSU game.4. It looks like Evan Royster finally found his stride. Do you think he will be able to carry that momentum into next week's game against Iowa?
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