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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.
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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.