As I said last week, I was really excited for Saturday’s Penn State vs. Temple game. That said a lot about the state of the two programs and the game confirmed it — this is not a great Penn State team and may not even be a good one; this is the best Temple team I have seen. Some observations:

The predetermined outcomes of the first 3 games of the 2010 season probably made this game a lot more enjoyable than it should have been.

Rob Bolden did not play great throughout most of the game, but when he had to, he led the Nittany Lions on a 96 yard drive in the fourth quarter to seal the game. He made two critical 3 down completions that kept the drive going as well. Bolden is going to get a lot of opportunities on 3rd and long this year and his ability to convert on them probably makes both the difference between him being “good for a true freshman” and simply good.

FB Mike Zordich first carry, a 9 yard run deep in Temple territory, was epic. He must have dragged half the Temple defense 5 yards downfield. Nice to see it happen to the other team for a change. I’m glad he scored the touchdown that put the game away. Good to see some ground game domination, it gets me really fired up.

The Lions also got a field goal after a drive that started at their own 1 stalled. The ongoing red zone issues are troublesome, but getting 3 points after starting that deep is still pretty good.

Game ball to Colin Wagner for hitting his first 5 field goal attempts and kicking off well. Without his accuracy, Temple might have pulled off the upset.

Welcome back, Evan Royster. Your first carry, something like 50 yards, was a welcome statement. Do you still rush for over 100 yards without that big run though? The fumble though, led to Temple points.

T Lou Eliades is done for the season with a torn ACL. Who knows, maybe his replacement will do better against Iowa than Eliades did.

The defense responded well at the half, particularly LB Mike Mauti who was a very dangerous person in the second half. I’m hoping he just emerged as the leader of the linebackers. LB Nate Stupar and S Nick Sukay also grabbed a pair of interceptions. DE Pete Massaro continues to impress.

Owls coach Al Golden really wanted this one, but knew he had no shot without RB Brandon Pierce, who got hurt in the second half. I think Penn State would have won even with Pierce playing the whole game though.

I don’t have a lot of hope for next week, but we will cross that bridge when we get to it.

See you in Philly next year Temple.