Free Pick | NCAA | Saturday | Sep. 12

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#328 Temple +24 over Penn State 11:00 AM CT

Penn State actually lost its last trip to Philadelphia, falling 27-10 in 2015 which is the only Temple win in this series since 1941, in a 40-4-1 all-time series which Penn State often dominates. The Nittany Lions have generally handled heavy-favorite spots well as a Big Ten program, but this is a different situation: Matt Campbell’s Penn State debut, a 45-0 demolition of Marshall behind transfer QB Rocco Becht was about as good as a first game could go and a letdown after an emphatic debut is possible. Becht and much of this roster followed Campbell from Iowa State, and while the chemistry looked seamless against overmatched competition, a true road environment is the first real test of that fast integration. Temple’s own 38-14 win over Rhode Island is more notable than the score alone suggests. URI enters the current FCS poll ranked in the top 10, making that a legitimately good result against quality FCS competition, not just a tune-up beatdown. Temple head coach K.C. Keeler is one of the older coaches in the sport, but his resume is exactly the kind that should get more respect than a raw win total suggests, posting an FCS national title at Sam Houston and another at Delaware, the only coach in FCS history to win it at two different schools. Sam Houston fell apart last season after Keeler left, underscoring how much of that program’s success traced directly to him, and now he’s building Temple the same way. With Penn State a massive favorite, the letdown spot is fully in play against a Temple team that had a more impressive result than most assumed.