Penn State Nittany Lions vs Temple Owls Prediction, Picks and Game Preview - 09/12/2026

Game Time: 12:00 pm ET, Saturday, September 12, 2026

Venue:  Lincoln Financial Field, Philadelphia, PA 

Where to Watch:  ESPN2

DraftKings:  Point Spread:  PSU -23.5, Temple +23.5; Over/Under:  49.5 points

Bet365:  Point Spread:  PSU -23.5, Temple +23.5; Over/Under:  49.5 points

BetMGM:  Point Spread:  PSU -23.5, Temple +23.5; Over/Under:  49.5 points

Penn State Nittany Lions:  1-0 (0-0) (1st place, Big Ten)

Temple Owls:  1-0 (0-0) (2nd place, American)

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Penn State Nittany Lions:  won their last game at home against the Marshall Thundering Herd 45-0.

Temple Owls:  won their last game at home against the Rhode Island Rams 38-14.

Penn State is entering this game with a 1-0 record overall and they have a 0-0 record in their conference games too. They are 1-0 in their home games, 0-0 in their road games, and they are also 0-0 in their neutral site games this season, but they will be on the road for this game. They won their last game against Marshall 45-0. Rocco Becht was the starting QB and he completed 13/18 passes for 271 passing yards, 4 touchdowns, and 0 interceptions. Carson Hansen led the team in rushing yards with 48. Koby Howard led the receivers with 161 receiving yards on 6 receptions and 1 TD. Tony Rojas led the defense in that game with 7 tackles while Tony Rojas and Caleb Bacon each led the defense in sacks with 1. Bryson Williams came away with the only interception for them in that one.

 

 

 

Temple is entering this game with a 1-0 record overall and they have a 0-0 record in their conference games too. They are 1-0 in their home games, 0-0 in their road games, and they are also 0-0 in their neutral site games this season, but they will be at home for this game. They won their last game against Rhode Island 38-14. Ajani Sheppard was the starting QB and he completed 5/10 passes for 85 passing yards, 0 touchdowns, and 0 interceptions. Keveun Mason led the team in rushing yards with 158 and 2 TDs. Colin Chase led the receivers with 43 receiving yards on 3 receptions. Curly Ordonez led the defense in that game with 7 tackles while Kevin Hornbeak Jr. and Davier Bishop each led the defense in sacks with 1. Tyree Alualu and Jamarcus Pierre each came away with 1 interception for them in that one.

The current betting odds have Penn State listed as a 23.5 point favorite in this game according to Draftkings Sportsbook. Penn State has a 1-0 record overall this season after a crushing win in week 1. They beat up on Marshall 45-0 and looked really good in that win over another team from the FBS. Iowa State has been a solid team in the Big 12 for years, so Campbell is going to get Penn State back on track this season with the talent he is bringing with him. The defense was great in their shutout win and the offense looked a lot better with Becht leading the way. Meanwhile, Temple has a 1-0 record overall this season, but they beat up on a team from the FCS in week 1. They are coming off a 38-14 win over Rhode Island and that wasn't a completely dominant win by them. They only put up 38 points when they should have put up more with their talent and the defense gave up 14 points too which isn't great. Now they face a much stronger team here and they definitely don't have the talent that Penn State has. Penn State isn't going to take any games for granted this season after the way they collapsed last year and Campbell is also trying to prove that they made the right choice hiring him. Temple will have a lot more trouble moving the ball here on this stronger Penn State defense and that Temple defense isn't going to do much to stop this Penn State offense with the talent gap. Look for Penn State to roll here in another big win where they don't give up a ton of points. The best way to place a bet here is on Penn State to cover the spread in this game. 

Penn State Temple Prediction:  Our NCAAF Pick for Saturday, September 12, 2026 (12:00 pm ET start time) is Penn State 42 Temple 10.

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Penn State Nittany Lions: Will be posted by 12:00pm ET, 09/08/2026.

Temple Owls: Will be posted by 12:00pm ET, 09/08/2026.

Penn State Nittany Lions:  B. Kortovich (TE) Questionable - Undisclosed. C. Alexander (TE) Questionable - Undisclosed. D. Sheffey (RB) Questionable - Undisclosed. G. Burkle (TE) Questionable - Knee.

Temple Owls:  S. Brown V (RB) Questionable - Undisclosed. R. Stocksdale (WR) Questionable - Hamstring.

“It was really special to be a part of this for the first time. I know so many people have said how special it is to play football here, but it was really special to coach here today. The environment was second to none.” - Matt Campbell after his team’s win against Marshall in their last game. 

“A little bit of a mash unit on the offensive line. We’re down four starters right now, and it’s really amazing how Keveun still had the rushing yards he did. We have a lot of depth on the o-line. Al Johnson, I thought, did a really good job during the spring and during training camp cross-training some guys. So, we had to bump somebody out to tackle, we could bump them out to tackle, even though they’re more of a natural guard.  did an amazing job in the spring cross-training guys.” - K.C. Keeler after his team’s win against Rhode Island in their last game. 

WR Sowell, Chase

WR Eskildsen, Brett

WR Howard, Koby

TE Rappleyea, Andrew

QB Becht, Rocco

RB Hansen, Carson

WR Freeman, Jayce

WR Chase, Colin

WR Bermudez, JoJo

TE Kusch, Ryder

QB Smolik, Jaxon

RB Brown V, Sam

Passing: Rocco Becht (271)

Rushing: Carson Hansen (48)

Receiving: Koby Howard (161)

Touchdowns: Koby Howard (1)

Passing: Ajani Sheppard (85)

Rushing: Keveun Mason (158)

Receiving: Colin Chase (43)

Touchdowns: Keveun Mason (2)

Coaches:

Penn State Nittany Lions: Matt Campbell (1st season)

Temple Owls: K.C. Keeler (2nd season)