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Fordham's Sam Ajala (1) celebrates after scoring a final-seconds TD in the Rams' 30-29 victory over Temple on Sept. 14, 2013.

(Fordham Univ./Vincent Dusovic)

Many are aware of Temple's decisive 27-10 upset of Penn State last year, as former PSU linebacker Matt Rhule led the Owls to their first win over the Lions in 74 years. The Nits' offense was shut out in the second half and Temple recorded 10 sacks against an ill-equipped offensive line and a static pocket quarterback.

What fewer know about is an encounter Rhule and his Owls had with the new Penn State offensive coordinator two years prior. It might have a greater bearing on Saturday's game at Beaver Stadium than last year's did.

It's worth noting that when Rhule took over at Temple in 2013 and seven of the Owls' 10 losses were by 10 points or fewer, one of them was to an FCS team - the Fordham Rams head coached by none other than current PSU OC Joe Moorhead. It wasn't a tractor pull, either. The Rams, as 21-point underdogs, won 30-29 and put up a whopping 520 total yards of offense on 81 snaps. Rhule made a point this afternoon of citing that game during a brief appearance on the American Conference teleconference:

"Me personally, just as a football guy, I have a ton of respect for Joe Moorhead. He is one of the best football coaches, I believe, in the country. And I told him that when he was at Fordham. The things he did there were fantastic. They beat us. They beat a lot of people."

Rhule has watched some tape of Saturday's 42-39 PSU loss to Pittsburgh in which the Moorhead offense triggered by Trace McSorley really got revving in the second half and very nearly reeled in a 21-point deficit:

"I think he's using their personnel extremely effectively. They're gonna be really, really hard for people to stop all year, the way he's doing things."

Some other notes from Rhule's 10-minute bit:

* Temple lost its opener decisively to 151/2-point underdog Army, 28-13 at Lincoln Financial Field on Sept. 2. Even on Saturday in a 38-0 whitewash of FCS-level Stony Brook, the Owls were inconsistent with the ball, gaining a mere 301 yards with 14 first downs and only 7-of-14 on third downs against the Seawolves:

"Offensively, we're still not as efficient as we need to be. ... We've not been able to get the offense to click the way we want it to. We still have a lotta, lotta work to do. We have to get a lot better quick."

* Temple had had sporadic trouble protecting senior QB Phillip Walker throughout both of its games. He threw three interceptions against Army. Of the pass-protection leaks even against Stony Brook, Rhule assessed:

"They were kind of coming from everywhere, coming from the backs. Dion Dawkins played fantastic at left tackle. But I'd say there were a lot of other guys who made mistakes or just got outworked or got beat. Even some simple gap protections, we're getting split right now.

"Overall, I think it has to be a mindset: I'm not letting my guy hit the quarterback. We are not there right now. And we have to get there pretty quickly."

* And Temple is banged up already, particularly on offense. Among Rhule's injury appraisals:

Starting feature back Jahad Thomas, a 1,262-yard rusher in 2015, has not played with an injured left hand sustained in camp and is questionable: "I'm not sure yet. We'll see if he's able to practice [on Tuesday]."

Starting senior tight end Colin Thompson: "Probably out. He wants to go, so we'll see."

Junior defensive end Jacob Martin, who Rhule said has been "one of our most consistent players on defense," is questionable.

Starting wide receiver Ventell Bryant is definitely out.

Until Tuesday, Rhule said he won't know much more: "We run and do some teach periods, but we don't hit [on Monday]. So, we'll have to see who's able physically to play."

Rhule has burned seven redshirts of true freshmen so far, partly as a response to the injuries.

* This is the final scheduled game with Penn State in the series for Temple with no concrete plans for the future. Rhule said he's not really concerned in particular with whether the Owls specifically play his alma mater again, though he hopes for some nearby non-con action:

"I do think, whether you're playing Penn State or playing Rutgers or Maryland, it's important to play some regional games. I want to play [PSU] this week and play well. If we play them moving forward, great. If we don't, if we play Pitt or Syracuse or Maryland, I do like, program-wise playing local people. I don't like traveling halfway across the country to go play people. But I just play who they tell me to play."