PHILADELPHIA — After seeing his two field goal attempts earlier in the day go wide left and off the right upright, Evan Lewis ran onto the field to line up for a late attempt to tie the game.
Just as he readied himself to kick, Penn State called a timeout. The coaches wanted to talk it over.
Quarterbacks coach Jay Paterno and head coach Joe Paterno talked before the play, and the two decided going for a first down was the best option.
“Joe said, ‘I feel like the defense will handle it,’ ” Jay Paterno recalled of the discussion. “He said, ‘Let’s grow up.’ He said, ‘This team’s got to grow up. Let’s go for it.’ ”
Running back Brandon Beachum got the call on fourth-and-1 and converted before fullback Michael Zordich powered his way into the end zone with 2:42 left in the game to cap off a game-winning drive and give the Nittany Lions (2-1) a 14-10 victory over Temple (2-1) Saturday at Lincoln Financial Field.
“We wanted to win the game, we play the game to win,” wide receiver Justin Brown said. “I supported the decision, everybody on the team supported the decision. You play to win, you don’t play for ties.”
Linebacker Michael Mauti picked off Temple quarterback Mike Gerardi with less than nine minutes to play in the fourth quarter to set up the score — a 12-play, 44-yard drive that spanned 6:13, led by quarterback Rob Bolden.
The sophomore quarterback finished 9-for-17 for 92 yards and an interception. His counterpart, Matt McGloin, went 13-for-19 for 124 yards and led the Lions’ opening scoring drive, which ended with a 17-yard run by running back Silas Redd.
The Lions converted another fourth-down attempt earlier on the game-winning drive, when Bolden hit receiver Derek Moye on a slant for 11 yards. Before Zordich punched in the winning score, the fullback recovered a fumbled snap at the Temple 3-yard line, which set the stage for Beachum’s fourth-down run.
Jay Paterno said Beachum’s size and physicality gave him the nod over Redd, who ran for 86 yards on 16 carries, in that situation.
“Beachum is tough to bring down,” Jay Paterno said. “He very rarely falls backwards.”
After Beachum converted the first down, Zordich took the handoff up the middle the very next play, cut right and found the end zone to give the Lions the lead.
After Temple moved into Penn State territory with just more than a minute remaining, defensive end Sean Stanley sacked and stripped Gerardi on fourth down to seal the victory.
It appeared the Lions got the big play they were looking for in the third quarter when Stanley knocked the ball out of an airborne Bernard Pierce’s hands and Nick Sukay recovered. But on the very next play, Temple cornerback Kee-ayre Griffin jumped Moye’s out-route and picked off Bolden, diving to his left.
The defense continued to play well in the second half, and Chaz Powell came up with his first-career interception early in the fourth. Gerardi floated a deep pass, which the senior jumped and returned 26 yards. But the Lions failed to take advantage of it, as Lewis hit his field goal attempt off the upright.
Temple scored on its opening drive, but its offense sputtered afterward. Pierce capped an 82-yard drive with a two-yard touchdown run to give the Owls a 7-0 lead. Brandon McManus later kicked a 40-yard field goal following Redd’s touchdown run.
Mauti, who was shaken up in the third quarter after taking a hit to the head, said it was a relief to know the whole team had confidence in the defense to come up with a stop if the fourth down wasn’t converted.
“They put the confidence in us and we had to respond,” Mauti said. “I was proud of them for going for it…if we can’t punch it in from the one, maybe we don’t deserve to win.”