Evan Royster had a big day on the ground to lead the No. 5 Penn State Nittany Lions to a 31-6 win over the Temple Owls at Beaver Stadium Saturday. In a change from the first two weeks, Penn State’s rushing game outshined the passing game.

Penn State’s first possession ended on a three-and-out, but the defense forced Temple to punt as well. Then the Nittany Lions went 77 yards on eight plays to take the 7-0 lead. Mikey Shuler capped the drive with a one-yard touchdown reception from Daryll Clark.

Clark threw an interception on the Nittany Lions next possession, which led to a Brandon McManus Temple (0-2) field goal. The score stayed 7-3 until 5:46 left in the second quarter when Royster scored on a seven-yard touchdown run.

Penn State (3-0) would score again with 1:03 left in the second quarter on a Derek Moye four-yard touchdown reception from Clark to make it 21-3 at half.

Temple kicked a field goal in the third quarter and then Collin Wagner responded with one of his own for Penn State to make it 24-6. Stephfon Green finished the scoring in the game with a three-yard touchdown run in the fourth quarter, yielding the final of 31-6.

Royster, who was recovering from the flu, rushed 19 times for 134 yards for 7.1 yards per carry. It was by far the best day for Penn State on the ground this season as they rushed for 186 yards as a team. The offensive line opened some holes this week and Royster, who rarely went down on first contact, took advantage.

The pass blocking, which has been the strength of the offensive line was what was questionable on Saturday. Clark did not have a lot of time to throw, which led to a below average day through the air for him. He went 16-26 for 167 yards, two touchdowns and an interception.

Vaughn Charlton was 15-33 for 205 yards for the Owls and Joe Jones caught four balls for 75 yards. For the most part Penn State’s defense was in control.

The Penn State defense allowed first half points for the first time this season, but did hold their third straight opponent to seven points or less. The unit held Temple to 46 rushing yards in the game.

Sean Lee had another strong game, with 12 tackles, 2.5 for loss and a sack. He limped off the field in the fourth quarter, but then was seen standing next to fellow team captain Daryll Clark on the sidelines with a smile on his face as the game was in its closing moments.

Josh Hull led the Nittany Lions with 13 tackles, 1.5 for loss. Jack Crawford, Jared Odrick and James Terry also collected sacks for Penn State.

Navarro Bowman did not play for Penn State once again and it will be interesting to see if he is ready for next week.

Next week Penn State takes on Iowa at Beaver Stadium in their first Big Ten game. For Penn State to come out on top they will have to put together a complete offensive game. The rush and pass have to be working at the same time for the first time this season.

Temple takes on Buffalo at home next week in their MAC opener, as they look for their first win of the season.