Penn State Temple ‘75-’76

Back-to-Back Bicentennial Battles—

1975 Penn State vs. Temple at Franklin Field

The 1975 season opener played on Sept. 6 in front of 57-thousand-plus fans at Franklin Field was originally slated for Beaver Stadium on Nov. 15. This was, at the time, the earliest start ever for a Penn State football season. Interestingly, tickets exist for both game locations because Penn State season ticket booklets were printed before the decision to relocate the game as part of a larger Bicentennial celebration that already included the scheduled 1976 meeting between the two. The move left Penn State with only 5 true home games within the 11-game slate that fall. Although, it was probably an easier decision for Joe Paterno to move a game in this era because Beaver Stadium only seated about 62-thousand fans at most in 1975. And, despite the shift to Philly, this was technically a “home” game for the Nittany Lions. PSU printed and sold the tickets, issued the media credentials, and published the gameday program which remains the only Beaver Stadium Pictorial that was never sold inside Beaver Stadium. The move also allowed for the game to be played at night (7:30pm EDT kickoff) which would not be possible at Beaver Stadium until lights were installed in 1984 (and not actually used until the 1986 Penn State-Temple game). So, this game was technically the first ever night “home” game for Penn State.

Penn State was ranked #6 in the nation to open the season, and they nearly blew the ranking on opening night. Temple surprised the Nittany Lions on the first play of the game as Bob Harris charged right up the gut on the draw for a 76-yard TD run to give the Owls a stunning 7-0 lead. Penn State was trailing 10-3 in the first period, when it finally struck back. Rich Mauti (the father of legendary All-America LB Mike Mauti) returned a Temple kick for 100 yards and the touchdown. But, the 2-point conversion try failed, so PSU continued to trail, 10-9. The Lions finally grabbed a lead right before the half, when Chris Bahr delivered a Penn State record-breaking 55-yard field goal for the slim 12-10 advantage. Bahr’s kick broke the record of 51-yards that had been set in 1912 at Pitt (Forbes Field) by Pete Mauthe. The PSU lead didn’t even stand until halftime because the Owls responded with their own field goal for the 13-12 edge at the break. The game shockingly remained in doubt until the end. Fourth quarter, State down 23-18, Woody Petchel takes a punt 66 yards to the Temple 3-yard line to set up a touchdown putting Penn State back in front. The 2-point conversion is good and the Lions lead 26-23. Temple kept up the pressure all the way forcing PSU to take an intentional safety with 11 seconds left, so that the Lions could safely kick the ball out of harm’s way and eeck-out the 26-25 victory at “home”. The win still saw Penn State drop in the polls to #10 ahead of their official home opener with Stanford a week later.