Since there are about eight million Penn State Youtubers and Temple has none, these are the thumbnails that have come across my recommended feed just in the last two days:

“Temple is in trouble.”

“The Penn State Pregame Show: Another blowout probable.”

“Huge Mismatch: Penn State-Temple 4 Things to Watch.”

Well, turnabout is fair play.

We’re going to be the only site on the internet this week with a specific headline: “Penn State is in Trouble.”

Not because we are picking our beloved Owls (we aren’t) but because the recent college football landscape is littered with road signs that could indicate Temple has a chance in Saturday’s high noon showdown at Lincoln Financial Field.

Red (or maybe Cherry) flags for Penn State fans.

Here are three:

Western Michigan at Michigan: The Broncos came into the Big House bigger underdogs than Temple is in its own house (28.5 to 24.5) and basically won that game with a similar roster to Temple. It can be argued that the Michigan roster is similar to Penn State. In fact, Athlon Sports ranks the Michigan roster as No. 11 in talent level to Penn State’s No. 20. The same rankings had Temple’s roster No. 76 and Western Michigan’s roster No. 79. The Linc is not The Big House nor even Beaver Stadium and, while there will be Penn State fans there, Temple fans will make some noise as they have made here:

Can’t imagine the Big 10 refs putting another second on the clock in front of this Cherry-clad crowd if the Owls play as well as Western Michigan did.

“Penn State fans will be at the Linc but it ain’t Beaver Stadium,” Colby Dant said. “It ain’t the same vibe.”

“I like this Temple team,” he said. “It could be a good team.”

Oklahoma State at Tulsa: Oklahoma State, fueled by oil billionaires, purchased both the North Texas head coach pretty much the entire 11-1 North Texas team. They went into Tulsa and lost, 24-10. Who did Tulsa lose to at home last year? Temple.

UMass at Rutgers: Ostensibly, Rutgers is in the Big 10 and has won quite a few Big 10 games in recent years. It hasn’t beaten Penn State in this century, like Temple has, but it lost, 37-21 to a UMass team Temple beat within the last calendar year (42-10).

Penn State seems to think Temple is Marshall.

Temple is no Marshall. The Owls, unlike Marshall, have the winningest active head coach in the FBS in K.C. Keeler and, unlike Marshall, have a recent win over UTSA, which not only won a bowl game last year but destroyed Tulane, 48-26, in a year where Tulane made the CFB playoff and Penn State did not. Temple was the only team in the country, P4 or G5/6, to keep all of its starters. There is something to be said for loyalty over paid mercenaries and Western Michigan made that statement a week ago and Temple is about to deliver the same message now.

If Penn State goes into the Linc and thinks Temple is Marshall, the Nittany Lions are in trouble and judging from the way the PSU media is portraying the game, that should be the case. Players read all that garbage and, if they take it to heart, they will think they are in for a cakewalk. In the other building, the Temple players know the challenge and have read all the disrespect directed their way. Keeler said the Owls’ defensive line will be the “story of the conference” and maybe the first chapter of that story will be written on Saturday.

If somebody is in trouble, it might not be Temple. You read it here first.

And only.

Saturday: Game Analysis