My intuition going into Penn State’s opener against Marshall was that something about the atmosphere around the football program felt different.

Sure, that may seem obvious with a new coaching staff in Happy Valley, but it went beyond that. There was a clear sense that Matt Campbell and his staff are all business.

Listening to Coach Campbell talk about his process, his insight, and the standards he sets for the program, everything comes across as straightforward. With Campbell, it really feels like what you see is what you get.

Preparation has been an issue in recent years, with Penn State often starting sluggish and laboring through the first half against early-season opponents before finally pulling away late in the game. That certainly wasn’t the case against Marshall last Saturday as the Nittany Lions led 24-0 at the half which led to an eventual 45-0 win.

“If there is one mantra we would like to be, we’d like to be tough, we’d like to be disciplined and we’d like to be together as a football program. I think you want to turn the videotape on and you want to be able to see that. When you see it, you’re able to recognize positivity,” said Campbell.

“That’s what we’ve talked about every single practice from practice one here through spring ball to every single practice in fall camp, those three value systems. Man, how are we representing those things?

“We’ve spent a lot of time on that. We’ve put a lot of time, effort and energy in trying to play to those three values. I thought we did a really good job of being able to do that at least in week one. I think we’ll continue to have to do a great job as we continue to move forward.”

The Nittany Lions (1-0) looked prepared and came out and did what they were supposed to do, which is dominate the football game, especially in the trenches. I thought Rocco Becht would look good and I was right on the money with that, with Becht throwing for 271 yards and four touchdowns.

Penn State has been missing a go-to receiver for the past couple of years now, but it looks like Koby Howard could be the guy that the Nittany Lions have been looking for. I often wondered many times why Howard wasn’t on the field more last season as a true freshman. Howard hauled in six balls for 161 yards and a touchdown. Overall, I thought the receiving group looked good. Brett Eskildsen, Chase Sowell and Zay Robinson all made significant plays in the game.

I expect to see the Penn State air attack have a pretty good afternoon today (Noon ET, ESPN 2) as it faces off against a Temple (1-0) team that gave up nearly 200 yards passing to Rhode Island in week one in a 38-14 win. It’s hard to really gauge what Temple has on the defensive end because of its week one opponent, but there’s no doubt that the Nittany Lions should have the advantage up front.

If there was an area that was scrutinized after week one for PSU, it was its rushing attack, which was unable to generate many explosive plays. The Nittany Lions rushed for 163 yards, but averaged just 3.6 yards per carry. Look for Carson Hansen, James Peoples and Quinton Martin to all see touches again this week.

My personal opinion is that Martin possesses the best blend of power, vision and speed of the bunch, but Hansen was the starter at Iowa State a season ago, so it looks like he’s going to get the benefit of the doubt until someone separates themselves.

The Penn State defense should have plenty of opportunities to once again dominate on the defensive end as they take on an Owls team that is really beat up on the offensive line. Temple is definitely without two of their starters and could be down as many four of their top seven offensive lineman for the game this afternoon.

The Nittany Lions’ defense was flying around last week and they did a great job of keeping Marshall’s quarterback in Carlos Del Rio-Wilson in check throughout the day. Del Rio-Wilson can play and he’s one of the better dual threat quarterbacks in the Group of Six teams.

Penn State gave up just 147 total yards including 44 rushing yards, while allowing only 11 first downs and forcing two takeaways. The Nittany Lions are the only FBS team with a shutout in each of the last six seasons.

Temple found success on the ground against Rhode Island, piling up 227 rushing yards at five yards per carry, with Keveun Mason rushing for 158 yards and two touchdowns. One would think that Marshall’s rushing attack is comparable to, if not stronger than Temple’s, so Penn State shouldn’t face many issues. The Nittany Lions have added several talented, run‑stopping defensive tackles from the transfer portal under Campbell, which should help them to control the line of scrimmage.

The Owls are working out some things in the quarterback department currently playing two in Ajani Shepard and Jaxon Smolik. Smolik transferred to Temple from Penn State at the conclusion of last season. Both players do possess the ability to run, but neither is the player that Del Rio-Wilson is and the Nittany Lions kept him from breaking loose last week.

Penn State’s pass rush and pressure looked good against the Thundering Herd, especially from the linebacker spot. Tony Rojas looks to have returned to form as he collected seven tackles, a sack and two tackles for loss. Caleb Bacon who converted to defensive end from linebacker was in the backfield throughout the game, coming through with six tackles, a sack and three tackles for loss. As a team, Penn State had nine tackles for loss against Marshall.

Las Vegas has Penn State as a 24.5-point favorite against the Owls at Lincoln Financial Field.

All signs are pointing to Temple struggling to move the ball on offense not only because of the injuries along their offensive line but also because of the speed on the back end of this Penn State defense. Last week showed that there are a lot of hard hitters like middle linebacker Kooper Ebel and safety Marcus Neal Jr. that play downhill and fast.

And then on offense I expect Becht to once again make throws down the field. Temple will most likely stack the box like Marshall did to limit Penn State’s rushing attack, so I think Becht and the receiving core will again have a big day.

My pick is: Penn State 41, Temple 6.