Lincoln Financial Field turns into Beaver Stadium East, Meek Mill’s walk out, and more from Temple vs. No. 16 Penn State

“We are” chants rang throughout Lincoln Financial Field, replacing the Eagles’ chants that would take over in less than 24 hours, and the stadium that typically would be engulfed in midnight green was temporarily blanketed in white as No. 18 Penn State made the trip to Philadelphia to face Temple.

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Saturday’s game was the first time the teams faced off in a decade, renewing a 95-year-old rivalry. In their last meeting in 2016, the Owls lost by seven at Beaver Stadium.

This time around, Temple suffered a similar fate — losing, 27-9, as Penn State improved its all-time record against the Owls to 41-4-1.

From a Penn State takeover to a Meek Mill appearance, here’s everything you might’ve missed on Saturday at the Linc:

The familiar sounds of Meek Mill’s “Dreams and Nightmares” track was heard throughout the Linc as Temple made its way onto the field. From the Jumbotron, fans could see the Philadelphia rapper front and center, leading the Owls out of the tunnel as red smoke and pyrotechnics covered one side of the field.

This came just a few days after the North Philly native partnered with the university to welcome high school seniors and Temple students to the Dream Chasers Summit, at the Liacouras Center.

Although the record against the Owls leans heavily in Penn State’s favor, Temple did shock the world in 2015 — the teams’ last matchup at the Linc. Temple’s defense dominated a game in which Penn State quarterback Christian Hackenberg was sacked 10 times.

The Owls entered that game as a seven-point underdog and beat the Nittany Lions, 27-10, in front of a crowd of mostly blue and white. Temple alumnus Ron Fries attended the game, and after the upset, Fries, 55, knew he had to become a season-ticket holder.

“I went to that game and a couple other games that year, but being at that game and just the energy — the Penn State energy left and the Temple energy that was there, which was outnumbered a lot,” Fries said. “But the folks that stayed, it was tremendous, and that’s why I became a season-ticket holder.”

An upset wasn’t in the cards this time around, but a lot of fans were optimistic beforehand.

”I’m hopeful that they’re able to produce something positive,” Fries said. “I would be ecstatic if they won like they did 11 years ago, but if they don’t, I just want to see something positive come out of them against a big program like Penn State.”

Like the Penn State-Temple game in 2015, Temple fans were outnumbered at home.

”It looks like it’s been a pretty big whiteout here in the parking lots,” Penn State alum Joe McGoldrick, 26, said before the game.

Penn State flags were plentiful at tailgates in the sports complex parking lots, and fans in blue and white jerseys were out in droves through Lots D to M as students from State College were being bussed in. Shrines to the Nittany Lion could be seen at every turn — including at “Ernie’s Tailgate,” a tradition dating to 1977, when Tim Ernst was a freshman at Penn State.

Ernst, who graduated in 1981 and got his master’s in 1993, started the tradition from his dorm room. Since then, he said he’s attended every Penn State home game, and he isn’t thinking of stopping anytime soon.

“We’re excited for the new coach; we’re excited for our new team,” Ernst said. “Rocco Becht, our quarterback, we’re very excited to have him on board. College football is challenging with all the transfers taking place and all that, but we’re going to have a very good year this year.

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“I think we’re going to make the playoffs, and we’ll see where it goes from there. And I don’t want to say any bad words about [James] Franklin but it was time to make a change. [Penn State coach Matt] Campbell has been saying all the right things. He believes in the [Joe] Paterno way where education is important, making these young boys into men is important. And that’s what Joe Paterno always emphasized.”

The Penn State takeover continued inside the stadium, as thousands of fans traveled to see Campbell improve his record to 2-0 as Penn State’s coach after a 45-0 win over Marshall in Week 1.

”Penn State isn’t coached by James Franklin anymore, thank God,” McGoldrick said. “I was there at the game last week, they looked very good against Marshall. I think they’re just going to do the same thing they did last week. I think they’ll have a home-crowd environment. So, that’ll help too.”

As the ocean of blue and white jerseys swarmed the tailgating lots, one Temple fan, Michael Kiedaisch, wasn’t worried.

“The sea of red is on the way,” Kiedaisch said.

Kiedaisch, whose 18-year-old son, Brian, attends Temple, made the trip down from Newtown, Bucks County, with his family to watch the game and cheer on the Owls — but there was one issue. Kiedaisch’s neighbor, Art Krysko, also made the trip. And his family — including his 19-year-old daughter, Madelyn, and 21-year-old son, Joey, who attend Penn State — were cheering for the rival team.

“We had kids,” Krysko said. “And they went to different schools. And we’re a little [ticked] about it.”

The competition between the two started as soon as they left their neighborhood.

“When we left the neighborhood, he blew the stop sign and tried to lose me on the drive down because I’m supporting Temple and he’s supporting Penn State,” Kiedaisch said. “So that’s how the day started. But we’re set up and ready to go now.”

However, if Penn State took an early lead, Michael’s brother, Carl Kiedaisch, had a backup plan.

“We have Penn State shirts at halftime to put on in case it gets ugly,” Carl said.

Penn State led, 10-3, at halftime but vibes still were high on the main concourse for Temple fans as the band performed near the student section. Fans bobbed their heads, talked to friends, and cheered along as they prepared for the second half.

And as soon as the third quarter started, “[Expletive] Penn State,” chants erupted from the crowd.

However, it was short-lived after Penn State scored another touchdown, putting them up, 17-3. From then on, Penn State ran away with the 27-9 win — leaving many Nittany Lions fans happy.

“I thought the stat line was pretty good all around,” said 22-year-old Penn State alumnus Colin Crissey. “It didn’t look pretty on the field, necessarily, but the numbers don’t lie, and they look pretty good. I thought Penn State somewhat sleepwalked in the first half. I don’t know if that’s the travel. I don’t know if that’s your first away game with a new coach or whatnot. Scoring right there at the end of the half really changed the mood.”

Meanwhile, Temple fans started to leave the stadium in the third quarter — leaving the student section fairly empty by the end of the game.

Read more No. 16 Penn State pulls away from Temple, 27-9, at Lincoln Financial Field