What time, TV channel will Penn State-Temple football be on Sept. 12 at Lincoln Financial Field?

Penn State football will travel to Philadelphia to play Temple in its second non-conference game of the 2026 season on Sept. 12. A start time for it is now in. Disney announced on Wednesday that the intra-state showdown will start at Noon ET. ESPN2 will televise the contest.

The Nittany Lions and Owls start a home-and-home series this fall. After this year’s game at Lincoln Financial Field, the AAC team will come to Beaver Stadium on Sept. 18, 2027. The two-game set was scheduled when current Penn State athletic director Pat Kraft was in charge of the Owls’ athletics programs back in 2018.

“We are excited to add this non-conference series to our future football schedule,” Kraft said in a news release back then. “When the Owls have taken on Penn State in the past there has always been added excitement and I am thrilled to get this series back on the schedule.  We want to provide our fans with marquee matchups here at home and within travel distance on the road and Penn State fits that bill.” 

Penn State is 40-4-1 all-time against Temple. It won the last meeting between the two sides, 34-27, in 2016. A year earlier, the Owls beat the Lions at the Linc 27-10. Before that, Penn State had won or tied every game in the series dating back to 1941.   

This is the fourth known kick time for head coach Matt Campbell’s team in 2026. We also already know that the second Penn State Big Ten game of the year will start at 8 p.m. ET on FOX. That contest is at Northwestern on Fri., Oct. 2. And, the team’s other non-conference start times are in, as well.

Reviewing the Lions’ known kick times so far

Here’s the list:

Sept. 5: vs. Marshall, 3:30 p.m. ET (FS1)
Sept. 12: at Temple, Noon ET (ESPN2)
Sept. 19: vs. Buffalo, Noon ET (BTN)
September 26: vs. Wisconsin, TBD but no later than 5 p.m. ET (TBD)

Oct. 2: at Northwestern, 8 p.m. ET (FOX)
Oct. 10: vs. USC
Oct. 17: at Michigan
October 24: BYE
Oct. 31: vs. Purdue

Nov. 7: at Washington
Nov. 14: vs. Minnesota
November 21: vs.Rutgers
Nov. 28: at Maryland

An early look at Penn State-Temple

Penn State will be a heavy road favorite in this contest. According to the latest SP+ data from ESPN’s Bill Connelly, the Lions should be getting about a three-touchdown advantage on the point spread by kickoff.

Numerous former Penn State players are on the Owls’ roster. The list includes quarterback Jaxon Smolik, safety Kolin Dinkins, tight end Joey Schlaffer, and defensive tackle Kaleb Artis. Smolik projects as the team’s starter this year. However, he is still battling with Washington State transfer Ajani Sheppard for the job. Second-year head coach K.C. Keeler leads the Owls.

“I’ve seen a great battle between Jaxon and Ajani,” Keeler said, per Owl Scoop, “and they’ve had their ups and downs. I thought today, Jaxon really had an outstanding day. I think we’ll go back and look at everything in terms of where we are in terms of this competition. Today is not going to determine everything, but they have definitely pushed each other, and that competition definitely has made them stronger.”

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