Staring intently at a table a few hours before Saturday's game, Penn State's players and coaches listened to the voice of their injured head coach. Joe Paterno, by way of speakerphone, had a message for his troops.

"He said good luck and everything," linebacker Paul Posluszny recalled. "But what really hit home was when he said, 'Good luck guys, I love you.' That was like, wow."

The Nittany Lions (7-4, 4-3 Big Ten) proceeded to wow fans and foes alike, coasting to a 47-0 win over Temple.

For only the second time in his 41-year tenure as head coach, Paterno was not with his team to lead Penn State onto the field.

Recovering from surgery to repair his broken leg and two torn knee ligaments, the 79-year-old watched Saturday's game from his State College home.

Under the leadership of defensive coordinator Tom Bradley and offensive coordinator Galen Hall, Penn State raced to a 21-0 lead midway through the first quarter and never allowed the Owls any hope of a comeback.

The defense -- led by Posluszny's seven tackles, one sack and one forced fumble -- held Temple to 74 total yards on offense, an all-time low in the Paterno era.

Tony Hunt set career highs in rushing (167 yards) and touchdowns (four), while also becoming just the fifth player in Penn State history to run for 3,000 career yards.

Still, the game ball, secured tightly after the game by left tackle and co-captain Levi Brown, went to Paterno. Brown and Posluszny said they intended to go to the coach's house after the game and present him with the ball.

Though coached aptly and thoroughly by Bradley, Hall and the rest of the assistants, the Lions had little trouble noticing the absence of their head coach on the sidelines.

"You can tell he wasn't over there -- you don't hear his little squeaky voice screaming," Brown said.

Posluszny agreed.

"You could definitely tell, especially during the pre-game and at the hotel. Not having him talk to us and not having him there, there was definitely something missing," he said.

In Paterno's absence, Bradley addressed the team in the moments before the game, specifically telling the defense that if it didn't play hard for 60 minutes, it would show that the unit hadn't "learned a darn thing from Coach Paterno and how he wants [them] to play."

Posting its second shutout in three weeks, the defense caused three turnovers and did not allow Temple to cross the 50-yard line. The defense routinely set up favorable starting field position for the offense, which got off to a shaky start after Anthony Morelli threw an interception on the second play of the game.

Defensive end Tim Shaw recovered a Temple fumble on the very next play, giving the offense a second chance.

Four plays later, Hunt ran in a 22-yard touchdown, giving Penn State all the scoring it would need. The senior tailback also had touchdown runs of 26 and 11 yards, along with a scoring reception of 11 yards.

"All year I've been saying that if the offensive line will just give Tony some holes to run through, that he'll have a breakout year and people might start to give him the respect he deserves," Brown said.

Bradley said he did not know whether Paterno would be in Beaver Stadium next week -- senior day for Brown, Hunt, Posluszny and others.

"I'd be surprised if he wasn't," Bradley said.