His title might have been "defensive coordinator." But, on Saturday, Tom Bradley took control of the reins in Joe Paterno's absence -- and earned praise from various players.

"He handled himself really well," center A.Q. Shipley said. "[Joe Paterno] usually comes in, says a few words, and we say a prayer. Coach Bradley said a couple of fiery words and got us going a little bit to start off."

There was certainly no early let-up early for Penn State. The Nittany Lions scored three times in the first nine minutes, while Bradley looked on from the sidelines.

It was his first home game without Paterno. And he was given authority as the head coach by the 79-year-old legend earlier in the week based on seniority.

Still, players -- like Anthony Scirrotto -- complimented Bradley for his efforts, while expressing similar wishes that Paterno could've been on the sideline.

"Scrap hasn't changed at all. He's still Scrap," Scirrotto said, referring to Bradley. "He's emotional out there, intense. I don't think he would change for anything. He's going to be the same coach he is no matter what the situation."

Paul Posluszny expressed a similar sentiment, adding that Bradley was an "honest guy and a straight shooter."

"He'll do a great job if he's ever a head coach," Posluszny said.

Bradley paused several times during the press conference and, at times, was choked up over Paterno's absence. The 41-year head coach remained at home, where he watched the game on television.

"I told Coach, 'You can retire when you hit 100,' " Bradley said. "The hard thing for me today was having to say something to the team before they went out. It was different because no one has ever talked to the team before it went out. Except Coach Paterno."

Day to remember

Offense: Tony Hunt. He didn't earn Co-Offensive Player of the Week honors for nothing. Hunt ran through, around and over defenders all day and accumulated career-highs in touchdowns (four), rushing yards (167) and total yards (192).

Defense: Jason Ganter. Sure, the lone interception of the game didn't exactly occur during a pivotal moment.

But, against Temple, the game was in hand six minutes after it started. It was Ganter's first interception, and it surely won't be something he forgets.

Day to forget

Offense: Brendan Perretta.

The speedy wideout didn't play terribly, but his dropped touchdown pass is probably something he'd rather not remember. He finished the game with one catch for 23 yards.

Defense: No one.

Picking out a name here would be like forcing a pass into triple coverage -- it just wouldn't be easy, or fair. The defense was nearly flawless, limiting the Temple offense to a pair of first downs and not allowing the Owls to cross midfield.

Quotable

Levi Brown on how he and Posluszny planned on delivering the game ball to Paterno: "We're not gonna do any type of special presentation or anything -- like a magic trick, you know, hide it or something like that -- we're just gonna give it to him and tell him that all the guys thought he should have it and that we went out and won this game for him."

Did you notice?

Graham Spanier rolling up his pant-legs in response to a fan's sign ... Several fans dressed up as Care Bears in the student section ... The sign, "After 41 years, JoePa can still take a hit. Get well soon!" ... The letters to "Get Well" painted on seven students' stomachs ... Two-thirds of the stadium gone before the final minute of the game ... Chants of "Joe Pa-ter-no" near the end of the contest.

Extra Point

In all likelihood, Penn State will be squaring off in the Outback Bowl in Tampa, Fl. on Jan. 1. Several things must happen for the Lions not to play in that bowl: Wisconsin earns a BCS berth (upgrading the Lions a Capital One Bowl bid) or Penn State loses to Michigan State AND Purdue beats Indiana (downgrading the Lions to an Alamo Bowl bid).

Either way, it may not be what Penn State was looking for, but it's still not an awful way to end the season -- just two short years ago, the Lions were 4-7.