It was October 1941. General Mills was still wondering if the public would accept its fledgling new cereal, Cheerios.

Pearl Harbor was the active hub of the United States Navy's Pacific Fleet on some exotic locale along the coast of Hawaii.

And a young sophomore by the name of Joseph Vincent Paterno was returning kicks for the Brooklyn Prep football team.

It was also the year the Temple Owls beat a school from rural central Pennsylvania.

Sixty-seven years later, the Owls are still in search of their next win against Penn State.

So when Paterno, now the head coach of the Nittany Lions, calls this year's Temple squad the best he's seen since he's been coaching, something must be changing around the Owl program.

Save for a 7-7 tie in 1950, the Lions have won 31 straight against Temple, including a perfect 24-0 since Paterno took over at Penn State.

All time, the Lions are 33-3-1 against the Owls.

The team would make the trek from Philadelphia to State College, get beat, turn around and drive home.

Since the Owls' last win, the Lions have outscored Temple by a grand total of 1,018-290 -- or an average score of 32-9.

Throughout those years, the Owls' program has gone through a lot of turmoil. First, Temple struggled through a 27-game losing streak in conference play.

The Owls were so non-competitive in the Big East that the conference voted Temple out.

Struggling to find a home, the Owls limped through a 10-year stretch from 1995-2005 when they only won 25 games. By comparison, Penn State won 29 games from 2005-07.

"I'm never gonna say never but obviously our first year [2006] we lost all of our games by an average of more than 30 points per game," Temple coach Al Golden said. "We lost back-to-back games 62-0, and I don't even think we crossed midfield the last time we were [at Penn State]. We were 1-16 in our first 17 games."

Temple was so bad, even famous alum Bill Cosby couldn't brighten the spirits in North Philadelphia.

But since Golden's hiring in December 2005, the program has steadily risen. While the Owls struggled when he first got there, they are 5-5 in their last 10 games, an amazing stretch for a team with an all-time .409 winning percentage.

In fact, the Owls, 1-2 this season, are less than two minutes away from being undefeated. Their two losses have come by a combined five points.

Temple led UConn until late in the fourth quarter and eventually lost in overtime. The following week, Buffalo needed a Hail Mary as time expired to beat the Owls.

In all, Temple has only trailed for 1 minute, 49 seconds this year, but unfortunately for the Owls, that competitiveness hasn't translated into wins.

But Golden said he has seen a difference in mentality since he first set foot on campus. He said his players won't back down to stiff competition like they once did, even to a Penn State squad that has manhandled opponents this season.

"The program is to the point now where we don't go into games, and we don't turn around and run back into the tunnel," Golden said. "We can compete. This is obviously a great task for us coming up this weekend, but what better way to test where you're at in terms of being able to play with poise and toughness?"

He said his toughest task was trying to instill confidence in his team and show them how to win.

Recalling his playing days at Penn State, he said he learned the ways of the program and how to win from the upperclassmen. But when he got to Philadelphia, the veterans were accustomed to losing.

It was up to his staff to find a way to change the attitude of the football program.

"When we got here there was nobody to teach the young guys, it was just the coaches," Golden said. "Finally, now we have some guys that can kind of equate the process down to other guys and perpetuate the culture.

"That's the first time since we've been here that we've had that."

He needed players that knew how to win, and found one in stepped dual-threat quarterback Adam DiMichele.

A three-sport star in high school, DiMichele was the Pennsylvania player of the year in both football and basketball.

Losing did not come easy to him and he said it was a culture shock when he became a part of the losing program.

But he has helped Golden begin the resuscitation process. DiMichele said he has seen a change among his teammates.

And instead of cowering at the site of the Lions, he said the team is welcoming the chance to prove itself against one of the hottest teams in the country.

"The guys were prepared last year but it was more of a shock to see the crowd and see Penn State this, Penn State that," DiMichele said. "The tradition they have, sometimes it does that to young players.

"This is the week we're really gonna see what we're made of. These past two weeks have been rough. Playing them is going to be a blessing in disguise."

Part of the reason for Temple's struggles has been its inability to land top recruits from southeastern Pennsylvania. Penn State's roster includes 17 players from the greater Philadelphia area.

Lion kicker Kevin Kelly, who grew up 25 miles from Temple's campus, said when he was in high school, Temple was an attractive choice for local players.

But he said the perception is changing. Kelly said he's paid attention to Temple football because his high school teammate, Georg Coleman, is a corner for the Owls. And Kelly said the program is finally gaining some respect in the area and becoming a viable option for recruits.

"It's growing," Kelly said. "They've definitely made big strides the past couple of years, especially with coach Golden. They just haven't had the breaks. They're definitely an up and coming program, by far."

But Golden said his program still has a long way to go before it can regain some semblance of respectability. He said he's pleased with the progress his team has made, but it is still a long way from his goal of a Mid-American Conference title.

The Owls are finally competitive, he said. But they need someone, like DiMichele, to become a game-changer and create a winning atmosphere. Then, Golden says, Temple might be able to snap its 67-year futility streak against the Lions.

"Until we've got some guys that can step up and make some plays, we're not going to become a winning program," Golden said. "That's what I keep telling the guys. We're in the performance stage right now, and we just need some guys to step up and perform."