Shots have been fired, folks.

Penn State football’s defensive coordinator D’Anton Lynn was brutally honest about how he’s perceiving Temple’s mindset ahead of the Nittany Lions’ battle with the Owls at Lincoln Financial Field on Saturday.

“It’s a huge game. It’s the Super Bowl for Temple, so we have to have that mindset when we go in there,” Lynn said during his biweekly media availability on Tuesday.

The sharp comment came as a surprise, considering Lynn’s somewhat reserved persona since arriving in Happy Valley.

Penn State holds a 40-1-1 all-time record against Temple and has won 32 of the last 33 matchups. So while harsh, Lynn’s comment is not untrue.

It’s been a decade since the Nittany Lions last encountered the Owls, when the blue & white defeated them 34-27 on September 27, 2016, at Beaver Stadium. But just before that, in 2015, Temple beat Penn State 27-10 in Philadelphia, sacking Christian Hackenberg 10 times and limiting the blue & white offense to under 200 total yards. To this day, Temple itself calls that upset “one of the most memorable wins in recent Temple history.”

Unfortunately for fans of the program, that probably is one of Temple’s only signature wins in recent times. Ironically, the program currently on a six-season losing streak will honor the 10-year anniversary of its last American Conference Championship when it hosts Penn State this weekend.

On top of that, they set up six separate watch parties across the nation for fans and alumni to view the in-state “rivalry”. The only other cluster of home game watch parties for the Owls comes when they play UConn for their homecoming game. Still, only half as many watch parties are scheduled for that matchup.

No disrespect intended, but a .888 all-time win percentage across 45 games suggests a mere territorial proximity to Temple rather than the competitive deathmatch its fans want it to be.

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