The flu couldn’t slow down Evan Royster, and neither could Temple.
After two pedestrian weeks, the shifty tailback put on one of his trademark performances in sidestepping around tacklers and bouncing off defenders for 134 yards and a touchdown in No. 5 Penn State’s 31-6 win Saturday over the Owls.
And to think, just two days earlier, Royster was laid up with what he thought was the flu.
“The first quarter was kind of tough for me, my legs kind of felt like they were gone,” Royster said. “They just felt more tired than they usually are, but I went out there and just kept playing.”
Temple couldn’t stop him in a first half in which Royster ran for 119 yards, leading the Nittany Lions to a 21-3 lead.
Later, coach Joe Paterno said about 15 or 16 players had fallen ill during the week with flu-like symptoms, though most were able to play Saturday. Five or six players had fevers, while Royster was one of the other Nittany Lions who otherwise “felt lousy,” Paterno said.
Others sickened earlier in the week were tight end Mickey Shuler and star linebacker Sean Lee, who limped off the field in the fourth quarter with what was later termed a minor lower left leg injury. Teammate Josh Hull said Lee had a cramp and would be OK.
Standout defensive tackle Jared Odrick also said he had felt ill the last few weeks, but was feeling better. Some of the sick players, including Royster, were isolated at times from the rest of the team.
“We worried about it. … We tried to space their time a little bit,” Paterno said about the illness. “It was a hit-or-miss kind of thing.”
The illnesses might explain some of Penn State’s choppy play against overmatched opponents to open the season. The trend continued against Temple:
- Quarterback Daryll Clark finished 16 for 26 passing for 167 yards with an interception and two touchdowns, but didn’t look sharp and took some big hits from Temple defenders.
- Kick coverage still needs work after allowing Temple an average of 25 yards per return.
- Temple quarterback Vaughn Charlton was 15 of 33 passing for 205 yards, and was able to move the ball well at times on the Nittany Lions’ tough defense.