By GENARO C. ARMAS
AP Sports Writer

STATE COLLEGE, Pa.(AP) -- 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.

Clark later said he suffered a "little stinger" to his right
shoulder as he threw a ball, a minor injury that bothered him
for more than a quarter. "I'm all right now. It's a little sore,
but I'll ice it up and be ready for next week."

-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.

Owls coach Al Golden said his team wasn't intimidated. With two
field goals, Temple scored more points against Penn State than
in the three previous games combined.

"This was really the first year I heard guys say, 'Hey, let's go
up there and win,' as opposed to 'Let's just try to survive,"'
said Golden, a former player and assistant under Paterno. "It
didn't work out, but at least they had a good attitude going
into the game."

And yet, illness and all, Penn State still overwhelmed the Owls
with talent.

Lee finished with 12 tackles and a sack, while Odrick added
another sack. Safety Drew Astorino recovered a fumble forced by
tackle Ollie Ogbu.

Penn State hasn't given up more than seven points in each of its
three wins - the first time that has happened since the first
four games of 1996.

The small contingent of Owls fans held out hope of an unlikely
upset after Brandon McManus' 25-yard field goal cut the Penn
State lead to 7-3 at the end of the first quarter.

Then, on the first play of the second quarter, Golden surprised
his old boss when the Owls recovered an onside kick. But Temple
went three-and-out on its ensuing drive, as the Owls failed to
score a touchdown against Penn State for the fourth straight
year.

"When you have shots against Penn State, you've got to convert
them," Golden said. "We didn't do that."

The Nittany Lions had no such problem on offense.

A drive that started on the Temple 35 ended with Royster
steaming up the middle from the 7, bouncing off defenders like a
pinball into the end zone with 5:46 left in the first half.

Set back by the illness, Royster said he felt his "legs were
dragging" until midway through the second quarter. Later,
Royster had 33 yards on three carries on a drive that ended with
Clark's 4-yard TD pass to Derek Moye to make it 21-3 just before
halftime.

Paterno inserted Johnnie Troutman into the starting lineup at
left guard, and the offensive line responded with its best
outing of the year after struggling its previous two games.

Just in time for the Big Ten opener next week against Iowa at
Beaver Stadium.

"Timing is everything with our run game. Running a zone offense
is all based on timing," Royster said. "If we block the way we
do this weekend, we'll be fine."