SYRACUSE, N.Y. -- Penn State backup quarterback Pat Devlin couldn't hide his disappointment when Daryll Clark was named the starter in late August.

But after sulking for a day or two, Devlin was able to snap out of his funk.

He has found time in the Nittany Lions' 3-0 start to swap out his clipboard in exchange for some valuable playing experience.

"Devlin's been practicing real well and I told him if things went well [Saturday], I'd try to give him a shot and get him into the game," Penn State coach Joe Paterno said.

Devlin, a 6-foot-4, 221-pound redshirt sophomore from Downingtown High School, entered the 55-13 non-conference spanking of Syracuse at 13:17 of the second quarter with No. 16 Penn State leading by 21 points.

He promptly led the Nittany Lions on a three-play, 74-yard drive. Devlin twice connected with wide receiver Deon Butler on completions of 28 and 15 yards, the latter resulting in a touchdown.

Devlin also rifled a 24-yard scoring strike to wide receiver Jordan Norwood just before the half.

"[Quarterbacks coach] Jay [Paterno] pulled me aside [Saturday] morning and said they were going to put me in some time in the second quarter," Devlin said. "I said, 'Awesome, I can't wait.'

"It felt great. I felt like I had a pretty good week of practice. I think that's what got me into that position."

Penn State's three quarterbacks -- Clark, Devlin and third-stringer Paul Cianciolo -- averaged 17.2 yards per completion. Eight receivers pulled in passes. And Butler and Norwood combined for 12 catches for 223 yards and four touchdowns.

"They know exactly what to do on each play," said Devlin, who threw for a Pennsylvania-record 8,162 yards in his high school career. "They make it look easy. There's never a problem."

Devlin hit 7 of 9 attempts for 100 yards while playing mostly with the first-team offense in the first half. He was 1 of 4 for 30 yards in limited duty in the second half.

"That helps out a lot, playing with the first team," Devlin said. "The offensive line is great. And the receivers, they're open, left and right. Deon made a couple nice plays out there, so that was good.

"I thought I started off well. I tapered off in the middle, but I think I did all right. ... We really haven't needed to open up the playbook a lot yet. There's a lot more to come."

In the opener against Coastal Carolina, Devlin spelled Clark midway through the second quarter, with the Lions up by 21 points. Against Oregon State in the second game, he saw only mop-up duty in the fourth quarter, entering the game with Penn State holding a 31-point advantage.

Devlin and the Nittany Lions will tackle Temple (1-2) Saturday at Beaver Stadium. The Owls, who have been outscored, 78-0, by Penn State the past two years, have suffered heartbreaking losses to Connecticut and Buffalo on the final play of the last two games.

"We'd like to play against somebody who's pretty tough," Devlin said. "I think Temple's going to be a good test."

Devlin insists he will continue to work hard in practice to try and unseat Clark from the starting job.

"Absolutely, I always go to go out there and try to do whatever I can to win the job in practice," Devlin said. "It feels great. We never were enemies or anything like that."

NOTE: A limited number of tickets remain for Saturday's game against Temple after the Owls returned a portion of their allotment. Tickets can be purchased at www.GoPSUsports.com, the official website of Penn State Athletics, or by calling 814-865-5555 weekdays from 8 a.m-6 p.m. Tickets also can be purchased at the Bryce Jordan Ticket Center weekdays from 8 a.m.-5 p.m.