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PHILADELPHIA – Temple turned back spunky Rhode Island, 38-14, in its season opener Saturday behind a career day from running back Keveun Mason and a pair of pick-sixes from an opportunistic defense. The Owls return to Lincoln Financial Field next week for a highly-anticipated matchup with Penn State. Stepping in for sidelined starter Sam Brown, Mason ran for 158 yards and two scores against the FCS contender. Safety Jamarcus Pierre and linebacker Tyree Alualu returned interceptions for touchdowns, blowing open a game that was otherwise close until the fourth quarter. Temple won the toss and elected to receive. The strategy paid off as the Owls went 75 yards in five plays.  After an offseason of quarterback debate over who would start the first game, the answer was ... both. Jaxon Smolik took the snap, then handed to Ajani Sheppard, who was lined up to his left. Sheppard rolled to his right and threw a short pass to Colin Chase, who took the ball upfield for a 21-yard gain. Smolik, who played three seasons at Penn State without throwing a pass, made his first one count. His first pass went for an 18-yard touchdown to Jayce Freeman, who did not have a lot of separation in the back of the end zone. Keveun Mason rushed for 158 yards and two touchdowns in Temple's 38-14 victory over Rhode Island on Saturday at Lincoln Financial Field. (Photo Courtesy Temple University) Smolik finished 4 of 6 for 57 yards and a touchdown but fumbled the ball twice, losing it once. Sheppard was 5 of 10 for 85 yards and also ran for 23 yards. "The quarterbacks, no one took charge," Coach K.C. Keeler said afterward. "We'll watch the tape. You can take a deep breath and be a lot more critical. There's a couple times a young receiver didn't run the right route, so we have to look at all those things to do an evaluation on the quarterback play. "It's an ongoing competition. I don't have a feel right now how both guys played. Ideally, we'd prefer to not play two equally, but we won't live by any creed. If we play them both 50-50, I'm good with that. If we play one and it's a package for the other, I'm good with that. We'll do what we need to do to help the team win." The Owls dealt with injuries. Brown, starting safety Avery Powell and left guard Eric King did not play. Right tackle Kevin Terry, already taking the place of injured Luke Watson, hobbled off with an apparent lower leg injury in the first half, while left tackle Giakoby Hills also exited. Freshman John Watkins was forced into action at left tackle. Keeler said Brown and Powell should be ready next week. He did not have an injury report on other players. Rhode Island also scored on its first drive as safety Jaeden Gould slipped, allowing standout receiver Marquis Buchanan to turn a short gain into a 35-yard touchdown. The Owls saw a second Smolik TD pass, a 57-yarder to Chase, wiped off by a holding penalty, and the Owls settled for a 34-yard Carl Hardin field goal. Then Pierre picked off a tipped pass and sprinted 31 yards through open field for a 33-yard score. "I saw RPO and came down on (Buchanan) and saw the ball tipped in the air, and from there, I was like 'That's my ball,'" Pierre said. "It was a once-in-a-lifetime moment." Rhode Island closed within three on a drive in which QB Tyler Budge avoided the rush and ran for a first down twice on third-and-long. But Smolik – leaning on Mason – put together a nice two-minute drive at the end of the half. Mason plunged in from a yard out with 16 seconds left for a 24-14 halftime lead. Temple made it a 31-14 game in the third quarter. Fourth-string running back De'Carlos Young appeared stopped on 4th-and-1 but he was given the line to gain on replay review. The drive – with Sheppard at QB – ended with a Mason three-yard run where he plowed over the defender at the goal line. "I just put my shoulder down and ran through the smoke," Mason said of his overall performance. "I never was told I was given the start, but it just came and I was ready to take on that role. I've been working for this, and I finally got an opportunity to show it. "Last year, I was light and couldn't run through the tackles and I can do it now. I gained 15 pounds. My coach has a saying, I can't say it now, but you're going to get it, no matter what." Alualu's 63-yard pick-six in the fourth quarter, punctuated by a leap into the end zone, put Temple up, 38-14, and allowed the Owls to put Rhode Island away for good.