The Penn State Nittany Lions kicked off their 2024 football season in strong fashion with an impressive 34-12 road victory over West Virginia; a game that included a delay of about two hours at halftime due to lightning. Yet in the end, it was Penn State that struck down in Morgantown and began their run to the playoffs in convincing fashion.
Penn State defense stifles West Virginia early
The first quarter was a defensive slugfest between the two sides. Penn State’s defense held West Virginia to a five-and-out on their first drive and then forced and recovered a fumble on the second possession, all happening before five minutes even ticked off the clock in the game. This coming after Penn State fumbled themselves on their first possession of the game.
AND WVU FUMBLES IT TO GIVE THE BALL RIGHT BACK 😱
Two straight fumbles in this one 😳 pic.twitter.com/og7NzjOG5r
— FOX College Football (@CFBONFOX) August 31, 2024
Penn State strikes just before halftime and lightning delay
The Nittany Lions scored three times in the second quarter. The third of those touchdowns gave Penn State plenty of momentum right before halftime. Penn State took over at their own 27 with 32 seconds left after a West Virginia field goal made the score 13-6. After no gain on first down, Penn State took a shot and quarterback Drew Allar connected with wide receiver Omari Evans for 55 yards to get down to the West Virginia 18-yard line.
3rd play of 20+ yards 🧨 https://t.co/xiMM48WYmS
— Penn State Football (@PennStateFball) August 31, 2024
On the very next play, Allar hit wide receiver Harrison Wallace III for an 18-yard strike and a 20-6 lead. Then, strikes of lightning hit the area and the game went into delay at halftime for nearly three hours. That momentum shift was huge for the Nittany Lions.
WHAT A THROW BY DREW ALLAR 🎯@PennStateFball adds on another TD just before the half 🔥 pic.twitter.com/Zn0WqruC5M
— FOX College Football (@CFBONFOX) August 31, 2024
Penn State takes control following delay
A lengthy delay in the middle of a football game can sometimes get a team completely off their game after sitting around for a while. That wasn’t the case for Penn State Saturday.
On their first possession of the second half, Penn State went 78 yards on nine plays in just 4:39, ending with a bang, a 40-yard touchdown run from Nick Singleton, his second score of the game. The teams then exchanged punts throughout the third quarter as Penn State took a 27-6 lead into the final quarter.
Nick said 👋👋 https://t.co/2c5rhTkwvX
— Penn State Football (@PennStateFball) August 31, 2024
Penn State’s defense shuts door in fourth quarter
West Virginia found the end zone for the first time with 12:49 left in the fourth quarter on a CJ Donaldson one-yard touchdown run.
Penn State quickly answered with a score of their own; a 19-yard connection from backup quarterback Beau Pribula to senior tight end Tyler Warren, or “Psycho T”, as Penn State calls him. That gave the Nittany Lions a 34-12 lead with nine minutes left.
The Nittany Lions are still rolling 🔥🔥@PennStateFball with another touchdown 🙌 pic.twitter.com/LHJMaUK9by
— FOX College Football (@CFBONFOX) August 31, 2024
Things finally started to snowball for West Virginia. Penn State shut the door on the Mountaineers with a fumble recovery and an interception on their final two defensive drives. Redshirt freshman running back Cam Wallace ran down the clock with a few runs and Penn State grabbed the 1-0 start with a 34-12 victory.
Penn State is now 50-9-2 all-time against West Virginia. They have won six straight games in this series. The Nittany Lions sweep the home-and-home from 2023 and 2024 and win in Morgantown for the first time since 1992, the schools’ last meeting before renewing the rivalry last year at Penn State.
We’ll take that 🏈 https://t.co/AGnEBQitG1
— Penn State Football (@PennStateFball) August 31, 2024
Penn State will get ready for their home opener this Saturday against Bowling Green before their first of two bye weeks on the football season. Kickoff is set for noon on the Big Ten Network. West Virginia will host Albany Saturday night.
