It’s the Penn State Nittany Lions vs the West Virginia Mountaineers to open Week 1 of the college football season! The Nittany Lions will take a trip to Morgantown to face the Mountaineers in an interesting matchup.
Penn State vs West Virginia History
This will be the 61st all-time meeting between Penn State and West Virginia. The Nittany Lions lead the all-time series 49-9-2. Penn State has won the last five meetings between the schools dating back to 1989, including last year’s opener in State College, 38-15.
Key Players for Penn State
All eyes will be on Penn State quarterback Drew Allar. The junior is coming off a 2023 season that saw him throw for 2,631 yards, 25 touchdowns and just two touchdowns.
Allar will also have the luxury of having two excellent running backs to take some pressure off of him. Penn State brings back Nick Singleton (752 yards, eight touchdowns) and Kaytron Allen (902 yards, six touchdowns).
A new cast of wide receivers will take center stage Saturday, led by Ohio State transfer Julian Fleming. Also look for Harrison Wallace III and Kaden Saunders to start making more of a name for themselves.
Defensively, Abdul Carter (4.5 sacks) moves down to the defensive line to add more power up front alongside Dani Dennis-Sutton (3.5 sacks) while both of Penn State’s leading tacklers from last season — safety Kevin Winston Jr. (60) and Kobe King (59) — are back to lead that side of the ball.
Key Players for West Virginia
Garrett Greene returns at quarterback for the Mountaineers. Greene threw for 2,406 yards, 16 touchdowns and four interceptions in 2023 as West Virginia went 9-4 last season. That included a win over North Carolina in the Duke’s Mayo Bowl. Greene also had a strong season rushing the football, going for 772 yards and a team-leading 13 rushing touchdowns.
West Virginia also brings back their top two rushers from last season in sophomore Jahiem White (842 yards, four touchdowns) and junior C.J. Donaldson Jr. (798 yards, 11 touchdowns).
On defense, senior safety Anthony Wilson Jr. is back after recording 80 tackles, an interception and four passes defended. Fellow senior safety Aubrey Burks (48 tackles, two interceptions) returns to give the Mountaineers a pair of experienced defensive backs.
Penn State’s Blueprint for Victory
- Establish the ground game: Penn State would like to get their running backs settled in early and test West Virginia’s new defensive front. The Mountaineers have to replace two defensive linemen that transferred for this season (Edge Jared Bartlett to Cincinnati, DL Mike Lockhart to SMU). They did bring in T.J. Jackson from Troy and Ty French, the all-time sack leader for Gardner-Webb (34.5).
- Pass rush is imperative: The Nittany Lions will be tested early as West Virginia bring backs a strong and experienced offensive line, even with the losses of Zach Frazier and Doug Nester. Penn State has to contain Greene at quarterback because we saw last season he can beat you in multiple ways. Limit his ability to get outside and make plays with his legs.
- Get the new receivers settled in early: Allar has new weapons to work with, after graduation and the transfer portal created plenty of turnover at the position. Get the connection started early, especially against a secondary as good as the one West Virginia has with Wilson and Burks. This game will help figure out which, if any, will take control and be perhaps the top option for Allar in the passing game.
