MORGANTOWN — There’s a distinctly different feeling to the build-up of this year’s game between West Virginia and Penn State.
Last year, it felt like Mountaineers were mostly just happy to be there. It’d be great if they won, but if they lost, well they were supposed to lose anyway.
This year, coming off of 2023’s 9-4 record and because the game is now in Morgantown (noon, FOX), there are some real expectations for the Mountaineers to perhaps beat the No. 8 Nittany Lions.
“Our guys are excited about the opportunity,” WVU coach Neal Brown said Monday. “It’s going to be a great challenge. It’s not going to make or break our season in any way, but I’m not trying to minimize the importance of it.”
Morgantown is buzzing with excitement — the game was announced as a sellout on Tuesday — and the game has caught plenty of eyes nationally as well. WVU alum Pat McAfee broadcast his ESPN show live from WVU’s campus Friday afternoon, drawing a massive crowd outside the Life Sciences Building. FOX’s Big Noon Kickoff pregame show is also in town, going live from the Teal Lot two hours before kickoff at 10 a.m.
“There’s a lot going on and the spotlight’s on Morgantown,” Brown said. “I fully expect our fans and our community to really blossom under the bright lights.”
The Nittany Lions are certainly no strangers to playing in tough environments, routinely taking on Ohio State and Michigan, but starting the season in such an environment has its challenges.
“Our focus now is directly on West Virginia and making sure that we’re in the best position to win in a place that I’ve got a ton of respect for,” PSU coach James Franklins said Monday. “I think it’s a very, very challenging place to play, and as an opener, that’s going to create some challenges and issues for us.
“I think it’s really good because it motivates and prepares everybody, but you’ve better understand and be prepared for what that environment’s going to be like. From what I understand, you can’t get a ticket for this game.”
WVU put up a good fight in last year’s contest, which Penn State ultimately won 38-15. A CJ Donaldson touchdown tied the game 7-7 early in the second quarter and PSU only led 14-7 at halftime.
WVU’s offense went cold after the break, however, and first-time starter Drew Allar came alive for Penn State, passing for 325 yards and three touchdowns.
The 15-point showing was WVU’s lowest-scoring output of the season.
“I think we’re a better football team than last year,” Greene said. “The offense got rolling towards the middle of the year and I don’t think we had that when opening up last year.”
WVU’s offense went on to score 30 or more points seven times in 2023, including in seven the Mountaineers’ last eight games.
“I wish they’d let us pick up right where we ended last year,” Brown joked. “If we could have played them a week after the North Carolina game, I’d really know what to expect.”
WVU’s offense hasn’t changed much from last season. Greene is back under center after throwing for 2,406 yards, running for 772 and scoring 29 total touchdowns. Top running backs Donaldson (798 rushing yards, 11 touchdowns) and Jahiem White (842, four) are also back.
Tight end Kole Taylor (35 receptions, 444 yards) leads the returning pass catchers including Hudson Clement (22, 480), Preston Fox (26, 368) and Traylon Ray (18, 321). The team also added receivers Jaden Bray (Oklahoma State) and Justin Robinson (Mississippi State) through the transfer portal.
“As an offense, having everyone basically return is a huge confidence booster for us,” Greene said. “Now it’s just about going to play.”
The offensive line lost standouts Zach Frazier and Doug Nester to graduation, but do return All-American candidate Wyatt Milum at left tackle. The other four projected starters (Tomas Rimac, Brandon Yates, Ja’Quay Hubbard and Nick Malone) all started multiple games last season.
“A team that’s returning a ton of starters, and a ton of starters that had success, that creates challenges,” Franklin said.
Penn State also returns its important offensive pieces. Allar is back for a second season as a starter after passing for 2,631 yards and 25 touchdowns against just two interceptions.
“If you go back and look and think of this as a first-time starter, the kid played pretty well last year,” Brown said of Allar. “He played really well against us, he was the difference in the game.”
Backfield duo Kaytron Allen (902 rushing yards, six touchdowns) and Nicholas Singleton (752, eight) are also back. Tight end Tyler Warren (422 yards) headlines a receiving corps that also features Harrison Wallace III and Ohio State transfer Julian Fleming.
Defensively, WVU returns several starters in the front seven, including defensive linemen Sean Martin (five tackles for loss) and Edward Vesterinen (4.5) and linebackers Trey Lathan (27 tackles) and Ben Cutter (56). Linebacker Josiah Trotter is returning from a season-ending injury that held him out all of last season. Tyrin Bradley (2.5 sacks) and FCS transfer Ty French are the team’s edge rushers. Hammond Russell IV, former Nittany Lion Fatorma Mulbah and Troy transfer T.J. Jackson round out the defensive line rotation.
The back end features a completely rebuilt secondary. Transfers Garnett Hollis (Northwestern), Ayden Garnes (Duquesne), TJ Crandall (Colorado State) and Dontez Fagan (Charlotte) join Jacolby Spells at cornerback. Senior Aubrey Burks (two interceptions) will move down to play spear while Anthony Wilson and transfers Jaheem Joseph (Northwestern) and Kekoura Tarnue (Jacksonville State) will play deep safety.
Defense was Penn State’s calling card in 2023, finishing top five in the nation in points and yards per game, yards per play and rushing yards per game and play. PSU also led the country with 49 sacks.
Dani Denni-Sutton (3.5 sacks) and Abdul Carter (4.5) are the team’s top edge rushers while Kobe King (61 tackles) is a difference-maker at middle linebacker.
The Mountaineers come into the game looking to establish its running game with Greene, Donaldson and White. WVU was the top power conference rushing team last season, averaging 228.9 infantry yards per game.
“We feel like if we play our game, then we’ve got a chance to win against anybody we’re playing against,” Brown said. “We have a ton of respect for Penn State, but we’re going to play our style of football.”
Penn State opened as 10-point favorites over WVU, but the line has drifted to just eight points as the game has approached.
“All the pressure is on their sideline,” Vesterinen said. “It’s their pressure to win the game, they’re supposed to be the better team on paper, they’re ranked No. 8 in the country, they’re going to be stressed out, they’re going to be anxious. For us, I’m going to play free and give it all I have.”
WVU is 9-49-2 all-time against PSU in a series that dates back to 1904. The teams played annually from 1940-92.
“This is going to be the last time that West Virginia and Penn State are on the field together, especially here in Morgantown, in the foreseeable future,” Brown said. “I guess we could always play in a bowl game or the playoff, but this is the last time for the foreseeable future.”
The last time West Virginia topped Penn State was in 1988, in Morgantown. Seven of WVU’s nine wins in the series have come at home.
“Home field advantage is a real thing,” Franklin said. “I think that’s magnified in a place that does not have an NFL team. Everything in that state revolves around West Virginia and Mountaineer football. They’re a prideful place.”
