Playing on the road against Penn State isn't an easy task for any team in college football. And with a lot of questions on offense, offensive coordinator Chad Scott will have his own role in answering those concerns and making his mark on the offensive side of the ball.

Being promoted from running backs coach to offensive coordinator was a big leap for Scott, but it's important to see how his role has really changed and his impact on West Virginia's offense.

It's well-known that Scott will not be the primary play-caller for West Virginia though since that will be head coach Neal Brown. But Scott can definitely have him input on what happens on the field.

"Between the three of us, Coach Brown and Coach [Sean] Reagan, and with all of the information we've got between the three of us, along with film and the video, even if they do something new, it won't stray too far off from what we're accustomed to doing," Scott said. "The plays we have right now, they're pretty much universal."

Leading up to this weekend's marquee matchup against Penn State, Scott expects some mental challenges to present themselves for the team and it'll create some uncertainty in how the team will produce early in the game, just like any other first game.

Despite the strong environment and the impressive football team on the other side of the line, Scott doesn't see it as a handicap but rather as a challenge of who can step up.

"When you come out the first game with the jitters and the anxiety of going out there and playing, you may get some guys who are fatigued early on and I want to do a great job of keeping those guys fresh," Scott said. "Obviously, when one of them gets hot and gets going and adrenaline gets rolling, we'll stick with that hot hand."

What does that mean exactly though? It means that West Virginia is going to play by the hot hand, the player who's performing the best in the moment and that will be fluid throughout the game, especially in such a mentally challenging environment like Happy Valley.

Making all of this execute smoothly is up to the game plan prepared beforehand, and Scott seems to be confident in what himself and Brown have come up with. This game plan includes being aggressive on fourth down, something that's not very common in the West Virginia offense under Brown and is a new part of the philosophy.

"The offensive philosophy has changed now, you can be more aggressive going forward and the offense is really explosive, and you've got to convert," Scott. "In third and long situations... if you know you've got two downs, you don't have to be as aggressive."

What's most important though is avoiding fourth downs in the first place for West Virginia, and that comes from efficiency in running the football, which is something Scott believes that the Mountaineers can be great at and is a strength that can be relied on when it's needed most.

"I think we've taken that next step forward [in the run game] simply because of the mentality and mindset those guys have up front," Scott said. "Great teams to me are teams that can go out and run the football when teams know you have to, and thus far throughout camp we've done that."

At the foundation of the game plan comes efficiency, and that might be the most important factor in fighting with Penn State all the way through on Saturday Through the completion of fall camp, the team has been able to avoid those negative plays and those third and long situations.

"In third down and long, we want to stay out of those situations and that's what we've been emphasizing as well. We've had a good fall camp and I know one of the things we've done a great job at is looking at what we weren't good at in the past, which is being good on first down," Scott said.

"We put a major emphasis on that, and starting fast, and being efficient on first downs to stay out of those negative situations, so we're in a position where we can be more effective," Scott said.

In football though you must adjust and be flexible at all times in the game, so it'll be important for West Virginia's offense to be adaptable with Scott, not only efficient. Adjustments made or not made can win or lose a game and Scott knows how important they are.

"Worry about what you see and adjust as you go, but we got to do what we're good at first of all," Scott said.

----------

• Talk about it with West Virginia fans on The Blue Lot.

• SUBSCRIBE today to stay up on the latest on Mountaineer sports and recruiting.

• Get all of our WVU videos on YouTube by subscribing to the WVSports.com Channel

• Follow us on Twitter: @WVSportsDotCom, @rivalskeenan

•Like us on Facebook