There was a lot of buildup ahead of Saturday’s game between West Virginia and No. 8 Penn State.
The hype and anticipation for WVU would fade slowly at Milan Puskar Stadium as they were outclassed by Penn State, falling 34-12 to open the 2024 season.
It was a sloppy start from both teams as WVU opened the game with a chance for a big play but Traylon Ray couldn’t haul in a catchable ball. The theme of miscues quickly continued for both teams as they settled into the first quarter.
The Nittany Lions took over after a WVU punt and they fumbled on their fourth play of the drive with WVU’s TJ Jackson recovering a bad snap from Penn State.
West Virginia took over on the PSU 28 yard line but on their first play of the drive, Jaden Bray motioned and the snap hit him, with Penn State’s Jaylen Reed recovering the ball near midfield. West Virginia got the ball back but failed to convert inside Penn State territory yet again. The Mountaineers faced two fourth downs, converting the first, but Garrett Greene was stopped on the second attempt, as PSU took over on offense.
PSU’s offense would be ignited by Harrison Wallace who caught passes for gains of 18, 14, and 50 yards respectively, with the last one going for a touchdown. Penn State attempted a two-point conversion but was stopped as they led, 6-0.
It would be more of the same from the Mountaineer offense as the ensuing drive started with a dropped pass from Kole Taylor after he was hit, prompting a three-and-out. Penn State would have their own fourth-down decision to make, going for it on 4th and 4 from the WVU 27. Quarterback Drew Allar connected with Tyler Warren for a gain of seven yards, before he had a dump-off to Kaytron Allen who scampered in for a 20-yard touchdown as PSU led 13-0.
West Virginia’s offense would finally finish a drive with points as they got a third=down conversion from a diving Preston Fox for a gain of 16 yards and then Michael Hayes knocked through a 38-yard field goal. WVU’s defense forced a three and out, before the Mountaineers again drove down the field, settling with another field goal, this one from 39 yards.
It appeared WVU would go into halftime only down seven, but the defense would fall apart in the closing seconds. Aubrey Burks was one-on-one with Omari Evans coming down with a 55-yard gain with 10 seconds to play. PSU called a timeout before Allar found Wallace for an 18-yard touchdown score as PSU carried a 20-6 lead into halftime.
At halftime, the game went into a weather delay due to severe weather in the area. The delay lasted 2 hours and 19 minutes, but not much changed from what had started prior.
Penn State came out of the half and went on a 4:39 touchdown drive capped off by a 40-yard touchdown rush from Nicholas Singleton. During the drive, PSU faced third downs of seven and eight yards, but it would be the legs of Allar who scrambled away both times for a gain of 10 yards both times to help extend the drive.
Allar, who had the best game of his 2023 season against West Virginia last year, had another strong showing against the Mountaineers. Allar went 11 for 17 passing, throwing for 216 yards and three touchdowns. Allar's legs were also a difference maker, rushing for 44 yards on six carries.
Allar would only be a small part of Penn State's strong rushing attack though, as Singleton rushed for 114 yards on 13 carries, scoring a touchdown on the ground as well.
WVU’s offense went three and out on their first possession of the second half and would end up punting on their second as the Mountaineer offense continuously struggled to execute. They would have one of their best drives of the day with Greene completing a pair of passes for 25 yards. The drive ended with CJ Donaldson rushing in for a 1-yard score, with WVU failing on the two-point conversion as they trailed 27-12 with 12:49 to play.
The first play of the ensuing Penn State drive was another 40-yard rush from Singleton, setting up an eventual touchdown for the Nittany Lions as Beau Pribula found Tyler Warren for a 19-yard touchdown.
On the next drive, Greene would fumble again as he tried to escape a rush, adding another mistake to an afternoon full of them for West Virginia.
Greene finished the afternoon passing for 161 yards, completing 15 of his 28 pass attempts, and rushing for a net total of five yards.
Greene's struggles carried over the the majority of the Mountaineer offense as Donaldson rushed for 42 yards and White rushed for 33.
West Virginia hosts Albany next Saturday at Milan Puskar Stadium with kickoff set for 6:00 p.m.
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