MORGANTOWN, W.Va. — West Virginia felt it was in position to compete better against eighth-ranked Penn State than what the Mountaineers did a season ago in State College.
Instead, several squandered opportunities early loomed large, as did the ending to the opening half and start to the second following a 139-minute delay for lightning, with the Nittany Lions pulling away for a 34-12 victory in a game they controlled for the final three quarters.
“To say I’m disappointed in how we played would be an understatement,” WVU head coach Neal Brown said. “We played really poorly on the big stage. It starts with me. I’m responsible for it all. Our staff didn’t put our players in good enough position at some key times, especially in the first half. Our best players didn’t play very well outside of Josiah Trotter, from watching the game and watching it at halftime. Anthony Wilson is much improved. After that, our players didn’t play at a level that’s required to beat a team like that.”
A crowd of 62,084 had plenty to cheer about on the Mountaineers’ first defensive sequence when TJ Jackson recovered a fumble on a muffed snap by PSU quarterback Drew Allar.
That allowed the Mountaineers to start their second series at the PSU 28, but a snap that deflected off wideout Jaden Bray while he was in motion led to PSU’s Jaylen Reed recovering 3 yards shy of midfield.
“Offensively, we have a veteran group. There should not have been this anxiety, lack of execution, and there just was,” Brown said.
While the game remained scoreless through the opening frame, WVU squandered a second prime scoring chance when quarterback Garrett Greene was stopped just short on a fourth-and-1 sneak from the PSU 16.
“You should be lower on a quarterback sneak. He was too high,” Brown said. “We didn’t have a good enough short yardage plan going in. We ended up getting all but one, but they were ugly. We have to get our pads down. It’s about playing with pad leverage and understanding situational football. On a QB sneak you should be really low. You just get pushed into a gap. We’d been ultra successful at those, but got beat [in the 2023 regular season finale] at Baylor and then again today. That spot, flip a coin. I could argue very strongly that it was a first down. They marked it on the field short and you’re never going to get a quarterback sneak overturned on replay.”
On the ensuing series, PSU struck first when Allar found an uncovered Harrison Wallace for a 50-yard touchdown on the opening playing of the second period. Beau Pribula, the No. 2 quarterback, threw an incomplete pass on a two-point attempt, leaving the visitors with a 6-0 lead.
Allar was largely comfortable the rest of the way, and on the Nittany Lions’ next series, he completed a 7-yard pass to tight end Tyler Warren on fourth-and-4 from the Mountaineers’ 27, before connecting with tailback Kaytron Allen for a 20-yard TD pass on the next play.
Michael Hayes’ 38-yard field goal 6:15 before halftime produced WVU’s first points to create a 10-point margin, and after a PSU three-and-out, Hayes added a second field goal from 39 yards 37 seconds before halftime. That one, however, followed a sequence in which the Mountaineers failed to convert on second-and-1 and then third-and-2.
With a one-possession lead and set to receive to start the second half, Penn State appeared to be content with a seven-point halftime lead when Nicholas Singleton was stopped for no gain on a run. However, the Nittany Lions got aggressive and it paid off on the next play, with Omari Evans bringing in a 55-yard pass from Allar while working against Aubrey Burks and using both hands to create separation.
“I thought it was offensive pass interference, and after watching on film, no question about it,” Brown said. “There was a two-hand extension and that’s the definition of offensive pass interference. But Aubrey didn’t play in his correct lane.”
Allar found Wallace for his second touchdown, this one from 18 yards, on the next play, and by scoring 6 seconds before halftime, the Nittany Lions took a 20-6 lead into the break.
Brown felt Wallace’s second TD grab deserved a second look.
“The touchdown at the end of the first half, the ball looked like it was moving and it never went to replay,” Brown said. “Why do we have it?”
The intermission became a 2 hour, 19 minute break in action as fans were advised to take shelter and the bleachers were cleared with lightning in the area. Heavy rain fell for 15 minutes or so, but lightning remained nearby, and the matchup didn’t resume until 4:23 p.m.
“The delay is not ideal. You have to sit for a while and it’s almost like starting the game off again,” Greene said. “We didn’t execute well enough before or after the break.”
When it did, Allar converted third-and-7 and third-and-8 with separate 10-yard runs, before Singleton broke free for a 40-yard TD dash that made it 27-6 at the 10:16 mark of the third and essentially put to rest any thought of a rally.
The teams exchanged punts twice over the remainder of the third, before WVU managed its only touchdown drive. Greene’s 14-yard pass to Hudson Clement on fourth-and-10 from the PSU 15 made that possible, and CJ Donaldson reached the end zone from 1 yard. Brown then elected to go for two, but the play never had a chance, with Greene immediately pressured and sacked to leave the deficit at 27-12 with 12:49 remaining.
Momentum was short-lived, however, with Singleton breaking off a 40-yard run on the first play of the ensuing series, which ended with Pribula finding an uncovered Warren for a 19-yard touchdown to cap the scoring in the contest.
PSU finished with a 457-246 advantage in total yards and limited the Mountaineers to 4-of-14 on third down.
“It was a big game. Everybody was here. We didn’t produce,” Brown said. “We were not productive. Was it because it was a big game or a first game? I don’t know. If I had the answer, we wouldn’t be in this position. Penn State is really good and they’ll have a chance to make the playoff. We put non-quality on display today.”
Allar was efficient and threw for three touchdowns without an interception for the second straight season against the Mountaineers. He connected on 11-of-17 passes for 216 yards this time around.
Singleton rushed for 114 yards on 13 carries and PSU finished with 222 rushing yards on 42 tries.
Greene completed 15-of-28 passes for 161 yards and was held to 5 rushing yards on 10 carries.
WVU’s 37 rushes netted only 85 yards, with Donaldson’s 42 yards a team high.
The Mountaineers played the entire second half without left tackle Wyatt Milum, the team’s lone selection to the preseason-All Big 12 Conference team. Johnny Williams spelled Milum in his absence, which came as a result of significant cramping.
“He locked up. We tried everything and he could not go,” Brown said, noting the team discovered he would be unavailable just before the game resumed. “Disappointing, because nobody on our team is more prepared.”
The result marks the fourth straight season West Virginia has opened with a loss to a regional rival.
“Losing always sucks. There’s no other way to put it,” Greene said. “Every loss sucks.”