MORGANTOWN, W.Va. – The eighth-ranked Penn State Nittany Lions defeated West Virginia 34-12 in front of a sellout crowd of 62,084 at Milan Puskar Stadium on Saturday afternoon. This marked Penn State’s first visit to Morgantown since 1992, reminiscent of their past dominance over the Mountaineers.
West Virginia head coach expressed disappointment in his team’s performance, acknowledging that they did not play well enough to compete against Penn State. Quarterback Drew Allar showcased his skills, completing 11 of 17 passes for 216 yards and three touchdowns, along with 44 rushing yards from scrambles.
Allar capitalized on West Virginia’s secondary, throwing three touchdown passes in the first half, including two to Harrison Wallace III. Wallace opened the scoring with a 50-yard touchdown catch seven seconds into the second quarter. Allar then found running back Kaytron Allen for a 20-yard touchdown, extending the lead to 13-0.
West Virginia responded with a 38-yard field goal, making it 13-3 after a 10-play, 55-yard drive. They later attempted to cut further into the lead, and after making several conversions, were able to score another field goal to make it 13-6 just before halftime.
However, Penn State quickly extended their lead with a play just before the half. Allar threw a deep pass to Omari Evans, resulting in a 55-yard gain to the 18-yard line. A subsequent touchdown catch by Wallace put the Nittany Lions ahead 20-6 at halftime.
After a lengthy weather delay, the game resumed with Penn State’s offense continuing to dominate. Allar had several key scrambles before Singleton scored on a 40-yard touchdown run, increasing the lead to 27-6. West Virginia finally answered with a touchdown run from Donaldson, narrowing the score to 27-12, but this only seemed to ignite Penn State’s offense further.
Penn State scored again with a 19-yard touchdown pass from Beau Pribula to tight end Tyler Warren, capping a 76-yard drive. The Nittany Lions controlled the game, finishing with 457 total yards compared to West Virginia’s 246.
Singleton led the Nittany Lions in rushing with 114 yards, while West Virginia’s leading rusher, Donaldson, managed 42 yards. Greene had a tough outing, completing 15 of 28 passes for 161 yards before being replaced in the fourth quarter.
This game concluded a two-game series between the two teams, which was once an annual matchup before Penn State joined the Big Ten Conference. The Nittany Lions now hold a series record of 50-9-2 against West Virginia.
West Virginia (0-1) will return to Milan Puskar Stadium next Saturday to face Albany, while Penn State will host Bowling Green in their season opener next weekend.