MORGANTOWN, W.Va. – The eighth-ranked Penn State Nittany Lions powered through a decisive 27-point surge in the second and third quarters to secure a 34-12 victory over West Virginia before 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 past teams that frequently triumphed over the Mountaineers.
“Bottom line is we played poorly, but credit Penn State,” said West Virginia’s coach. “Today was just not good enough to beat a team like Penn State.”
Quarterback Drew Allar showcased his passing skills by completing 11 of 17 attempts for 216 yards and three touchdowns, in addition to scrambling for 44 crucial yards. Allar effectively exploited West Virginia’s secondary, throwing three touchdown passes in the first half, including two to Harrison Wallace III.
Wallace opened the scoring for Penn State by sprinting 50 yards into the end zone on a pass from Allar just seven seconds into the second quarter, although a subsequent two-point conversion attempt was unsuccessful. A few minutes later, Allar connected with running back Kaytron Allen for a 20-yard touchdown, extending the lead to 13-0.
West Virginia managed to find the scoreboard with a 38-yard field goal following a 10-play, 55-yard drive, trimming the deficit to 13-3. The Mountaineers’ defense forced a punt, regaining possession with 5:13 left in the half. After a series of conversion runs, West Virginia reached the Penn State 21, but a missed short pass on third down left them with a 39-yard field goal attempt, which was successful, lowering the score to 13-6.
As halftime approached, Penn State seized an opportunity after receiving a squib kick. Despite being stuffed on a first-down run, Allar completed a 55-yard pass to receiver Omari Evans before capping the drive with an 18-yard touchdown to Wallace. This expanded Penn State’s lead to 20-6 right before halftime.
After a prolonged delay due to thunderstorms, the game resumed with Penn State’s offense showing no signs of slowing down. Allar set the tone with two first-down runs before Singleton found the end zone on a 40-yard touchdown run, pushing the score to 27-6.
West Virginia finally scored its first touchdown of the season when running back Donaldson crossed the goal line after a couple of close attempts. However, the two-point conversion attempt failed, making it 27-12. Penn State responded with a 76-yard scoring drive that culminated in a 19-yard touchdown pass from Pribula to tight end Tyler Warren.
Despite a couple of stalled drives, Penn State’s ground game, led by Singleton’s 114 yards on 13 carries, proved pivotal as the team accumulated a total of 457 yards, overshadowing West Virginia’s 246 yards.
West Virginia’s quarterback Greene finished the game with 15 completions on 28 attempts for 161 yards before being replaced. Meanwhile, backup quarterback Marchiol had one pass that was intercepted.
“Not good enough,” Brown said of Greene’s performance, “but he will bounce back next week.”
West Virginia’s top rusher was Donaldson with 42 yards. The game wrapped up a two-game series with Penn State, which had been a yearly event until the Nittany Lions joined the Big Ten after the 1992 season. With this win, Penn State improved its series record to 50-9-2 against West Virginia.
West Virginia (0-1) will host Albany next Saturday at Milan Puskar Stadium, while Penn State prepares for its home opener against Bowling Green.