No. 8-ranked Penn State secured a commanding 34-12 victory over West Virginia on Saturday afternoon in front of a sellout crowd of 62,084 at Milan Puskar Stadium. This marked Penn State’s first visit to Morgantown since 1992, and they showcased a performance reminiscent of their historic dominance over the Mountaineers.
“Bottom line is we played poorly, but credit Penn State,” said West Virginia’s head coach. “Today was just not good enough to beat a team like Penn State.”
Quarterback Drew Allar excelled with a standout performance, completing 11 of 17 passes for 216 yards and three touchdowns while also adding 44 yards on the ground through scrambles. He quickly found his rhythm against West Virginia’s secondary, throwing three touchdown passes in the first half, two of which went to Harrison Wallace III.
Wallace was the first to score, catching a 50-yard touchdown pass just seven seconds into the second quarter. Following that, Allar connected with running back Kaytron Allen for a 20-yard touchdown, extending Penn State’s lead to 13-0.
West Virginia’s offense finally got on the board with a 38-yard field goal after a 10-play, 55-yard drive, making the score 13-3. The Mountaineers then forced a Penn State punt, regaining possession at their own 36-yard line, but after moving into field goal range, a 39-yard attempt by Hayes narrowed the Lions’ lead to 13-6.
In the closing seconds of the first half, Penn State answered back decisively. After regaining possession with 32 seconds left, Allar executed a dramatic play, finding Omari Evans for a 55-yard gain, setting up a touchdown pass to Wallace with just seconds remaining. Sander Sahaydak’s conversion extended the lead to 20-6.
A heavy thunderstorm interrupted play at halftime, but once action resumed over two hours later, Penn State’s offense showed no signs of slowing down. After two crucial scrambles by Allar, Singleton scored on a 40-yard run, increasing the lead to 27-6.
West Virginia responded with their first touchdown of the season as Donaldson powered through from the one-yard line, cutting the deficit to 27-12. However, Penn State quickly bounced back as Pribula connected with tight end Tyler Warren for a 19-yard touchdown, capping a 76-yard drive.
With a dominant ground game, Penn State amassed 457 total yards to West Virginia’s 246, with Singleton leading the rushing attack with 114 yards. West Virginia managed just 85 rushing yards due to negative plays, including two poor snaps.
Quarterback Greene posted a total of 161 passing yards before being replaced in the fourth quarter, with Donaldson leading the Mountaineers’ rushing attack. In his debut, a freshman linebacker recorded a team-high 10 tackles for West Virginia.
The matchup wrapped up a two-game series with Penn State, who now boasts a 50-9-2 record over 61 meetings with the Mountaineers. West Virginia, now 0-1, will host Albany next Saturday, while Penn State prepares for their home opener against Bowling Green.