West Virginia brings confidence into opener, rematch with No. 8 Penn State
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If West Virginia coach Neal Brown could make a wish looking back on last season, it would be to have closed the campaign against Penn State as opposed to facing the Nittany Lions in Week 1.
The Mountaineers began 2023 in one of the most hostile environments in sports, falling 38-15 to the seventh-ranked Nittany Lions on Sept. 2 at Beaver Stadium.
Ultimately, it was a tough debut stage for quarterback Garrett Greene, who had just taken the reins as full-time starter, as well as West Virginia’s squad in general.
Brown compared the team that took the field in Happy Valley to the one that ultimately went 9-4 on the year, winning the Duke’s Mayo Bowl over UNC, and couldn’t help wonder how the end-of-year veteran iteration of the Mountaineers would have fared against Penn State.
“I wish they’d let us pick up right where we ended last year,” Brown said Monday in Morgantown. “If we could have played (Penn State) the week after the North Carolina, I’d have really known what to expect because we were in a pretty good rhythm there.”
Brown and the Mountaineers get another crack at Penn State, ranked eighth nationally, Saturday in Morgantown as the Nittany Lions travel to Milan Puskar Stadium for both teams’ opener.
Fox’s “Big Noon Kickoff” and ESPN’s “The Pat McAfee Show” will broadcast live from Morgantown on Saturday in advance of the highly anticipated rematch.
The Mountaineers, who earned 17 votes in the annual Associated Press preseason poll, placing unofficially at No. 33 in the nation, hope to subject Penn State to a similarly hostile environment as the Nittany Lions produced last year in State College.
“Our guys are excited about the opportunity,” Brown said. “It’s going to be a great challenge. Not going to make or break our season in any way — and I’m not trying to minimize the importance of it. This is a big-time college football weekend. … The spotlight’s on Morgantown. I fully expect our fans and our community to really blossom under the bright lights.”
Greene personified West Virginia’s growth from start to finish last year.
While held to 162 yards and no touchdowns through the air vs. Penn State, by season’s end, Greene had thrown for 2,406 yards and 16 touchdowns, compared to four interceptions.
The 5-foot-11 senior also looks to build off a solid effort on the ground after rushing for 772 yards and 13 touchdowns in 2023.
“I think we’re a better football team than last year,” he said. “The offense kind of got rolling towards the middle of the year, and I don’t think we had that opening up last year.
“As an offense, having everyone basically return is a huge confidence-booster for us. Now it’s just about going to play.”
Along with Greene, West Virginia returns plenty of playmakers, including tailbacks CJ Donaldson and Jahiem White, who ran for a combined 1,640 yards and 15 touchdowns.
Four of Greene’s top targets — receivers Hudson Clement, Preston Fox and Traylon Ray, plus tight end Kole Taylor — are all back.
The Mountaineers, despite losing center Zach Frazier to the NFL Draft and Pittsburgh Steelers, boast a veteran offensive line.
“If you look at just offensive production from last year, we return a ton both in the run game and the pass game,” Greene said. “Our offensive line, we have a ton of guys who have played a lot of football. I’m looking forward to playing with those guys and getting this thing kicked off on Saturday.”
For all of West Virginia’s strengths, the Nittany Lions bring plenty of their own on both sides of the ball.
Junior quarterback Drew Allar sliced up West Virginia through the air last year, throwing for more than 300 yards and three touchdowns. Defensively, the formidable Penn State line looks well-equipped to blunt the Mountaineers’ three-pronged run game.
Brown is well aware of Penn State’s talent and said the Nittany Lions’ preseason top-10 ranking is well-earned.
When both teams line up Saturday, the Mountaineers will have an upset on their minds.
“We feel like if we play our game, we’ve got a chance to win against anybody we’re playing,” Brown said. “We have a ton of respect for Penn State, but we’re going to play our style of football. We’ve been working on that for the last 19 months now, and we feel we’ve honed that in even more so in fall camp. We’re excited about playing.”