Mountaineers Fail to Match Hype in Season Opener as WVU Gets Manhandled by Penn State

MORGANTOWN, W.Va. – Unfortunately for WVU fans, the Mountaineers were never able to match the hype and intensity that led up to the 2024 opener against Penn State – the biggest home opener for the West Virginia program this century.

After a big fumble recovery by West Virginia was negated by one in favor of the road team, Garrett Greene got the offense going with a 20-yard strike to Hudson Clement that set up shop in Nittany Lion territory. But from that point on, a negative theme would begin for the Mountaineers.

Despite Neal Brown showing aggressiveness – a flip from past criticism about him being too cautious in big games – WVU failed to score in the first quarter, squandering a 10:16 to 4:44 lead in time of possession.

Penn State could only be held down for too long, too. On the first play of the second quarter, PSU quarterback Drew Allar completes a pass to Harrison Wallace III, who then takes it the distance and puts the first points on the board. West Virginia then faced even more pressure trailing 6-0 on their first offensive possession of the second quarter.

And after failing to move the ball, that pressures was squarely on the shoulders of the West Virginia defense, most notably the secondary.

However, it took until just over six minutes left for WVU to get on the scoreboard. Michael Hayes connected on a 38-yard field goal to cut into the Penn State lead, but still leave the home fans wondering when the offense would finally break through and show their potential.

Hayes would add another one, that one from 39 yards out, to make the score 13-6 – a score that kept the Mountaineers’ hopes alive even though below the expectations of both offenses. Unfortunately for WVU, Penn State wasn’t finished scoring before half time, getting in the end zone one more time and making it 20-6.

Enter a long weather delay into the chat.

Penn State picked up right where they left off when play finally resumed and the second half got underway. The Nittany Lions increased their lead to a much more comfortable 27-6 after a 40-yard rush by running back Nicholas Singleton.

Greene would lead the offense down the field and CJ Donaldson finished off a long WVU drive to score the Mountaineers first touchdown of the game. A failed two-point attempt only moved the score to 27-12.

Just when West Virginia thought they had even the slightest momentum, Singleton and the Nittany Lions ran all over it. Penn State would follow WVU’s first touchdown of the day with another one of their own. The score, which advanced to 34-12, was thanks to PSU backup quarterback Beau Primula joining the fun for the Nittany Lions with a touchdown pass of his own.

It’s now back to the drawing board for the Mountaineers, who are fortunate enough to have an FCS opponent and a game that comes with far less fanfare coming to Morgantown next week. But no matter who West Virginia has on the schedule, there’s clearly a lot of work that needs to be done to get WVU on track for any hope of contending.