WVU DB Garnett Hollis Offers Honest Thoughts About Penn State

MORGANTOWN, W.Va. – WVU defensive back Garnett Hollis is clearly carrying over some feelings about Penn State from his time in the Big Ten. Hollis is also using every bit of the animosity he feels towards the Nittany Lions as motivation for the 2024 season opener.

Hollis feels Penn State doesn’t respect their opponents, at least those who aren’t Michigan and Ohio State.

“They give no respect to their opponents unless it’s Michigan or Ohio State,” said Hollis when asked about his new team kicking off the season with Penn State out of the Big Ten.

WVU DB Garnett Hollis on Penn State: “They give no respect to their opponents unless it’s Michigan or Ohio State.” Hollis has animosity towards Penn State from his time in the Big Ten at Northwestern.

— Mike J. Asti (@MikeAsti11) August 16, 2024

For context and maybe why Hollis feels the way he does, Penn State is 21-3 against schools that aren’t Ohio State and Michigan over the past two seasons.

Prior to Hollis’ comments, WVU coaches and players have been employing a business-like attitude and sidestepping questions about the Nittany Lions, or even Backyard Brawl in Pittsburgh.

But no matter what anyone says, the Mountaineers don’t need any extra motivation to want to beat Penn State. West Virginia is trying to avenge their 38-15 loss from a season ago.

With WVU fans hoping the home field advantage can be an equalizer, especially with the added “Stripe the Stadium” promotion, most sportsbooks still expect Penn State to win. The Nittany Lions opened up as a 12.5-point favorite when the initial line was released months ago.

West Virginia head coach Neal Brown also talked about the matchup at Big 12 Media Days, focusing on what beating Penn State could mean for, not only the WVU program, but the Big 12 as a conference.

Neal Brown Views West Virginia Opening with Penn State as Opportunity for Big 12

“Without a question it’s something, whether it’s West Virginia or any other program in the Big 12 gets those kind of marquee wins, our brand will continue to grow and we’ve got to make some noise in the playoff,” Brown said. “I think Commissioner [Brett] Yormark spoke about this: We’re the most competitive league. I would say we’re the deepest football league in the entire country. But we’ve got to go. TCU had a nice run, but we’ve got to have more wins in the playoff once we get in.”

West Virginia and Penn State are scheduled to be Fox’s “Big Noon” game on Saturday, Aug. 31.

“We’re fired up about that,” Brown said about the FOX broadcast. “Our fans will be ready for that, too.”

There’s also intrigue and some storyline carryover from the 2023 edition. In addition to the 2023 game marking the first the time two historic programs faced off in decades, the night ended with some controversy.

Despite being up by two scores, PSU Franklin decided to try to get another touchdown rather than take a knee, and Penn State succeeded, scoring with six seconds left. Brown didn’t like that too much.

“I wouldn’t have done it,” Brown said in his postgame presser. “But it doesn’t bother me. Stuff like that comes back around.”

For a related story, Penn State head coach James Franklin referred to playing at WVU as facing a “hornets nest” in July.