West Virginia out to snap opening skid with Allar and No. 8 Penn State paying a visit

No. 8 Penn State at West Virginia, Saturday, noon ET (Fox)

BetMGM College Football Odds: Penn State by 8 1/2.

Series record: Penn State leads 49-9-2.

WHAT’S AT STAKE?

Penn State, going after its third straight 10-win season, is playing its first nonconference opener on the road since 2015. West Virginia lost the 2023 opener 38-15 at Penn State and hopes to be better prepared this time.

KEY MATCHUP

West Virginia QB Garrett Greene against Penn State’s defense. West Virginia ranked third nationally a year ago with 229 yards on the ground, while Penn State allowed the fewest rushing yards at 75.5 per game. So it might be up to Greene’s arm to find a way to catch the Nittany Lions off guard. Greene had accuracy problems in 2023 but his 16.4 yards per completion were the second-most in the Bowl Subdivision.

PLAYERS TO WATCH

Penn State: QB Drew Allar threw for 325 yards and three touchdowns in the Nittany Lions’ easy win over the Mountaineers a year ago. But he didn’t eclipse 300 yards the rest of the season and lost two of his top targets since then. Allar is looking to get a boost from Ohio State wide receiver transfer Julian Fleming.

West Virginia: RB Jahiem White didn’t play as a freshman against Penn State a year ago. He compiled most of his team-leading 842 rushing yards over the final month of the season. White averaged 7.7 yards per carry and gives the Mountaineers a speedy option to bruising 240-pounder CJ Donaldson.

FACTS & FIGURES

The Nittany Lions have won five straight over the Mountaineers. The series resumed last year after a 31-year hiatus. ... Penn State is breaking in three new coordinators: offensive coordinator Andy Kotelnicki came over from the same job at Kansas to replace the fired Mike Yurcich, former Indiana head coach Tom Allen took over at defensive coordinator after Manny Diaz left and Justin Lustig arrived from Vanderbilt to replace special teams coordinator Stacy Collins. ... West Virginia has lost three straight season openers and has never dropped four in a row in 133 years of football. ... Penn State running backs coach Ja’Juan Seider spent four years in the same role at West Virginia, where he also played at quarterback.

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