{"id":63256,"date":"2024-08-31T19:15:16","date_gmt":"2024-08-31T23:15:16","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/collegefootball\/?p=63256"},"modified":"2024-08-31T19:15:16","modified_gmt":"2024-08-31T23:15:16","slug":"penn-state-beats-west-virginia-34-12-thunder-lightning","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/collegefootball\/2024\/08\/31\/penn-state-beats-west-virginia-34-12-thunder-lightning\/","title":{"rendered":"Penn State Beats West Virginia 34-12: Thunder & Lightning"},"content":{"rendered":"

Penn State beat West Virginia, 34-12, to start the 2024 season.\u00a0 <\/span>There was a lot of thunder and lightning in Morgantown, both on and off the field.\u00a0 <\/span>Penn State\u2019s lightning offense debuted under Andy Kotelnicki, their new and creative coordinator.\u00a0 <\/span>Tom Allen, the new defensive coordinator<\/a>, and his defense brought the thunder against the vaunted West Virginia rushing attack.<\/p>\n

Mother Nature brought her own thunder & lightning.\u00a0 The second half was delayed by more than two hours<\/span>.\u00a0 It cut down the home field advantage substantially, with a lot fewer West Virginia fans in the stands in the second half. \u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

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This weather delay really getting the best of us \ud83d\ude05\ud83e\udd23\u2614\ufe0f@RobStoneONFOX<\/a> | @Brady_Quinn<\/a> | @markingramII<\/a> | @CoachUrbanMeyer<\/a> pic.twitter.com\/w9UkhNvFw2<\/a><\/p>\n

\u2014 Big Noon Kickoff (@BNKonFOX) August 31, 2024<\/a><\/p><\/blockquote>\n

The Penn State Offense<\/h3>\n

Known for innovative formations and big plays in his offense, Kotelnickis saw it come together in the second quarter. \u00a0 <\/span>After a few shaky drives to start, including a lost fumble, the big plays finally came after a scoreless first quarter.\u00a0 <\/span>Coming off the field at the end of the first half, head coach James Franklin said, \u201cOnce we got calmed down, we did some really good things.\u201d<\/p>\n

In 2023, Penn State had five passing plays of 50+ yards in total.\u00a0 <\/span>In the first half of 2024\u2019s season opener, they had two such plays. Quarterback Drew Allar<\/a>, who came into this second season as the starter with high expectations<\/a>, did not disappoint.\u00a0 <\/span>He was not crisp at first, as his early throws were off-target and behind his receivers.\u00a0 <\/span>However, he hit on those two plays of 50+ yards in the first half alone, and his accuracy dramatically improved once the opening quarter nerves subsided. \u00a0After the game, about the offense’s big plays, Franklin said that in addition to Allar, the “Development of the wide receiver position is a big part of that.”<\/p>\n

The running backs got into the action more in the second half. \u00a0When the game stretched to a three-score difference, managing the clock became the main objective. Penn State has one of the best running back tandems in the nation with Nicholas Singleton<\/a> and Kaytron Allen<\/a>.\u00a0 <\/span>Allen was the first of the two-headed monster<\/a> to break through with a score on a 20-yard touchdown reception. \u00a0Singleton finished the first drive of the second half with a 40-yard touchdown run.<\/p>\n

Building Trust<\/h3>\n

When a game doesn\u2019t start as easily as planned, quarterbacks instinctively go to their security blanket.\u00a0 <\/span>For Allar, this turned out to be Trey Wallace<\/a>.\u00a0 <\/span>Allar\u2019s first four completions went to Wallace, for 99 yards.\u00a0 <\/span>He finished the first half, and the game, with five catches for 117 yards and two touchdowns.<\/p>\n

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WHAT A THROW BY DREW ALLAR \ud83c\udfaf@PennStateFball<\/a> adds on another TD just before the half \ud83d\udd25 pic.twitter.com\/Zn0WqruC5M<\/a><\/p>\n

\u2014 FOX College Football (@CFBONFOX) August 31, 2024<\/a><\/p><\/blockquote>\n

Similarly, a quarterback\u2019s best friend is a solid running game.\u00a0 Singleton and Allen took the baton in the second half, looking to milk the clock and reduce West Virginia possessions. \u00a0They achieved this in the game’s final 30 minutes. \u00a0Singleton finished with the sixth 100-yard rushing game of his career.<\/span><\/p>\n

Allar also instilled even more confidence in his abilities to be a closer. \u00a0When West Virginia cut the lead to 15 in the fourth quarter, Penn State needed to put the game on ice. \u00a0Allar responded by leading a six-play, 70-yard drive to make the score 34-12.<\/p>\n

The Penn State Defense<\/h3>\n

The Mountaineers came out looking to control the clock after leading the Power Five in rushing offense last year. \u00a0However, Penn State had the number-one rushing defense in 2023.\u00a0 <\/span>The West Virginia rushing attack averaged 228 yards per game last year, but only produced 85 in this contest. \u00a0<\/span>Garrett Greene<\/a>, an underrated player, is a dual-threat quarterback. \u00a0His skill set was on display but contained by Penn State in this game.<\/p>\n

The Nittany Lion defense bent but did not break.\u00a0 <\/span>They even stopped a tush push attempt on fourth down and a yard to go.\u00a0 <\/span>Heading in at halftime, Franklin said they \u201cNeed to get some three and outs on defense to get off the field.\u201d \u00a0That happened in the second half. \u00a0Allen has called his safeties as good as any<\/a> in the country.\u00a0 <\/span>Kevin Winston<\/a> and Jaylen Reed<\/a>, as expected, ran the defense well in this game.\u00a0 <\/span>The bend but don\u2019t break mentality, and physicality worked well against the Mountaineer offense.<\/p>\n

This game quickly became a tale of two halves regarding the West Virginia game plan. \u00a0When Singleton made the score 27-6 with his touchdown to start the second half, the Mountaineers had to turn into a throwing offense. \u00a0This allowed the Penn State defense to primarily focus on the pass rush. \u00a0In the ensuing drive, Penn State picked up their first sack of the season, courtesy of Zane Durant<\/a>. \u00a0They later rushed Greene and caused a fumble that was recovered by Penn State. \u00a0West Virginia fumbled a total of four times.<\/p>\n

By the Numbers: Penn State Beats West Virginia 34-12<\/h3>\n

Penn State beat West Virginia, 34-12, to start the 2024 season. \u00a0Here are some of the key statistics underpinning the Penn State win.<\/p>\n

Offense<\/h4>\n

Passing: <\/strong>Penn State threw for 235 yards, compared to 161 for West Virginia. \u00a0Allar completed 11 of 17 for 216 yards, with three touchdowns and no interceptions. \u00a0Beau Pribula<\/a> completed his only pass attempt for a 19-yard touchdown. \u00a0For West Virginia, Greene was 15 of 28 for 161 yards, with no touchdowns or interceptions.<\/p>\n

Rushing: <\/b>Penn State had the edge with 222 yards, compared to West Virginia’s 85 yards. \u00a0Singleton led all players with 114 yards on 13 carries with a touchdown. \u00a0Allen ran 10 times for 20 yards, and Allar contributed a career-high 44 yards on six carries. \u00a0CJ Donaldson, Jr.<\/a> led West Virginia with 42 yards and a touchdown on 12 carries. \u00a0Jahiem White<\/a> had 33 yards on eight carries.<\/p>\n

Receiving: <\/b>Wallace led all receivers with 117 yards on five catches with two touchdowns. \u00a0Omari Evans<\/a> had two catches for 55 yards. \u00a0For West Virginia, Preston Fox<\/a> had two catches for 41 yards, and Traylon Ray<\/a> had 37 yards on four catches.<\/p>\n

Defense\/Special Teams<\/h4>\n

Defense: <\/b>Penn State’s safeties were their tackle leaders. \u00a0Winston had 12 tackles, and Reed had nine. \u00a0Elliot Washington II<\/a> had an interception. \u00a0Josiah Trotter<\/a> led West Virginia with 10 tackles.<\/p>\n

Special teams:<\/strong>\u00a0Sander Sahaydak<\/a> got the nod to kick for Penn State. \u00a0Similar to his struggles against West Virginia in last year’s opener, he missed his only field goal attempt. \u00a0Riley Thompson<\/a> had four punts, averaging 44.0 yards per punt. \u00a0Michael Hayes II<\/a> converted both of his field goal attempts for the Mountaineers. \u00a0Oliver Straw<\/a> also punted four times, with an average of 44.0 yards per punt.<\/p>\n

Penalties: <\/strong>Although it was a positive game for Penn State, if there is an area of concern, it is penalties. Abdul Carter<\/a>, in his first game as a defensive end, was flagged for multiple penalties including a hit out of bounds. \u00a0In total, Penn State was flagged for eight penalties and 60 yards, and West Virginia only had one penalty for five yards.<\/p>\n

\"Penn
Photo courtesy: Ben Queen-USA TODAY Sports<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Penn State beat West Virginia, 34-12, to start the 2024 season.\u00a0 There was a lot of thunder and lightning in Morgantown, both on and off the field.\u00a0 Penn State\u2019s lightning offense debuted under Andy Kotelnicki, their new and creative coordinator.\u00a0 Tom Allen, the new defensive coordinator, and his defense brought the thunder against the vaunted […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":5172,"featured_media":63277,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_lmt_disableupdate":"no","_lmt_disable":"","sfio_featured_image":false,"sfio_embed_code":"","_ef_editorial_meta_date_first-draft-date":"","_ef_editorial_meta_paragraph_assignment":"","_ef_editorial_meta_checkbox_needs-photo":"1","_ef_editorial_meta_number_word-count":"","footnotes":""},"categories":[2,5],"tags":[33991,32817,7983,837,1073,3650],"class_list":["post-63256","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-featured","category-bigten","tag-2024-west-virginia-mountaineers-football","tag-andy-kotelnicki","tag-big-ten-football","tag-james-franklin","tag-tom-allen","tag-west-virginia-football"],"modified_by":"Tony Siracusa, CFB Managing Editor","_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/collegefootball\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/63256","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/collegefootball\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/collegefootball\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/collegefootball\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/5172"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/collegefootball\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=63256"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/collegefootball\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/63256\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/collegefootball\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/63277"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/collegefootball\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=63256"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/collegefootball\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=63256"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/collegefootball\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=63256"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}