No. 7 will start the 2023 college football season. Penn State is one of the few programmes in the country with genuine hopes of making the College Football Playoff. That road starts Saturday night in Happy Valley, when the Nittany Lions face West Virginia. Penn State coach James Franklin has converted his programme into a Big Ten East threat, constantly competing with division powers Ohio State and Michigan.
On the other hand, West Virginia coach Neal Brown is starting this season in one of the country’s hottest seats. He’s 22-25 in four seasons as the program’s head coach, with school officials giving him the dreaded vote of confidence following last season. That is not good. The good news is that the Mountaineers have a lot of experience up front, which will aid an offence that struggled last season.
Penn State leads the rivalry 48-9-2 all-time, although the two teams haven’t faced since 1992.
What will happen in Happy Valley on Saturday night? Let’s break down the game and make straight up and against the spread predictions.
What you need to know about Penn State vs. West Virginia.
Drew Allar has earned a lot of attention since he arrived on school, and the 6-foot-5, 243-pound sophomore will take over as quarterback after Sean Clifford departed for the NFL. Allar, a five-star recruit and the No. 3 overall prospect in the Class of 2022, passed for 344 yards and four touchdowns in 10 games last season while also running for 52 yards and one touchdown. Franklin has always had strong quarterback play, but this is the first time in his career that a potential superstar will be taking the plays. Allar will be protected by an experienced offensive line, but he must create a go-to receiver to relieve pressure on the outstanding Nittany Lion rushing assault.
In terms of the running assault, Nicholas Singleton and Kaytron Allen form one of (if not “the”) greatest backfields in the country. It’ll be interesting to observe how the rushing assault has evolved since the two became the offensive centrepieces as freshmen last season. West Virginia’s defensive front seven has plenty of experience and concluded last season as the Big 12’s fourth-best rushing defence in terms of yards per attempt (4.14).
Who will make the Mountaineers’ snaps? When Brown spoke with the media earlier this week, he was non-committal about his starting quarterback. Garrett Greene and Nicco Marchiol, both juniors, have been competing for the top slot on the depth chart. Brown said earlier this month that he has made a choice on who would take the photographs, but he is unsure if he will make it public. As a result, the race is shrouded in mystery. Last season, Greene passed for 593 yards, five touchdowns, and three interceptions in nine games, including starts in the last two games. Last season, Marchiol appeared in two games, including the season finale against Oklahoma State, when he completed two of nine passes for 29 yards.
Picks for Penn State vs. West Virginia
SportsLine consensus odds
The Nittany Lions are stacked, and the Mountaineers have little chance of slowing them down. By the conclusion of the third quarter, Allar will have lit up the porous West Virginia secondary and turned this one sideways. The hook on the line makes this one much more appealing since a 21-point victory allows Penn State tickets to pay.
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