United Bank Playbook – Penn State Preview

MORGANTOWN, W.Va. – Neal Brownnow beginning his sixth season at West Virginia University, has frequently stated that he wanted to coach at a place where football matters.

This Saturday, the Mountaineers’ season-opening game against Penn State at Milan Puskar Stadium not only matters locally and regionally, but also nationally.

The spotlight was turned on late last week when ESPN personality Pat McAfee, who also happens to be a former WVU kicker and punter, was discussing Penn State’s first visit to Morgantown since 1992 on his popular “The Pat McAfee Show” that airs daily from noon to 2 p.m. on ESPN2 and streams for an additional hour on YouTube.

McAfee will be bringing his show to Morgantown on Friday for a live broadcast from the downtown campus, by the way.

Nittany Lion coach James Franklin was asked about McAfee during his Monday press conference. Specifically, he was asked whether he thought McAfee’s broadcasting style was good for college sports.

“First of all, I love Pat McAfee and his energy and enthusiasm for sports and specifically college football,” Franklin said. “I think he’s been good for college athletics and sports in general. I think it’s fun, right?”

Then, Franklin pivoted to some of McAfee’s remarks about the raucous atmosphere that will be awaiting Penn State on Saturday.

“I think it’s very similar to the old billboard material,” Franklin noted. “I want to make sure that our guys and staff don’t say anything that creates billboard material. For some people that motivates them, right?”

Clearly, Franklin was either listening or was informed to whatever it was that McAfee said about the contest.

Of course, billboard material can go both ways, from the less than gracious reception some Penn State fans gave the West Virginia players and coaches during their walk from their buses into the stadium to scoring a meaningless touchdown with six seconds left in a game that was already decided in last year’s opener.

Brown, on Monday, was asked about Franklin’s choice not to take a knee in last year’s game.

“It is what it is,” he said, adding, “here’s the thing, if our guys need something like that to motivate them, then eh …”

Penn State won going away 38-15, but Brown thought the outcome was decided in the third quarter when it was still a one-possession affair. He felt the Lions made the plays required to take control of the game and win it, while his young team didn’t.

Quarterback Garrett Greenealthough starting some games late in 2022 and utilized primarily as changeup to pocket passer JT Daniels, won a preseason quarterback battle with Nicco Marchiol and was still relatively new to the position last September.

His performance against Penn State included completing 16 of his 27 pass attempts for 162 yards, while rushing 15 times for 71 yards and a touchdown. It was not a bad season debut, but not nearly what was required to upset heavily favored Penn State.

Greene went on to produce 3,178 yards of total offense and account for 29 total touchdowns – 13 of those coming on the ground to go along with 772 yards on an average of 6.4 yards per rush. During Big 12 media days in July, Brown couldn’t resist the urge of pointing that out to the media, or to Marty & McGee more recently on the SEC Network on ESPN.

“I texted one of your colleagues at ESPN the other day,” Brown said. “They did this top 100 players list in college football, and I’m like, ‘Man, how do you have a job? And how do you decide the top 100 list when Garrett Greene’s not on it?’ ‘Cause I don’t get it.”

Penn State’s Drew Allar was also getting his first opportunity to be the guy behind center for the Lions in last year’s opener. He was far better than Greene, connecting on 21 of his 29 pass attempts for 325 yards and three touchdowns.

Allar’s downfield passing to KeAndre Lambert-Smith, now playing at Auburn, and to Harrison Wallace III, was the difference in the outcome of the game.

The junior’s 2023 season stats included an impressive 25-to-2 touchdowns-to-interception ratio, but rough outings in losses to Michigan and Ohio State left championship-starved Nittany Lion fans hoping for more.

Allar, once a touted five-star recruit from Medina, Ohio, enters this season as Pro Football Focus’ second-rated quarterback in the Big Ten behind Oregon’s Dillon Gabriel, a player Mountaineer fans are familiar with from his days at Oklahoma.

Penn State’s other two offensive bell cows are running backs Nicholas Singleton and Kaytron Allen, coached by former Mountaineer player and assistant coach Ja’Jaun Seider.

Singleton ran 13 times for 71 yards and a touchdown in last year’s win against West Virginia, while Allen contributed an additional 51 yards on 10 carries.

Allen led Penn State with 902 yards rushing while Singleton added 752, although that was more than 300 yards less than his 2022 total when he rushed for 1,061 yards, scored 12 touchdowns and averaged 6.8 yards per carry.

Massive senior tight end Tyler Warren is another concerning weapon. He caught just one pass in last year’s game but ended the year with 34 catches for 422 yards and seven touchdowns.

Fortunately for West Virginia’s defense, the Mountaineers have been practicing against Kole Taylorwho is similar to Warren in size and pass-catching abilities.

Penn State’s offensive line returns a familiar name in Sal Wormley, and Franklin indicated earlier this month that unit is once again deep and as many as eight could see the field on Saturday.

Defensively, the two guys talked about most by West Virginia players and coaches were bookends Abdul Carter and Dani Dennis-Sutton. In Greene’s eyes, that’s where Penn State’s defense starts.

“Their D-line is deep and talented, with lots of NFL-caliber players,” Brown noted.

Linebacker Kobe King, a 6-foot-1, 250-pound junior, will be an issue in the middle and a rebuilt secondary includes SEC transfers Jalen Kimber and AJ Harris.

Here is where college football expert Phil Steele rates Penn State’s individual units heading into the 2024 season:

Running backs – 2nd

Defensive line – 2^nd

Linebackers – 6^th

Defensive backs – 9^th

Special teams – 9th

Quarterbacks – 16^th

Offensive line – 34^th

Wide receivers – 59^th

By comparison, here is where Steele ranks West Virginia’s individual units:

Offensive line – 11^th

Quarterbacks – 24^th

Running backs – 27^th

Defensive line – 33rd

Wide receivers – 43^rd

Linebackers – 66^th

Defensive backs – NR

Special teams – NR

Penn State will have new coordinators overseeing all three units this season. Kansas offensive coordinator Andy Kotelnicki was hired to replace Mike Yurcich, a midseason casualty following last year’s Michigan loss.

Former Indiana head coach Tom Allen was brought in to run the defense after coordinator Manny Diaz was named Duke’s new head coach, while Vanderbilt special teams coordinator Justin Lustig was hired to replace Stacy Collins, who returned to Boise State after a two-year stint at Penn State.

This continues a pattern of Franklin changing his coordinators on a frequent basis.

Speaking of Franklin, his 10 seasons at Penn State feature an impressive 88-39 overall record, including double-digit wins in 2016, 2017, 2019, 2022 and 2023, but his struggles in Big Ten play against Ohio State and Michigan have kept the Lions from competing for Big Ten titles.

Penn State’s preseason No. 8 ranking marks the highest ranked season-opening opponent for West Virginia since 1998 when the Mountaineers entertained top-ranked Ohio State. That was probably also the last time ticket demand has been this great for a season-opening game.

Saturday’s matchup will kick off at noon and will be televised nationally on FOX with Gus Johnson, Joel Klatt and Jenny Taft handling the call.

The FOX Big Noon Kickoff crew will be on site in Almost Heaven Village to promote Saturday’s game and other week-one college football action. That show begins at 10 a.m. and fans wanting to be a part of the atmosphere can begin tailgating behind the set at 9 a.m.

The game is also Stripe the Stadium and fans wanting to wear their gold or blue can access the seating chart to determine the appropriate colors for their seating sections.

Audio coverage begins with the Mountaineer Tailgate Show at 9 a.m. leading into the regular network with Tony Caridi, Dwight Wallace and Jed Drenning at 11 am on stations throughout West Virginia, online via WVUsports.com and the popular Varsity Network and WVU Gameday apps.

Caridi is beginning his 40^th season with the network.

Members of Don Nehlen’s 1984 team that defeated Penn State 17-14 at Mountaineer Field will be recognized during the game.

Relevant game day information was released earlier this week.