Big Noon Saturday kicks off with a bang as the No. 8 Penn State Nittany Lions head to Morgantown to take on the West Virginia Mountaineers in a potential upset spot to start the Saturday slate.
What do you need to know about the inter-conference clash?
West Virginia vs. Penn State Announcers, Broadcast Details, and More
- Start time: 12:00 EST
- Channel: Fox | FuboTV
- Radio Stations: Mountaineer Sports Network from IMG (Radio Affiliates) | WVU Gameday App (Apple | Android) | Sirius XM Ch. 80
- Announcers: Gus Johnson, Joel Klatt
- Betting lines: Penn State -7.5
- Over/Under: 50.5 points
- Moneyline: Penn State (-278), West Virginia (+225)
- Location: Mountaineer Field at Milan Puskar Stadium, Morgantown, WV
West Virginia vs. Penn State Preview
This is one of the headliners of a top-heavy Week 1 slate, as playoff hopefuls Penn State head to a hostile environment in Morgantown to take on a talented West Virginia team.
This game will be won and lost in the trenches. Both of these teams want to run the ball early and often, while both defensive lines take pride in imposing their will on opposing offenses.
Penn State’s Kaytron Allen and Nick Singleton create one of the best running back tandems in the country, right up there with West Virginia’s Jaheim White and CJ Donaldson.
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The quarterbacks are the X-factors here.
Penn State’s Drew Allar was good, not great last season, though he didn’t really have an inspiring receiving group. On the other side, Garrett Greene was awesome in the running game and inconsistent as a passer.
If one of these two can hit a shot or two down the field, he’ll really give his team an advantage on Saturday.
Accordingly, both defensive lines will try to disrupt the timing of the opposition’s passing game, and if one line puts significant pressure on the quarterback, that defense will be at an advantage.
Penn State is going to stack the box and try to force Greene to throw the ball down the field, and West Virginia will likely try to do the same to Allar.
The team that is able to control the line of scrimmage will win this game. It might be a bit ugly at times, but that’s the way both the Nittany Lions and Mountaineers are built to win.
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