West Virginia vs. #8 Penn State 2024 Football Preview

and it is finally time everyone welcome in to the first preview show of the 2024 season with the West Virginia Mountaineers hosting the number eight Penn State nitty Lions sorry that this show is a little bit later than usual I would have usually recorded one of these kinds of videos if this was this time a year ago on Thursday to release first thing Friday morning to get you pumped up ready to go for the game but uh big news in my personal life and I'll just be real quick on this so that I can move move on into what you tune into this video but if you saw my video just a couple of months ago uh where I announced that I will be being a girl Mountaineer dad that today uh a couple of days ago was the day so Wednesday August 28 4:30 in the afternoon uh my little girl was born my wife superpowers um we just got home earlier today so mind is a little frazzled a little bit uh less asleep so I'll do the best I can with this show as possible wanted to get on as soon as I possibly could uh before it was absolutely too late cuz I wanted to bring this game to you uh while I've been in the hospital these last couple of days I've been watching everything across social media of course seeing the unbelievable turnout today at the life uh in Arts and Sciences building um for the Pat McAfee show and what was just seriously a reunion of of WVU football so with Pat White Owen Schmidt uh and of course Pat McAfee leading the way what an incredible atmosphere that it was already in Morgantown today I hope everybody doesn't get affected by any weather that is coming through my my town here in Washington so just a little bit north of uh morgant town so hopefully the weather cooperate we'll come back to talk about weather um but first and foremost big weekend already had the McAfee show Fox big noon kickoff is coming uh is already set up ready to go so their entire show locked and loaded firing tomorrow morning with Machine Gun Kelly MGK set to perform outside of my and push car Stadium for the day so it I I don't know if I mean I was at The Backyard Brawl last year and the atmosphere was phenomenal I mean just the aerial drone pick of all of the uh parking lots just looked like blue and gold ants all over the place uh filling into the stadium and out in the parking lots but an atmosphere like this it I feel like it's hard to come by um for what the buildup to this game has been to this moment best I can can compare it to I feel like of my lifetime as 2011 against LSU I mean it was big last year for the Backyard Brawl big for the Virginia Tech matchup in 2021 uh big for the Oklahoma game in 2018 um so it's been a while especially the first um time as part of the Neil Brown era I know that West Virginia has been been on big noon kickoff before um but this one just feels like a different atmosphere y'all um right now Penn State meaning an8 and 1 Half Point favorite the teams respectively going to talk about the weather how that plays an impact in the game going to tell you what to look for when both teams have the ball Penn State has the ball West Virginia has the ball and then of course give you my three keys to Victory as always my prediction at the end and then uh you know we'll sign off get ready to go under 16 hours now before game time kicks off at noon in Morgantown wish it still still kind of wish it was a night game or at least a 3:30 game but I know that the the atmosphere is going to be incredible so starting it off uh as as I mentioned this off season Penn State unfortunately has owned this series in 60 previous matchups the NIT Lions have dominated 499 and two since the two teams first matched up in 1904 so 120 years six of those nine wins for West Virginia though have come at home most recently of course in 1988 when legendary quarterback Major Harris and Company whipped up on the nitty Lions leading 34 to8 at halftime and finishing with a 51-30 final score securing WVU's eighth win and route to an 11-0 perfect regular season in which the Mountaineers play the number one Notre Dame Fighting Irish for the National Championship in the Fiesta Bowl now in 2023 was the resurrection of the Rivalry uh the first of a two game home and Home non-conference Series uh that really laid dormant since the 1990s before West Virginia joined the Big East conference and Penn State of course joined the Big 10 Penn State won pretty handedly 38- 15 in a game in which WVU especially offensively especially offensively just wasn't ready for the moment in front of a reported 110,000 fans in College Park uh Pennsylvania the nitty Lions really pulled away by four scores Midway through the fourth quarter and even though WVU countered back to cut the lead to 31-5 we know head coach James Franklin gave the okay to his second string off offense to pour salt in the wound Bo prola scored with 6 seconds remaining to cover the spread and give the nitty Lions the win 38-5 I'm just noting that as a fact I know that was talked about a lot by Eddie vesterinen uh also I think Garnet Hallis Jr might have said something more along the lines of Penn State not respecting its opponents I I don't want to dwell on this fact it really at the end of the day was not that big of a deal um I do not care about other teams you know arrogance uh you know dis disrespect or what running up the score whatever you want to say again West Virginia's dealt with this to varying degrees from Texas Oklahoma uh also with pit I mean just it is what it is it's at the end of the day I just don't care you got to win doesn't matter how how you win you just win and then who cares the to the the history goes the spoilers so pen State covering that spread in that game of last year 3815 now Drew Aller was excellent in that con uh contest at quarterback his first start is qb1 for the nitty Lions going 29 or 21 of 29 for 325 yards passing and three touchdowns highlighted by his 72 yard touchdown pass to Keandre Lambert Smith on Penn State's first series in which he stepped up in the pocket threw on the Run we know hit Aubrey Burks uh who played the ball not the man in lbert Smith Walston for an easy score electrifying the crowd early uh running backs Nick Singleton and KRON Allen were relatively kept in check at 121 yards rushing on 23 carries with a touchdown between the two backs now two Sanders sahayak missed field goal attempts kept West Virginia in the game at 14 to7 at halftime if you recall I really think it came down to two Series in which WBU came failed to capitalize on Fourth and seven at the Penn State 27 seven Neil Brown choosing to kick uh to go for it instead of Kick the field goal being aggressive um down 21-7 with Just 2 minutes and 54 seconds left to play in the third quarter and this is when Penn State's offense was really starting to roll um Garrett green and wide receiver Preston Fox just failed to connect on a shot Play In The End Zone the other Play Down 24-7 1056 in the fourth quarter at the Penn State 47 Nico maral was sacked on a funky kind of trick play by linebacker Abdul Carter again West Virginia just really wasn't ready to play in a bit not not necessarily prepared but to prepared mentally con like confidence-wise this was just a different type of matchup against a much better opponent than West Virginia faced in the Backyard Brawl of 2022 on the road at aasher Stadium you can recall from the year prior bigger Stadium better team rockus fans and again that was a standout defense fantastic that West Virginia until it got more confidence um to again run run the ball successfully and and they ran the ball pretty well but more so Neil Brown giving the the leash more rope for Garrett green to unleash his talents um to play he was just kind of keeping him a little more contained not wanting him to turn the ball over playing it safe and that just wasn't going to beat a Penn State team that wasn't going that kind of a a game plan and ex execution that night was not going to beat that kind of a team that won 10 games so enough about last year let's talk about this year what's on the line for both teams so for West Virginia I think this would be the biggest non-conference win since West Virginia beat number nine Oklahoma on the road in 1982 it could be the first win against the top 10 opponent since West Virginia beat Baylor in uh who was number four at the time in 2014 West Virginia's only top 10 win is a member of the Big 12 Conference since that um since that game um first top 10 win of the Neil Brown era and just WVU's fourth win against a ranked opponent during his time as head coach so I think this will Vault West Virginia into um the national top 25 rankings which they were not ranked uh by the AP or the coaches poll to start out the season I think this will secure a valuable a non-conference uh resume data point for potential college football playoff consideration is anyone in the country to pick up this win and add a really a feather in the cap to the Big 12 Conference beating a Big 10 conference opponent that is making over three times as much TV money this year because of their Fox contract I think sticking it to a top three team in that League Penn State's that good um I think it's it's it's a really a dog fight between Ohio State and Oregon but you know whether you think Michigan or Penn State who would win on a neutral field Penn State's just as talented if not better so top three four team in the Big 10 now for Penn State it only has two teams ranked in the preseason poll um on its schedules for the rest of the year Ohio State and USC maybe Wisconsin or Washington will be better than advertised but if Penn State Falls to Ohio State November 2nd as it so frequently has Under head coach James Franklin then it could use a win like West Virginia as a resume booster if Penn States 11- one or 10 and two and wants to make a case as an at large college football playoff team that doesn't have a conference Championship title next to its name so uh just a resume booster for this Penn State team to get this win um they would never admit it um that like this is this is a game that if you ask I feel like the majority of Penn State fans they feel like they should win easily and a good stat just mentioned uh tweeted out a few hours ago by Brett McMurphy of stadium that uh Penn State when it has a um spread of more than a touchdown so in this case eight points they've won their last 24 consecutive games so this will be a daunting task for the Mountaineers to try and pull it out I don't think the Mountaineers can blow out Penn State I'll just say it that way I think if anything it's going to be you know a close matchup e either way I uh at least more so than that matchup a year ago in Happy Valley because this game is playing in Morgantown now it's a huge recruiting weekend for the Mountaineers has been reported by other outlets but I would say also for you know Supremacy in the region has been all Penn State for the last three Cycles or even more um I mean coming up with this 2025 class of two guys that West Virginia had at visitors wanted brazwell Thomas a wide receiver and desan Bernett a linebacker is there a potential from some guys who are local I'm looking at like a Tamir Robinson from uh Woodland Hills um or you know some other whippi old guys who don't live all that way from morgant toown if you know they're not necessarily as happy with their playing time situation come the end of the season you you never know how these things work um it it's such a weird the transfer portal the recruiting through the transfer portal is such a weird element but you never know it can give Credence to this argument that Neil Brown and staff have been trying to make since they started here in 2019 that they are changing the course for this program that um trying to pick up where it left off in 2018 when Dana hogerson left for Houston had Will Greer had David Sills had uh Gary Jennings and so much talent on that West Virginia team and trying to pick it back up so this can be a shot in the arm for this program from a recruiting standpoint because it has Penn State and it has pit in a couple of weeks so what more of a statement can you make if you can beat the two premier programs in the state of Pennsylvania to those kinds of recruits okay so let's talk more about the matchup itself kind of give you everything surrounding it peripherally so something I talked about when I did my prediction show and why I think prediction shows don't really mean anything um fun that's why they they get clicks and uh you know people tune in and want to have comments here and there and everybody wants to hear your different predictions um but because of the different factors injuries one I want to talk about tomorrow weather and then of course what's going on with your program personally heading into the matchup so you know where are their you know where are their heads at coming into this matchup so uh weather alert big biggest key to the factor I feel like impacting tomorrow's game going to be a nice uh temperature at least high of 85 but an 80% chance of thunderstorms which are saying scattered in the morning becoming more widespread in the afternoon how afternoon is afternoon is afternoon 12:01 or is afternoon 459 because if it's in between the hours of noon and about 3:30 4:00 that's when it can make an impact in this game so we don't really know you know um I feel like I I was at the game last year against Texas Tech is it going to be that kind of an atmosphere environment so so wet that you really can't throw too many forward passes especially when you're in in close proximity with a Defender you're just trying to uh you know run the ball so that's what I'm I'm very curious to see is the impact of weather on this game uh and maybe not so much as rain more so the lightning thunder Factor uh what was it the home open opener in 2011 um when yeah first game of the Dana hogerson era West Virginia played Marshall in its home opener we can recall that one I think the game was called into the fourth quarter because of such long weather delays we had a thunderstorm delay in the Duane matchup a year ago so how does that impact the psyche of the players even for Penn State I mean sitting in the visitor locker rooms versus your home locker rooms you know if it's an elongated period of time to guys potentially cramp up yeah you just you never know about these things but also the impact of the game I feel like weather knocks down the potential for big days offensively if it was a controlled environment in sort of a dome different story but whenever it's uh rainy out there um harder to pass for everybody so something to watch for so when when let's talk about who to watch for when Penn State has the ball so talking about the Penn State offense versus the West Virginia Defense I think the story line for this game is a new Andy codal Nikki Le offensive system we can infamously remember Andy codal Nikki from his days at Kansas just a couple of seasons ago when a jayen Daniels L offense um proceeded to score 14 or 20 oh sorry lost lack of sleep uh 42 points in regulation on West Virginia's defense in the start of the 20122 Season that was game two after the Backyard Brawl ultimately West Virginia falling in overtime because of a pick six thrown by JT Daniels um in this year uh matchup a year ago Penn State passed the ball um 30 times to 35 rushing attempts so while I can foresee this kind of balance again uh statistically I actually think both teams are going to want to use the run to set up the past go ground try to assert their will win the line of scrimmage but take some design shot plays and improvise downfield p passes as in the case with allers uh big touchdown pass to Keandre Lambert Smith to start the scoring for Penn State a year ago so speaking of all um last year 233 completions on 389 attempts so just a tick below a 60 uh% completion percentage for 2,631 passing yards 25 touchdowns and two interceptions so very efficient in his first year as starter in Happy Valley uh we saw the best of Drew hour in that matchup against West Virginia unfortunately for the entire season a year ago when he passed again for 325 and three touchdowns but he's been really really I someone who you know I don't like Penn State and of course all of the different West Virginia Rivals but as someone who's a college football fan objectively and analytically I feel like he's been very unfairly picked and prodded by the national media all off seon and has been the poster Child by those who don't have Penn State in the same tier one in the Big 10 as Oregon and Ohio State and for some the he is the actual reason why they're giving West Virginia a chance in this game like my my guys on uh the crane and Co show on daily wire they do not like Drew Aller and a lot of national media just saying uh he could only throw checkdowns only throw short routes I I didn't see that in that matchup a year ago so maybe I'm wrong um was not good against Ohio state was not good against Michigan two biggest matchups uh a little too too not enough too late in the uh Sugar Bowl matchup or Peach Bowl matchup against Old Miss uh last season so here's what I'll say I think Aller did exactly what he was asked to do a year ago don't turn the ball over take what the defense gives you run the ball and let Penn State's defense dominate in eight contests give or take last year that they held opponents 20 point points or fewer so with the addition of codal Nikki he's obviously going to be asked to do more um I think today will be a great or tomorrow at least will be a great indication if whether he's already ahead of schedule or will fans not know until week five when they open Big 10 play against Illinois or week seven against USC or Beyond but of what I saw of him in this matchup last year he was the offensive reason why Penn State won uh and had that second qu where they really took charge and never looked back will we see Bo prola in some different packages I think obviously in short yardage situations wanting to use his legs wanting to uh to use him in different run plays uh scored that touchdown at the very end of the fourth quarter uh some Penn State fans would like to see Bo prola already getting the nod at at that starting quarterback so I think we will see him there for a few plays mainly because of his legs uh talking about the running backs number 10 Nick Singleton number 13 KRON Allen looking at both of their uh totals from a year ago 171 carries for 752 yards and eight touchdowns 26 catches for 308 yards and two touchdowns that was Nick Singleton who did drop in a yards per carry from 22 to 23 6.8 to 4.4 so a down year quote unquote with those numbers a little bit better of a year than uh last year than 2022 for Allen 172 carries for 92 yards six touchdowns 14 uh catches for 81 yards and a touchdown so they're a two-headed monster in the same way that West Virginia likes to use CJ Donaldson and Jem white um similarish running backs uh I think both have the ability to be uh a power or speed back maybe Singleton has the edge there on Allen from a speed perspective but both talented talented running backs and they got a fstar in Quinton Martin a local kid from B Vernon not very far from where Rodney Gallagher grew up at Laurel Highlands also coming in as a true freshman doubt we'll see him getting any carries at running back with those two guys in front of him but maybe perhaps we'll get involved on special teams tight end very interesting uh Tyler Warren one of the best tight ends in the country matchup problem at 66260 last year just 34 carries 422 yards and seven touchdowns and why I say just is because he was doing so behind Theo Johnson who was a fourth round draft pick to the New York Giants in the 2024 draft so he did all of that as a second Stringer imagine what he's going to do now as a first Stringer for them he's talented he's big he's going to be a matchup problem we'll see how you know Tyron Bradley perhaps Aubrey Burks Josiah trod some of those linebackers and safeties can they match up with him and get him down um on some you know Arrow routes out routes curl routes however he's used involved maybe perhaps off to play action um in the similar way that West Virginia uses Cole Taylor watch for Tyler Urban number 44 in this matchup sounds like khil dinkin injured um earlier this week may not play in this contest but also big bodied 64 250 pound tight end and even why I mention him the red shirt Jr at 16 that's his number um Penn State ran out of two tight end sets 51% of the time in 2023 so you would expect 44 on one side 16 on the other side and getting those guys both involved maybe it's Andrew rapy um five-star um tight end that West or that Penn State got out of this past Year's recruiting class one of the best tight ends in the country um if he gets involved um but true freshman in his first game and on the road maybe maybe not or they just go with Warren so wide receiver this is going to be interesting we think we know who number one is number three uh Julian Fleming the red shirt senior uh from the state of Pennsylvania former number one player in the state of Pennsylvania in the 2020 High School recruiting class he was the number 14 overall player in the country and the country's top wide receiver recruit out of Southern Columbia High School I'm sure if he had to do his career all over again instead of going to Ohio State he would have stayed home and went to Penn State hasn't been involved all that much but because of the pedigree that he comes from out of high school he was the biggest portal Edition for the nitty Lions uh offensively uh in the off season so 26 catches for just 270 yards last year in 12 games Ohio state was uh you know with its quarterback quote unquote issues last year but a Uka in front of him Marvin Harrison Jr Fleming uh yeah Kyle Kyle McCord you know was such such a down quarterback for Ohio State I couldn't believe it but um Fleming was kind of an afterthought in that offense so coming to Penn State to be their number one now that Keandre Lambert Smith is off to Auburn who's their number two that's what I think everyone including Penn State fans are wondering you're kind of like a three-way TW tie between Harrison Wallace number six Kaden s Saunders number seven and Le Clifford uh Sean Clifford's little brother number two wide receiver um the player who got the most out out of it last year was Harrison Wallace six starts and eight appearances 19 catches for 228 yards and a touchdown Saunders was involved as the team's uh punt returner a year ago but just six catches for him on the year and Clifford one start but was involved in 13 games just 13 catches for 130 yards so don't know what we're going to get out of the wide receiving core from Penn State so with West Virginia trying to figure out this relatively brand new secondary where they're replacing three starters one at safety and two corners in the defensive back field this is this is kind of like helpful I would say it's not like you're going up against Rashad Owens and Brennan Presley at Oklahoma states to start it off so looking at the Penn State Line solid um whereas I think West Virginia's strong side is its left side the right side will be for the nitty lions looking at Right Guard sixth year senior s Wormley who's a big 10 uh two-time Big 10 honorable mention there at Right Guard and also at right tackle red shirt Jr Nolan ruchie former five-star High School Prospect who chose Wisconsin out of high school in part because his brother played tight end there but was an instate Pennsylvania kid whose parents both were star athletes at Penn State uh only saw action in three games last year so what I have to say about Penn State's offense against West Virginia's defense I think because of the weather Factor could get ugly in this matchup which could play into West Virginia's hands of just having to cover short Fields Force Aller to beat West Virginia over the top throwing into the rain to receivers he may not have yet to develop a great rapport with led by an offensive coordinator that he hasn't played a game with so things if you kind of connect some dots there should be proverbially some opportunity for West Virginia not to not get get you know really blown out um with Penn State just rolling and rolling and rolling offensively like it did in this match up a year ago so I think this is good I feel good about um garet Hollis Jr being quarterback one here in that from Jim Nagi of the Reese's Senior Bowl that he was already going to be at least a fifth round draft pick uh in the 2024 class so coming back um so feeling good at least until I see him play uh in replacing beanie Bishop that cornerback one have to see what we get out of Aiden Garnes at quarterback two sounds like jacobe spells hearing Neil Brown show on Thursday night may be healthy enough to play in this matchup you have TJ Crandle Dantes Fagen also to possibly rotate in there at cornerback to as Penn State tries to figure out who's its second wide receiver so I don't really though feel great about the safeties behind Aubrey Burks it sounds like reportedly Anthony Wilson got hurt in training camp so he may we may be seeing more of Jem Joseph at free safety but you might see Wilson getting in there at the start and seeing how he goes but at cat safety with kakur taru or Josh Jackson I've just been nervous at that position since the first depth chart announcement at Big 12 media Day so I'd watch to see if cotal Nikki and Aller pick on either number 14 in taru or number 22 in Jackson depending upon who gets the start at that position why why you don't try out going to a true 34 scheme and having Burks at one safety having Wilson at another safety with two corners Beyond me but that's why I'm not defensive coordinator Jordan Leslie so uh big time moment I feel like for this defensive line to prove a statement here and Shawn Martin uh fatorma MBA who's a former Penn State player who came to this team before last season through the transfer portal so he knows these guy a lot of these guys at least this is his moment this is a big game from fatorma MBA who West Virginia let Mike lockart walk to SMU insert MBA there at that nose tackle position can he get a push up front Eddie Vester renan who had a lot to say uh about how he was so upset and ready to go to play against these guys and then TJ Jackson West Virginia's best you know quote unquote transfer portal Edition defensively this past off season from Troy how will he rotate in on the defensive line and then at Lineback you have Josiah trod and Tre aan both coming back from injury what kind of an effort will West Virginia give stopping the Run uh in this in this contest especially if it's a wet one and it's like that Texas Tech game it's just going to be a ground and pound uh and you're kind of running off Tempo I know there's only 65 offensive plays last year by Penn State but these games go fast with this accelerated clock I know there's a two-minute warning now which is new you know and exciting if you've been playing in EA Sports uh college football or you know been watching some of these games over the course of the last week but I think the Run stopping effort's going to be great I think because of the crowd getting involved very important um that this effort will be good how worried am I about the length of a 12 game regular season and Beyond ask me in a couple of weeks but at least for game one I'm feeling pretty confident so when West Virginia has the ball let's talk about that Garrett green we know kind of the starting lineup expect that Garrett green at quarterback Jem white CJ Donaldson will rotate at at running back know the line across the front the one position that we kind of talked about during the off season we might have seen some sort of a competition was right tackle between sixthe senior Nick Malone or Xavier Bosley red shirt sophomore transfer from Jacksonville State uh that was one of West Virginia's I think only offensive line transfer portal player that had got this off season so to battle there with Nick Malone we'll see how that goes throughout the season but for now as I expected Neil Brown going with a trusted veteran in Malone who did see some time um last year for Doug Nester who had you know was nicked up for a few games we know where tight ends pass catching tight end being Cole Taylor run blocking one uh being trayon Davis and then at wide receiver we're going to see how these six seven run wide receivers fill in how does do Jaden Bray how does Justin Robinson how does DayDay farmer get involved does Rodney Gallagher Tron Ray seeyour reps is this Hudson Clement's first you know uh first string wide receiver is he locked and loaded ready to go again depending upon the weather I think this is going to be a run heavy offense like we saw a lot of last year um in this matchup because of the weather Factor not wanting to turn the ball over to this Penn State Defense which has Playmakers at all three levels the more I study about Penn State's defense even after the losses of Adisa Isaac and chop Robinson bam they don't rebuild they just reload with Abdul Carter at right defensive end and Danny uh Deni Dennis Sutton at left defensive end so the opportunity for West Virginia to run the ball I feel like is going to be between the guards and the centers and you're replacing Zack Frasier with Brandon Yates a sixth year senior so all eyes are going to be on how number 50 push gets a push up front and no quarterback Center exchange issues fingers crossed the thing is with Penn State's defense is you're going up against Kobe King in the middle number 41 linebacker awesome player 59 tackles a year ago six tackles for lost one and a half sacks um returning the one returner there um and the Lineback in core because on one side you'll have Dom Duca and also on the other side Tony Rob hos who will be making their first career starts both highly productive in rotational R roles for the Nittany Lions last year being a national Roos being a national top 100 recruit out of the 23 class Duca former walk-on who had a really did have a um pwo offer from WVU so you got King in the middle you got Carter and Dennis Sutton on the other sides so it's kind of there across the guards where there may be some opportunity to run but again how creatively Neil Brown designs this offense in this play calling this is his moment this is his LSU when he was at Troy or um you know Troy going up against Nebraska this is one of his biggest signature moments as a coach at West Virginia how can he with this upper classman Laden offense what what's the right play calls at the right times the right rotations at the backs don't get anybody hurt and dependent upon the weather how do you attack this Penn State Defense you've had six months to do it really since the end of the Duke's Mayo Bowl against North Carolina you knew who your game one opponent was going to be so he's had all this whole staff has had all off season to find ways of how they can attack this secondary in a talented secondary unit at number one KJ Winston their junior uh safety number two gon to probably be a first round draft pick he's the the the captain on the on the defense so big time player Jaylen Reed to also to his side Zaki white Wheatley being the Nickelback kind of use him in various ways very very fast and then at Corners two new guys and cam Miller and AJ Harris I just think you're going to have to take some shots you're going to have to be creative again in how you get involved some of these downfield threats in Bray and Ray and Clement and Robinson up against these Corners I don't know how much the slot guys are going to get involved um you know as part of this game just because there's so many talented Playmakers uh across the front seven I think you're going to have to take some shots down field just like the way uh 2023 went so and you saw West Virginia did have some success I can think back to the the one play that's shown in most of the highlights when talking about this matchup from a year ago and how Devin Carter kind of broke the seam downfield if green was able to throw a little bit more put a little bit more ump into the throw might have had Carter streaking down the field for a touchdown um but again going to be very much weather dependent so I'm watching those matchups you got Winston in the secondary you got King in the middle you got Dennis Sutton and Carter at the defensive lines those are some of the Playmakers because I talked in the off season Penn State when you look at this roster how many four and fstar high school recruits that are on this Penn State roster 45 prior to a couple of dismissals that Penn State just had a few weeks ago so maybe like 43 to West Virginia 6 so there is a talent discrepancy depth the ones I think like we can West Virginia can make this a game but over the course of time the involvement of the twos um that's where it's going to to show the difference in degree of talent that Penn State has against West Virginia so it's going to take an a Valiant effort going to take great coaching just like Brent key did for Georgia Tech last week against Florida State and you're going to have to have some things go their way uh West Virginia's way is the way I analyze this creative play calling ride the crowd um if West Virginia is able to force some turnovers and short Fields capitalize I think number one I don't want to give away my three keys to Victory hold on so let's talk about special teams looking at the different uh kickers so not going to see Xander a high deck I don't think so after he missed those two kicks in the West Virginia game a year ago he was replaced by Alex Falcons who went on to be second Team all big 10 Penn State brought in junior Chase Meyer from Tulsa who went 17 of 20 with a 47 yard long uh long field goal for the year was also 30 for 31 on uh point after uh T touchdowns um yeah so extra points for West Virginia we know who it is red shirt senior Michael Hayes 17 of 21 with a 49 yd long a year ago made all of his 46 um extra points a year ago so like that matchup and I think Hayes can have the edge in that in that kicking game especially kicking at home punter is going to see an awesome one uh for Penn State sixthe senior Riley Thompson from Melbourne Australia Big 10 honorable mention on the ray guy award watch list in 2023 averaged 40 5.8 yards per punt on 50 punts with a long of 56 had 15 punts for over 50 yards 17 inside the 20 with just two touchbacks and of course for the Mountaineers another Australian down under Junior Oli straw finished the season as a big 12 honorable mention averaged 43 yards per punt on 42 punts with a long of 61 had eight for 50 plus yards and 19 inside the 20 with just two touchbacks so very evenly matched there if this becomes a defensively frustrated game at points in times or the weather being a factor all Alli straw as we saw in a couple of matchups can actually pinpoint where he wants to hit the punt on the returners so West Virginia like we saw in Oklahoma State like we saw in the Dukes mayow may have some opportunities to capitalize on a turnover because Alli straw is such a good you know Corner coffin corner locator punter so like that I think the return returners will be very interesting for uh for Penn State we're either going to get Nick Singleton Andor Quinton Martin on the kick returns and Kaden Saunders at punt returns so Penn State trying to figure that out I think we saw in the Big 12 media day guide I think we'll expect to see Preston Fox at the punt returner Hudson Clement eventually going to be one of the kick returners really would like to see Jem white and Rodney Gallagher be involved perhaps even DayDay farmer who apparently has had an amazing uh fall camp and could get involved early on special teams be very curious to see how that's affected if you've been playing college football um on EA Sports you know Day Day farmer and I think even kesan Robinson are two of West Virginia's fastest guys to use at the kickoff return positions so very curious to see where they go there and I really want to see Rodney Gallagher and Jim White get involved there so let's talk about the three keys to Victory almost kind of gave it away there I'm going to give you two offensively two offensively yes it's that important number one finishing drives West Virginia scoring touchdowns over field goals when it gets into the Red Zone precipitously increases West Virginia's chances of winning limiting self-inflicted wounds this is kind of onea of one B Under The Heading of finishing drives you know the like I said the Yates to green center quarterback exchange no fumbles missed blocks passer to receiver Rapport just looking polished again the weather can make this you know organically not look as polished because of the conditions but when you have as much returning uh you know returning Talent who has experience look the part you did West Virginia did not look the part last year in Happy Valley that's going to be the difference is when West Virginia gets its chances to capitalize and apparently that was something of great importance in Fall camp that was the one of the number one things that West Virginia as an offense worked on is being more successful in Red Zone offensive opportunities so capitalize on that good teams do that that's the way to win number two I think start fast play Fast play to win if I'm coming up with a title for these things we as we've talked about many of times in this off season that 2023 season can be looked at in two the first half being the Penn State game up into the second half of the Houston game then the Houston game all the way through the Dukes mayow when you saw West Virginia and head coach Neil Brown really uncage the the the tiger that is Garrett green let him use his talent let him use his abilities do not coach so conservatively Neil Brown let him go out there improvise and make plays now garri Green's got to be smart very smart can't take his helmet off when he has a a Hail Mary touchdown um to Hudson Clement to give Houston the opportunity to uh come back and win the game on a Hail Mary can't do things like that uh got to be protective of his body when he takes off and runs he's a warrior I've said this a million times but it's a long season and Wes Garr greens is arguably as important as any player on this Mountaineer team so not putting himself in poor situations and not doing what he really didn't do much of last year and that was turn the ball over kept the ball protected when he was running the ball for no fumbles didn't what was it four interceptions he had for the entire season a year ago so not you know the kind of raw just let it rip passer that he was at that end of the 2022 season like we saw in matchups against K uh Kansas State and also Oklahoma State on the road so let look for your Playmakers to make explosive plays in space and that I feel like is going to be the difference also how often is Jem white going to break something how often is Hudson Clement GNA break something Cole Taylor can he just be the the monster in the short yardage gain but also jump over some people with the balls thrown downfield successful improvised plays may be the only way that West Virginia can score explosively against this Penn State Defense it's not because I don't believe in this offensive line line to give Garrett green enough time to drop back go through his POS progressions find the open man work that potentially short to intermediate game that most of us pundits have talked about all off seon but I'm just saying ones where maybe if you're doing the scramble drill you're rolling out right you're rolling out left looking for your life Penn State's fast you can't do that very often but if you happen to do so that's college football that's College if you watch that uh Colorado and North Dakota State yes last night improvised plays where you're just trying to make something look athletic can sometimes be the difference and that's what I think that West Virginia is going to have to do to be able to take on such a talented team as Penn State is get lucky in a way when plays break down because of Green's ability to scramble last Point feed off this crowd defensively like Virginia Tech in 2021 the crowd will the Mountaineers to victory that day when Jared degy wanted to give the game away in the end of the fourth quarter so it is defense is going to go against some Playmakers again Stout line great running backs really good tight end quarterback who might be the difference in a win of or a loss for Penn State in a wide receiving cord that's probably going to get better as the season progresses this might be I don't want to say their worst that's not not necessarily what I mean to say but like the chemistry development with our is going to take a little bit more time so they'll get better as the season goes along so this is a good time I feel like to play Penn State especially at home and especially if it's a rainy environment and can kind of neutralize their passing attack also can affect West Virginia conversely that way uh I might be overrating this fact about the weather but if the difference of if you watched the Texas Tech game last year on so many other of the matchups that West Virginia had good weather that's can be the difference I feel like so can this defense or this crowd who should be 60,000 you know full throat ready to go even though it's a nuner if it was an 800m kick totally different but still going to be you know West Virginia's best effort with the most expensive ticket price across all of the week one games so it's going to be loud it's going to be proud can you bring it for fourth quarters can the uh as I talked about with the game day experience series can whoever's running the music ceue up the right songs the right videos the right um you know it's almost like memes or just those short clips like I can't hear you or uh you know pain like all those different things that we've traditionally seen over the last 20 years at Mountaineer field can West Virginia fans bring it all game game long especially when Penn State's on the field to even though you know there's a difference between 110,000 at Beaver Stadium and 60,000 at milin pusar Stadium can you show that you are a top 25 nationally worthy toughest place to play that's what I I want to see I don't think I'm going to be able to make it in person tomorrow just with the responsibilities of this new baby um but for everybody who's going to be there at myland push gar Stadium I hope hope you have an awesome time and it comes out with a victory now for my prediction if you watch my prediction show just a few weeks ago I went through game by game came away with a nine and3 overall record for this Mountaineer team that just just just doesn't make the Big 12 Conference Championship game when this game kicks off my heart will overtake my head and say let's go Mountaineers let's win this game I'm feeling it I'm feeling good let's do this and and then for three and a half to 4 hours I'm going to be on the edge of my seat stressing myself out that's why I can't do post game review videos like I do on Sundays because I need like an entire you know day to cool off and go you know do a reaction show more analytically more thoughtfully on Sundays I'm pretty much spent as a fan on Saturdays so with my head over my heart I picked the NIT knee Alliance and I said 3831 because of the weather impact I think this game could be lower scoring I watched that Backyard Brawl game in 2022 and I think West Virginia can gain the same kind of effort that it did in this game as it did in that game and you know again the 2022 pit team versus this 2024 Penn State team not an Apples to Apples comparison but that's the kind of game that I can see playing out here where it's a bit of a you know defensive scrum in the first quarter um playing field position things start to break open into the second quarter very close at halftime and then the third quarter is just a shootout going back and forth because and again we'll have to see how the offense or the uh the weather plays itself out who gets rain whenever uh you know what a team has the ball at the point in time when rain comes through will there be a thunder lightning delay who knows so this could be a crazy one this could be a really really crazy one at the end of the day Penn State has only given up 20 or more points in a game to opponents not named Ohio State or Michigan over the last two seasons three times Indiana Rose Bowl against Utah Purdue season opener in 2022 on the road so this would be not historic but I would say beyond the norm for Penn State to to give up 31 points so that what might be if you know you're a Penn State fan uh like my good friend AC cross the street Dominic who tunes into to all these videos if you're watching thanks for tuning in Dom um that this might be a little bit highs scoring for pen State fans to kind of digest but I think we're going to see it I think that's the kind of day it's going to be for the Mountaineers who are playing on all adrenaline full uh NS and uh you know full thrw so pedal to the metal we'll see how West Virginia gets it done against the NIT Lions I hope I'm wrong I'm hoping West Virginia comes away with a victory love to hear your thoughts on all of this um keys to the game uh for uh three keys for victory breaking down offense defense of both teams in this game the matchup how you feeling about it let me know in the comments here on YouTube love to have you a sub subscriber as we go out this 2024 season um going to bring you a video on Sunday to kind of talk about it after the fact so the recap vide is try and drop a preview video Thursday night into Friday and then we'll come back on Sunday and we'll recap it so going to be a lot of fun from Mil pusar Stadium if you're going to this game have a blast have a wonderful time out there stay safe uh let's go Mountaineers and hail West Virginia I'll talk to you on Sunday