PREVIEW + PREDICTION: WVU vs. No. 8 Penn State

this particular group has a chance to be very very special in historic still somehow that hate and that passion for this rivalry still exists the same schedule that they depicted us to be the last in the freaking conference is the same schedule that we're eight and four on not quite my friend give me the Mountaineers baby Neil has done exactly what he said he was going to do when the university entrusted him in this position trust the climb give me a few years you know let me let me get my culture in here let me build the way I'm going to build welcome back welcome back everybody it is another season of the walkthrough game day show presented by West Virginia on SI I'm your host Skyla Calli and that is my host co-host partner legendary West Virginia running back Eugene Napoleon Mr do it all he is a legend himself and we're going to talk so much this season about maybe some future Legends in that running back room ke white maybe CJ Donaldson has a big year it's going to be a lot of fun this year it's our sixth season Eugene that we've done this show it's it feels like just yesterday we just started this thing unbelievable and that's when you know you're having a good time when yeah you snap your fingers you're already in the year six that's awesome man yeah and it's only going to get more fun the more wins West Virginia picks up along the way the more they contend for the Big 12 title college football playoff we're going to get into all that stuff and um but first we're going to go ahead and talk about what last year was like because that to me was kind of the turning point for this organization and it feels like the the the optimism the sense everything is just so much different from what it was this time of year ago it feels like a complete 180 doesn't it oh absolutely well think about it this way when you whenever you're coming off a successful year you're doing what you're supposed to do they did well in the recruiting class they did well in the portal all those good things I mean what do we have uh seven or eight returning starters on offense I think we have six or seven on defense somewhere in there listen dude that bolts for a Very Good Year I mean they had a really good off season so I'm excited for what I think we're going to do this current year yeah I mean going into last year I I mean I was brutal against what that whole situation was going to look like I mean I I said uh six seven wins maybe if they're lucky it just felt like Neil Brown was a dead man walking and I think we all kind of had that feeling going into the season of course except for Eugene because he picks a 10 and two year every year but that's okay I'm not gonna I'm not gonna get on you too hard for that but you were pretty close they were nine and four so we'll get to our predictions later in the show we're going to talk Big 12 preseason poll we're going to talk uh kind of where West Virginia fits in that we'll also break down the the game this week between West Virginia and number eight Penn State we'll make our picks as we always do it's going to be a lot of fun um but to build off of that that 2020 20 excuse me the 23 season what do you feel like this team needs to shore up to go from a good team in the Big 12 to a great team and contend for a big 12 title I gotta be honest with you for me the offense is what it is but you have to have a solid solid Shire defense yeah because I really believe offensively I think we can score with anybody in the country that's my honest opinion but on the defensive side of the ball your defense has to be Stout I mean Stout Stout against the Run obviously just as good against the pass and you got to be able to create some plays man defensively where you're taking the ball away from your your opposing you know team and then giving your offense another opportunity to score some points if West Virginia's defense is up to play to that level watch out I'm telling you it could be real interesting yeah I mean you look at both sides of the ball they have a ton of returning starters I mean obviously you lose Zack Frasier that's a major major loss you lose Doug Nester at right tackle that's a big loss but outside of those two like everybody comes back on offense you also add a couple of pieces Oklahoma State wide receiver uh transfer Jaden Bray Justin Robinson from Mississippi State you bring Cole Taylor back at tight end even though you lose Nester and Frasier you still feel pretty good about that offensive line you got Wyatt milm who's a projected first or second round pick you've got toas remack who's an all Big 12 performer you got Brandon Yates who's played a ton of football things look good on that side of the ball and I'm with you though the defense has got to be the the number one thing for this team it's it's going to be the the make or break for whether they're kind of an eight or nine win team again or whether they're really going to push for something serious defensively we saw last year outside of Beanie Bishop of course because he was a consensus All American the past defense had its issues at times I don't know if that's going to be the same thing this year because they've got some new guys some new bodies some new skill sets that they really quite haven't had before particularly with Garnett Hollis who's a 6 foot2 200 pound Corner those types of guys have not been around Morgantown recently playing the cornerback position that alone I think is going to really help Jordan Lesley do a lot of different things and what what he does in terms of coverages disguising blitzes bringing guys from all over the place but the big picture here and we' Ted talked about it earlier this month right Jean playoffs are bust it doesn't have to be this year but this feels like the the launching pad for this team to really take that next step because you go nine and four a year ago you win the Dukes Mayo Bowl you win five out of your last six you have a chance and again we're going to get to it to really make a statement here in week one if you can do that it feels like this program is really about to just take off let me tell you something and I've always said this and again old adage I don't care if you're playing Penn State in Kroger's parking lot if you have a chance to beat Penn State that Hur I don't care if it's in the road I don't care if it's on the if it's at home again Kroger's it doesn't matter that's a signature win for your program and the trajectory from there is here so oh yeah there's a lot at stake even though it's the first week of the Season you open up against a very very potent Penn State team well coached pen State team and if you can beat them at home man that sends a resounding message to the rest of college football that it's on in Poppet in Morgantown so with that said though it's not the end all Beall you have a a long season college football playoff now 12 teams Chris and I talked about it the other day on between years I advise you go back and check that episode out if you haven't checked it out yet there's a very strong possibility that there's going to be three lost teams in the playoff maybe some years there's going to be a four lost team probably not from the Big 12 maybe the SEC or Big 10 but it's possible you could go 0 and three this is all crazy this new thing is Right Jean you could go 0 and three in your non-conference you could lose the albony I'm not I'm not advising you that you do that but if you go 0 and3 in non-conference and you go on to win the Big 12 Championship guess what you're a top four team in the college football play off so I I don't again it's not end all Beall but this is a massive massive game for West Virginia to send a statement even if they don't win to keep it close and show they're knocking on the door to becoming nationally relevant once again listen let me say this to you you know I'm old school you know I'm old school that whole analogy knocking on the door and you knowy listen bust the dang thing down let's kick the door in my guy look man it's not you know I'm talking about for our program for what we need to happen to move forward in Coach Brown tenure at WVU and that entire staff I'm talking about you have to these type of games are the type of games that create Legends when it comes to WWE football and Penn State just happens to be that school where these Legends are made you know pit Pinn State like these are the games that you really have to come out and play at a at a fever pitch so no it's not tell it's not going to be you know the the end of the season if you lose because like you said with the new playoff system being what it is the the realignments in college football no but you definitely want to come out now that you have the opportunity to beat Penn State no you definitely want to come out forget knocking on the damn door let's kick that that sucker in so expectations wise because Chris and I we've done our our season predictions we're not going to go through every single game but I do want to hear what your your expectations are for West Virginia this season coming off a nine win year winning the the Dukes Mayo Bowl what is realistic for this team in terms of wins and losses honestly I okay because of the way the schedule was set up and because of all of the things that we have he's gonna say 12 no well okay because of all of the things that we have set up with the starters back like it's in an offense defense which also plays into a really solid special teams I'm telling you scolar I I've said this the last few years I can see 10 wins I can S I can see I can see a 10 win regular season minus you know Bowl whatever I can see that and is that my that would be my personal expectations that we win 10 games that would be my personal expectations absolutely yeah I I think 10 is is definitely reasonable with everything that you bring back it's just that schedule is it's a gauntlet especially those first five or so games you get to that second half of the Big 12 schedule and you're in the thick of things you got to feel pretty good about yourself because the the schedule starting to lighten up a little bit so speaking of the Big 12 the Mountaineers were not picked 14th this year they were picked seventh so it's a it's a it's a marginal marginal difference there there's there's a little bit more love coming in on the Mountaineers however Jean I don't know that seventh is quite high enough and and I'm somebody that's coming from somebody that picked them to go eight and four this year but I think there's just so many teams between really one through seven or eight that are just going to be so jumbled up there I think you're going to see a lot of eight or nine wins teams in that range and it's going to come down to just tiebreakers really I think you could finish with the second or third best Conference record and end up seventh in the league but I just don't know if seven makes sense what do you think no I didn't like seven to be honest with you and for obvious reasons because again when you have what we have coming back I was looking at more or less I was surprised to see you know because you're talking about what 16 in a 16 team leag I'm like well Dam barely barely the top half yeah I'm like I kind of was more on it would have been nice to be in that top five believe it or not for me right around hovering around probably four I can see that yeah I I that's what I thought somewhere you know four to five I would have been more comfortable with versus seven because I think we're just looking at the league as a whole I think we're a lot better in my op than seven if you're talking about season predictions to win 10 football games I don't look on this you know within our league to see too many teams that's going to win 10 games now I could be wrong I mean that that's the thing because this league is so so tight and I in a lot of ways I mean it's probably the most wideopen Conference of of the major conferences that is the power four whatever you want to call it yeah because I mean there could be a a team like Texas Tech that surprises everybody and comes out of nowhere they've been dealing with a bunch of injuries they're picked ninth TCU at 10 Colorado is 11th I mean this is what I'm saying like there's no Vanderbilt in this conference there's no ruter in this conference no no no harm or anything to your friend there that's in New Jersey but um but yeah I mean there's no easy wins in this league whatsoever you you're going to have games where Maybe Arizona State beats or comes very close to beating one of the top teams in the league at least in terms of where they're pick to finish I just I just feel it was a little bit of a slight because you look at the teams above them we'll go and throw this on the screen here the preseason poll Utah Kansas State Oklahoma State sure I get it those teams have been towards the top of the league Utah they come over from the Pack 12 they've been very good for the last decade or so really over the last two decades under Kyle Whittingham but they they make sense being at number one I understand that Kansas at four Arizona at five Iowa State at six I'm sorry Jee I just don't see it no I just I just don't get how those teams have either had either had as many wins as West Virginia last year or less and they're pick to finish higher even though West Virginia has arguably one of the most explosive running back deos in the country and maybe the most exciting quarterback in the Big 12 outside of shador Sanders absolutely if you take the records for the last three years compatible to those other teams records over the last three years I guarantee you come up with a different snapshot on a picture AB that's my point because now you're talking about not only what we have returning on offense and defense as we stated earlier but I'm talking about the consistency of your program so that plays a role as well um no there's no there's no doubt in my mind I would probably I'll be more comfortable if like I said said if we were in that fourth spot or even the fifth spot I'm more comfortable that versus being at seven but that's cool that's always cool that's good that's a good thing you know because whenever something to chew on again it's cool you know what I'm saying because every time they sight WVU what happens at the end of the year they picked them 14th last year and they finished fourth thank you so it's been that so you know what with that let's keep that same Mantra keep on sliding WVU keep on sliding the Mountaineers and when the dust settles at the end of the season we'll see what we are yeah I get it and I know a lot of Fans Say well look you know there there's some reason why they're at number seven it's it was one year that they had nine wins it wasn't the toughest of schedules they didn't really beat anybody I get that all I'm saying is the teams that slated four five and six have not been that much better over the last three years Kansas just came around they just started playing competitive football in the last couple of years under Lance SL Arizona just started playing good football last year Iowa state has always kind of been an above average team in my opinion has kind of underwhelmed under mat Campbell so I I don't really understand the the justification between uh putting Kansas Arizon and Iowa state above West Virginia but I get it I get what the fans are trying to say you gotta prove it at the end of the day none of this stuff ever matters because you're going to go out and prove it and you're going to see where you end up at the end of the season so gan before we move on out of these top uh out of these 16 teams to Big 12 give me your preseason champion and the one team that's no one that no one's really paying attention to AKA your Dark Horse to come out of nowhere and fight to be in that mix for the Big 12 title that's tough because again now look here um Pat said it best I'm with Pat mfield in this brother uh oh yeah man listen you already know where Pat feels right okay so West Virginia to win the Big 12 Conference uh oh okay listen dude D okay to be to be quite honest that mid team if I said WVU we win it all we win the entire conference and obviously Utah would have to be in the mix somewhere correct yeah okay my Dark Horse and which he's going to be very upset me for calling him a dark horse I respect him too much as an individual going here yeah I would have to say Colorado will be my Dark Horse yeah I it's hard to to disagree I mean if there's one team outside of the the top half of the league to do it has to be Colorado I mean they're gonna have one of the top quarterbacks in next year's class probably going to have one of the top quarterbacks in and Travis Hunter they've got some other dudes too they fixed the offensive line we think the only thing is you just have so many transfers coming in that's that's a hard thing to patch together but if there's anybody that can do it feel like Prime might be able to get that done so I'm trying to stay I don't want to get on Prime hit list because I've seen what that what that can do for some people so but you guys already know where I'm going with uh the preseason poll so I've already put my my predictions out there but I will kind of go on and capitalize on the uh the Dark Horse and I think it's it's probably I'm gonna say golly I'm gonna say Arizona and I know it's they're the fifth team but to me they're a team that everyone's sleeping on nationally they have Noah faf T McMillan very good quarterback receiver Duo I think they're going to be in the mix sure surely by the end of November as long as their defense doesn't fall through the cracks and they're playing in shootouts every single week we saw how that went when West Virginia made its transition to the Big 12 a little over a decade ago so anyways moving on to uh our next thing here we're going to send it to a break here in just a minute but before we do Jean we're gonna do a trivia question we're gonna do this every week here on the show and this is this week here is this week's trivia question Eugene and everybody watch it which West Virginia head coach led the Mountaineers to their first ever win over Penn State is it a art papy Lewis B bill karna or C rat Rogers we're going to get to that answer we'll get Jean's answer after the break and a new thing this year instead of playing a little commercial for our break we're going to do a college football 25 simulation which we've already done it's already up on the site uh at West Virginia on SII it's got the whole game footage so if you want to check that out go to our site there it's also up on our YouTube page here but we clip the highlights together it's about a two- minute or so highlight reel here's West Virginia Penn State simulated on college football 25 Morgantown West Virginia home to The Mountaineers in a fan base that has been shall we say from Parry since early in the morning for the battle we have in store play they'll have another chance on Third and goal from the one trying to Surge it in Into The End Zone he goes touch down pen State Defense on the same page playing together I love it fires to the wide out and that ball is picked off no real chance on the return but they've got it at the 34 do you play dime whatever it is do you put more DBS on the field it's more speed it's more guys that can cover but they also got to cover that ground but waiting to happen his vision his quickness and he's got a burn and he takes it to the house touchdown Mountaineers now from the 43 fires it makes the grab hit the afterburners kid off right on the goal line they'll try to blast their way in and he takes it in for the score touchdown nitty lions down without scoring third down to the air it's Allard he got it and he will score touchdown pen State he's looking to throw on Third and short he makes a catch in the end zone touchdown West Virginia looking to throw moving away from pressure he makes his way in running back searching for a hole he's dropped behind the line of scrimmage that'll be a lot team in a bad spot and that's why they still have a shot to walk out of here with a double good job go for it on fourth down fires down field makes the grab well past the sticks a lot of running all right welcome back to the walkthrough game day show presented by West Virginia on SI hope you enjoyed our little break there I'm I know it probably wasn't the result that we we were all looking for but I think that was pretty cool that's something we're going to do each week um but it was pretty interesting I was hoping just for a really good game nothing unrealistic I was hoping EA Sports would come through on on it for me and they did I mean 21 to 15 two fourth down conversions they get the stop they get the two fourth count down conversions Justin Robinson busts one down the sideline gets tackled no timeouts they can't get to the to the line of scrimmage in time un fortunately falling 10 yards short of beating number seven Penn State but hey it that was that was interesting was that was pretty cool no I like it I like it I think the results will be a little bit different uh come come Saturday but you know simulation was cool though I really do like that it's a nice it's a nice touch yeah so we'll get to our predictions of the game at the tail end of the show as we always do but before we move on to our game preview and our players to watch and all that stuff we're going to go and take a look again at our trivia question and that was which West Virginia head coach led the Mountaineers to their first ever win over the Penn State nitty Lions the options were art papy Lewis Bill karna and rat Rogers Eugene I didn't give you enough time to do any research on this what's your answer I'm going to go with papy Lewis wrongo wrongo and actually serious yeah I for some reason I would have said art papul to even though it was way off in terms of years it actually came in 1925 rat Rogers in his first year as the Mountaineer head coach they won eight- one that year they shut out Penn State in their first ever win 14 to nothing so get out of yeah now don't go and look at the rest of the schedule that year 1925 99 years ago because uh it was a lot of schools probably never heard of but nonetheless some fun trivia to kick off here week one of the walkthrough game day show so all right Jee it's time to start getting into this West Virginia Penn State game a look at our players to watch in this one we're just going to keep it um offense and defense here no special teams uh but we'll get into the more matchups and stuff here in just a moment the players to watch for Penn State you have running back Nick Singleton otherwise known as Nicholas Singleton Abdul harder everyone thinks he's going to be a top five pick in the draft perhaps maybe the top pick overall for West Virginia it's Aubrey Burks the safety moving into that spear spot Brandon Yates coming in at Center filling it for Zack Frasier when you look at these four guys let's start first with uh Penn State Nick Singleton and Abdul Carter the defensive end what do you see out of these guys what kind of challenges do they pose for West Virginia well it's tough I mean listen both great players at this this level both great players and both well coached so the consistency which is interesting we're going to have to be very consistent obviously if keeping our quarter back up right okay Carter Carter's a beast man so when you have a guy like Carter that can put that much pressure and in different ways he affects the game um we're gonna have to make sure we we keep a hat on him obviously in the running game listen Penn State has always been known to have great backs yeah even during my erors I mean they've always had stud running backs and this you know this group of backs that they have at Penn State now is no different so we're going to have to keep him contained obviously um there's something to be said about when you hold Penn State under 100 yards rushing which implies a lot more puts a lot more pressure on the quarterback to throw the ball um I think if you do that you're going to have we're going to have a lot more opportunity to be successful the takeaways you know the plus minus on on on our defense if we can stop them from running the ball consistently and make them throw the ball I think the plus minus and takeaways is on our side if we can do that yeah so if you go back and look when we blew them out at home okay that's exactly what happened they couldn't do anything offensively and we applied a lot of pressure in their passing game and we you know took advantage took our shots when we needed to and and you know obviously the results was beneficial for West Virginia so I see this going the same way if we can neutralize their running game make them throw the ball a little bit more more you know when we're on offense you know uh do we need to do to to to move the ball move the chains I think we have a really good shot of not only I'm not into the whole let's just be competitive let's just hang in there make it a game in the fourth quarter no man I really think we have a shot to beat a very good pen State team if we do those things yeah and I I don't want to leave out KRON Allen the other running back they have probably the best running back duo in the country and I'm not trying to take any shots at Jem white or CJ Donaldson but that those two are an insane Duo and uh Singleton last year 752 yards eight touchdowns also had 300 yards receiving another two scores there uh as far as Carter goes he led the team in sacks a year ago with four and a half sacks and it doesn't sound crazy right it's not like oh had a brew iring you know 9 10 11 sack season but when you have the type of players and the amount of players that Penn State had on that defense of year ago you gotta think they had Danny Deon Sutton who is back again this year they had Adiza Isaac who was a draft pick they had chop Robinson who was a first round draft pick they haded Abdul Carter they had a lot of dudes on that team so everyone was kind of getting three four five sacks well not five but two three four sacks and he just happened to be the best one of them um five passes defend 49 tackles he is going to wreak havoc that he to me could change this game completely in Penn State's direction if he shows up and plays his aame West Virginia could be in trouble now Wyatt milm on the left side I don't really think you gotta worry about him Jean he hasn't given up a sack in nearly two years right what's that mean that means he aced this test a year ago against Penn State against all those NFL type talents against Abdul Carter the question is on the other side at right tackle Nick Malone he was kind of filling in as a as a reserve type player would get some depth reps every now and then he's now coming in as the starter he's a former walk-on going against arguably the number one defensive player in the 2025 NFL draft that's a really really tall task flipping it over to the West Virginia side we talked about briefly there auy Burks Brandon Yates two guys coming into new positions but they've played a lot of football Aubry bur's kind of played the free safety spot before he's coming down playing the spear which is kind of like a nickel slash linebacker type role he's going to be closer to the action in the Box more they feel that that's the best spot for him Brandon Yates that's some big shoes to fill with Zack Frasier it is and in both cases again it's really going to come down to the consistency of what we can do to match up here's the deal because when you have new players that are coming into roles that even though they they played a lot of football you have to be consistent now in these starting roles at your new position right so Zack frer forget about it one of the best in the country um legendary I oh no doubt about it I personally believe again if we're consistent with what we do and that doesn't mean without making mistakes because you're going to make mistakes it is what it is right but it's how you get over those mistakes during the course of a game that's going to allow you to you know uh to win this football game so with that being said in those particular positions which are very very prominent positions if you don't do anything with the center there's a problem okay that means the defensive line is going to live in your back field so we can't have that right right conversely being able to make plays on the defensive side of the ball with Yates you know let me let me say this our defense is going to have to tackle well in space they're going to have to be able to make plays on schedule meaning that we are expecting them to make a play when it's third and whatever we got to make a play so you're on schedule to make that play offensively when it's third and two third and three and you got to move the change on schedule you got to have come up with a play where you can get two three four five yards to move the chains again for me that's what this game is going to come down to Sky we have to be on schedule both offense and defense no matter who is starting where they have to play consistent football I think we're up for the task in my opinion I really do I think those those young people are of the're they're up to the task to play and to do well or guess what we have enough death now yeah where if they wasn't up to the task then they wouldn't be starting in my humble opinion yeah you got options there so and Jordan Jordan Lesley different coord said it earlier in the week like hey we got a guy that's not playing well and he's a starter next man up last year maybe years before it was oh dang we gotta figure something out to scheme around it because we can't put anybody else in there now you don't have that that worry or that issue anymore so you can find a way to to to get people in there that are going to give you their best if they're having an off day for whatever reason it's gonna happen Aubrey Burks isn't gonna be great all 12 games he's gonna have a bad day Garr Green's gonna have a bad day and that's that's kind of the one thing I wanted to point out real quick too like yes we could have talked about Jem white Garrett green we're going to get into all that these are the players to watch specifically for the opposing team we're going to kind of highlight the big name guys like we did with Carter and Singleton but for West Virginia we're going with a little different approach we're taking a look at guys that you may not necessarily think of but are GNA play a huge role in the game absolutely now are you ready Jean it's time to get into this game preview West Virginia Penn State kicking off at noon this Saturday in Morgantown big noon Fox kickoff is going to be there televised on Fox obviously Penn State I hate to to admit it here but they've they've kind of owned West Virginia over the years 499 and two the alltime series in favor of the nitty Lions last year of course winning 38-5 the last win for West Virginia you know how long ago it was the man sitting right there on this screen was playing for the West Virginia Mountaineers that's no shot of eug jeene I'm just saying but 88 was the last year that West Virginia beat Penn State before that they won an 84 before that it was 1955 so there was a 28 game span where West Virginia did not beat Penn State there was one tie thrown in there but 27 straight losses in terms of the actual outcome so it's it's been a rivalry that has been very one-sided some people say you got to win a few of these for it to be considered rival I want your take on this you've played in this game yes it's been one-sided but do you feel like there is an actual heated you know intenseness to this to this game you've played in it so you tell me absolutely and here's the thing okay and I'm not being just ingenuous to people who say well you got to win a few for it to be a rivalry what makes it a rivalry is obviously the the two combatants that's on the field field but the other piece is when you're recruiting in each other's territory you have a rivalry on that side when you're obviously competing head-to-head you have the obvious rivalry on that side when you are at this level and you just don't like each other that in itself is a there's a three-headed monster here with this rivalry that we're talking about and yeah of course it's one-sided to this point you know Penn State has wor a few more than what we have just a few more just a few more but my point is this is why it's so important for your program to go out and play well and do well compete and win these type of games because you want to prove a point where to a level we've taken a step where we know we can compete and play consistent ball against Penn State so for me of course I'm not you know I'm a realist of course I know Penn State is a listen traditionally it's one of those major and I hate the term you know I hate the term but I'm going to say it for for lack of better description yeah they are considered a blue blood okay they're a blue blood program how'd that taste coming out the yeah yeah yeah in saying that when you've won and you're in your the top 15 winning this programs in the history of college football then again what does that make West Virginia you understand top 15 and the winningest of all time yeah it puts you in that category right okay this is why it's important to go out and play well and beat Penn State on on Saturday it's because of these type of conversations right here so anybody who's who who who lines up in the pen State uniform or whoever lines up in the WVU uniform you know the importance because you know the history yeah so that history does make it a rivalry whether you know it's taken us you know 28 uh uh uh games to beat them or 28 years or 30 whatever it's been that's what makes this such a vital rivalry and I'm look I'm here for all the smoke 10 State fans that are watching this get at Eugene he's on Twitter I don't know his handle it's changed like 15 times probably in the last seven years but you'll find him I'll tag him bring on the smoke he wants to hear it bring it all I'm here for all of it so let's let's dive into a little bit of the matchups here we'll go pen State offense West Virginia Defense here Penn State brings in a new coordinator they do on all three sides but this is a guy West Virginia is familiar with Andy coton Nikki who was the offensive coordinator last few years at Kansas Kansas obviously has turned things around the last few years he was also very successful at Buffalo at Lance lifeold they did a really good a lot of good things there as well we talked about the running back du of KRON Allen Nicholas Singleton the question for me in this game for Penn State's offense what happens at wide receiver they have one guy coming back that is a starter kayen Saunders his status for this week's game is kind of unknown James Franklin said it earlier this week that they they hope that they can ramp him up and he'll be able to go this week it's under undisclosed injur we have no idea they don't say any of these things with injuries in college anymore but feels like he's going to go they bring in Julian Fleming from Ohio State Harrison Wallace had a big explosive play last year against West Virginia but over overall that wide receiver core is a major question mark for Penn State and you also pair that with the offensive line I mean Jean they've got 19 combined starts from that offensive line back a year ago 13 of them are coming from that Right Guard wormly five from the left guard one from their left tackle they have a new uh starting center new right tackle there's a lot of question marks up front a lot of question marks on the perimeter what does that mean to you that means listen pin them ears back ears back that's what that means let's get after it whenever you have upfront it starts up front when your upfront is kind of questionable no you got to get after it in the pass you know uh the passing game and the running game because listen nine times at a 10 if you having the same issues and pass blocking you gonna have the same issues in run blocking not necessarily all the time but when you have a whole new front you're talking about two consistent starters up front that are back compared to last year and the year before when they were really strong up front now that's a vulnerable position for them we need to take advantage of that on the outside listen receivers is such a dominant position in college in all sports but especially at the pro level but in college football if you have one go-to guy that's a that's just a dog out there that's a stud that changes the whole thing now to have that you think about the years past when Penn State didn't have one legitimate go-to just Alpha playing wide receiver yeah they've they've had they've had some guys they've had some guys so now for this year to that even to be half of a question mark we have to take full advantage of that we really do so I look I I look forward to us basically camping in Penn State's backfield Saturday yeah yeah and to me that's the biggest concern for West Virginia's defense is defensive line I think there's Talent there there's potential but we haven't seen Shawn Martin break through we haven't seen Eddie vesterinen be somebody that's a real force in the pass game he can affect the passing game but he needs to do more foror MOBA knows he needs to do more Hammond Russell what knows needs to do more they need more of those guys up front to win their one-on-one battles something they didn't do a year ago although they're at the top of the Big 12 in terms of sacks it's a little bit of a misleading that having the linebackers that they have this year it's the best linebacker depth that they've had Josiah trod he's going to be playing in his first game this Saturday but that that kid is an absolute stud the son of Jeremiah trer the brother of Jeremiah trod Jr also in the NFL those guys have an NFL bloodline he's the next one in line so you bring him you bring Trey Lean Back who had the the the horrific injury at TCU last year Ben cutter who capitalized on playing time because of the injury you feel a little bit better about that linebacker room this year than you do last year but to go back to the passing game you have some question marks at receiver you have some question marks at offensive line if you're Penn State WVU again we kind of touched on a little bit earlier you have a new guy in Garnet Hollis who is going to be able to offer you something that you weren't able to do before that's play press man coverage West Virginia has not played a lot of man coverage let alone press man coverage right under Neil Brown they're going to be able to do that with Garnett Hollis and Aiden Garnes another transfer from Duane I I like this matchup because Drew Aller he's going to be somebody that wants to get the ball out fast last year he did not throw very many passes downfield a lot of dinking a lot of dunking how do I know that he threw 112 more pass attempts than Garrett green last year only had 225 more yards than Garrett green Garrett green was slanging that thing all year long Drew Aller not so much if you can get that first step and knock a receiver off his track I mean they're they're not a team that likes to play you know where where the plays broken down and they need Drew Drew lard to scramble outside the pocket and make a second play or a third play that's not them it's got to happen right out of the gate if you can get Garnett Hollis and Garnes to do their thing in press man coverage you get after the quarterback you got to like your chances oh no doubt about it no doubt about it no I I agree with you 100% the breakdown is 100% spot on absolutely no them having Drew make plays with his legs that's that's just that's not a re that's not a good recipe for success for them you know but I'll tell you one thing again when you can play press man coverage at any level changes the game it changes the game so much boy does that open up opportunities for your you know for your front guys to really get back there and create some havoc in the back field I I I really love that I'm I'm super excited about that matchup now we saved the best for last year right West Virginia's offense Penn States's defense obviously this is an offense that returns so much talent from a year ago just think about the complete 180 from this time of yearo and I soon I feel like I'm on repeat saying this but it's just night and day Jean last year you go into this Penn State game you have no idea what you're getting out of Garrett green you had no idea who Jem white was he didn't even play in this game a year ago so that's a key factor that we need to keep in mind the top two or two of the top four receivers that went into that Penn State game they didn't even last through the first month of the season they left the team Cortez Braham Jer Aaron so there's a lot new for this West Virginia offense but a lot of Firepower where does this offense have to really take advantage in terms of being able to move the ball efficiently getting in third third and shorts third and manageable situations to be able put up enough points to come out with a win let me be honest with you and it's so funny you said I was talking to my wife earlier in the day and I said this so I'll say it here let green cook yeah let green be green let him cook he has a way of makinging everybody around him better because of his confidence of what he knows he can do yeah let him make his plays that he has to make with his arm he has really good arm Talent we see that now let him make his plays with his legs and let him open that offense up naturally Let It Be An organic thing the Run game in my opinion West Virginia that that run game um is has the potential to be so potent that it will take pressure off of our passing game if need be especially in a game like this if we could establish to run up front and and and establish the offensive line and doing what we need to do up front this going to sound crazy scholar this can be a fun game for West Virginia offensively yeah imagine if if we open the game up and we're running the ball effectively now you're not you don't have to be on schedule with the pass game because you're getting for yards at a clip five yards at a clip six yards here and there on the ground you can kind of pick your poison and throwing the long ball or throwing some screens throwing some short shallow routes you can do all that stuff I'm hoping for that type of game for West Virginia because if that happens well then guess what you're keeping their defense on the field a lot longer you're wearing them down and that means that our defense getting there they are going to be lved up and hungry to play because our offense is doing so well and if you're competitive when get in a game like that where your offense is playing so well your defense wants to make plays too that's some fun football yeah that's some real good football right there and that's what we had Back in 88 we w 11 and0 we were having some fun competing in the games against our defense hey y'all put up a 50 Burger on Penn State that year you understand what I'm saying so and really again last year in that Penn State game and really for much of the whole entire 2023 season West Virginia leaned on the running game they had no it really the passing game was just taking shots down field and occasionally it would be somebody making a play and and and making someone Miss but it was a lot of deep shots down the field a lot of stuff underneath nothing really intermediate I think you're GNA see a major difference that in this year with uh with in that with Garrett green because he has seen a double digit increase in his completion percentage according to quarterback's coach Tyler Allen Neil Brown from last fall Camp to this fall camp now will that translate to the game remains to be seen but we have heard glowing reviews about Garrett's off season and it's not that surprising the kid busts his tail he just he just looks and acts and goes about his work like you would expect a West Virginia quarterback to go about it absolutely well listen this is his team P this is his team he knows this is his team and this is his time you want to get another foothold in that Legacy you know department and conversation about being one of the best quarterbacks ever come out of West Virginia then these are the games and that's my point these are the games that you have to show up for these are the games that you have to do what you need to do the games that it's really aumed upon in the quarterback to get the offense going and there's no doubt you already know how I feel about this man I think he backs obviously in the Big 12 but I think he's going to come out to be one of the better quarterbacks in the entire country he's going to be the story I'm telling you if West Virginia wins you know uh 10 11 games see what I did there thre another victory in there for West Virginia between 10 to 11 games it's growing on us as The Show Goes On we're getting we're getting more wins as we go you understand what I'm saying he's going to be the reason why he's going to be the reason why so I'm looking for a big year not to put more pressure on this young man I'm looking for a huge year you know out of this young man because I think he has it in him I really do for me in this game it starts all up front in the offensive line This Penn State front seven is going to be a handful it's probably I'm not even to say probably it's going to be the best front seven that they play all season long assuming they don't play somebody in the playoffs that's better because they're going to get there right maybe we'll see but abely this this front seven is gonna be a challenge I believe Brandon Yates is going to have a pretty seamless transition at Center he's played so much football at this level he's played all five positions he started all five positions he's athletic enough to play center which I think this offensive line group is more athletic than what they had a year ago and I'm not saying that they're going to be as good as what they were a year ago but I think it's going to be able they're going to be good enough to get the job done is it gonna be against Penn State in week one we'll see but Brandon Yates has got to do his thing up up front again we talked about Nick Malone at right tackle if they can hold their own and they can run the ball effectively putting Garrett Green in situations where he's only got to get convert a third and three or a third and four that's going to make Penn State's defense freak the heck out because he can do anything if there's nobody open on that first read he go to Second re no one's there I'm gonna take off and get a first down Garrett green is as dangerous as it comes with his legs ran forever 750 yards last year 13 touchdowns so it's all about getting in third manageable situations you don't want to get behind the sticks which it felt like they did so many times in that game a year ago third and fourth Downs lost them that game I know the score is 38- 15 it was much closer than that for much of the game things got away from them there there at the end CJ Donaldson Jem white they've got to be the keys for this offense they are the engine that that that gets this car going they're the straw that stirs the drink they get going the passing game opens up you can start taking those shots down field and I'm going put this little stat out here Gan I just came up with this one on the fly so I'm already in mid-season form Penn State allowed 20 or more points four times last year that's it a third of their games right three of those games they lost so you mean to tell me West Virginia gets 20 or more points points their chances are pretty good now I again I get it before the Penn State people come after me I get it's a different team I understand all of that but if you score 20 or more points on this defense who again has a new coordinator Tom Allen right you're at home you mean to tell me West Virginia can't get a couple of touchdowns throwing couple touchdowns rushing from Garrett green I think their chances are pretty high could be interesting and I'm not even going to get into the logistics of why is once the opposing team puts up 20 points you lose the game I'm not even get into that but I think anybody that knows football would know why okay that put so much pressure I'll just give a little hint to those who don't know what I'm referring to that would put so much pressure on the other side of the ball if they create one or two turnovers because they're trying to catch because they know the supposing team just put up 20 points anything is possible so anything in Morgan to Saturday as possible when we score you know between 21 to 24 points yeah I hear what you're saying Scot see what I did there I got you so it is our favorite time of the show it's a little part where we like to go back and forth it is our pickham and Jean has been the two-time reigning champion of this thing I've got to figure out a way to come out on top this year I'm tired of him talking all offseason about it bragging every time we talk on the phone hey man remember I beat you pick him this year no he doesn't do that he he's a humble guy he just lets me know every now and then he'll tell me how dumb my picks are throughout the week he can he can have that so all right Jean let's go and get into it it is Clemson in Georgia not the Clemson you're used to it's been a little bit of a different version over the last couple of years 12:00 Eastern on ABC I think this is this is all Bulldogs right here I mean I I do think Clemson's going to take a step forward I think they're going to get a little bit back to where they were are they a playoff team I don't know the ACC is a crapshoot they have the talent but this is this isn't a complete mismatch in this game for for uh for them Georg is going to run through much of their schedule this is the start of it no doubt listen Clemson's going to take a step but they'll be walking into this particular stadium with no cleats on it won't be a step for this particular game so 100% Bulldog yeah Georgia it won't even be close in my opinion yeah Georgia all away this one is a very underrated matchup maybe not in the Sunshine State but Miami at Florida two coaches that really need to get things going Billy Napier at Florida Mario chrisal at Miami season's not going to end after this week but it feels like the the the warmth on that hot seat is going to kind of kick it up a couple of notches for whoever loses this game I don't know where to go because I feel like Florida is the better team well should take that back I feel like Miami is the better team but I don't trust Mario Chris Ball especially not on the road so I'm going to lean Florida here got a little Gator chop but uh I'm I'm a little hesitant there that's that's a really tight game I don't I'm back and forth but I'm going to go I'm G to go with the Gators there you go see now you're smart now you're smarting it up it only took me six years Jean same exact thing no on the road Miami at Florida no if it was the other way around I might be a little bit hesitant to pick Florida but no they're at home that's small nah Florida all the way now I was almost reluctant to put this game on here because college game day is going there instead of morgant town that's their decision well Morgantown will welcome Big N Fox kickoff whatever it's called I I don't want to to miss say it even though I probably already did but Notre Dame at Texas A&M 7:30 on ABC new head coach Texas ANM Mike Elco coming over from duke is this the year that Notre Dame starts to figure things out and under coach Freeman there interesting here nor Notre Dame starting quarterback Riley Leonard was the starting quarterback for Mike ELO at Duke last year so a little bit of History here I think Notre Dame is the better team but I like Texas A&M for some reason I'm going with the Aggies see here you go here's where you make your mistakes here you go okay come on dude Fighting Irish they have something to prove so I'll just make this little spill real quick they have something to prove in what better way to go into Texas A&M major game to start your season off this quarterback has something to prove I really think that Notre Dame will get it done it it's going to be a good football game don't get me wrong but no fight iish show the away and that's the first time I think I've ever picked Notre Dame so I have to go upstairs and wash my mouth out now dang well just because of that and your reaction to my pick I just went ahead and put that down as a loss so um hopefully I'll I'll change that to a w at the end of the weekend but we'll see LSU hosting USC 7:30 this is one is on Sunday so not this one's a Sunday nighter on ABC Lincoln Riley lost Caleb Williams and even when he had Cale Williams they really didn't do a whole lot at USC I don't think they're going to go on the road to Death Valley and pull out a win with a first year starting quarterback in Miller Moss go tigas absolutely all way LSU again playing at LSU is a different environment you're bringing a brand new quarterback in there you're bringing some some some pieces that you had to piece together because you lost a lot of talent the year prior to no I don't think you know USC will have a decent year but it ain't going to start in LSU so LSU all the way go Tigers and the one that we are all here for West Virginia hosting number eight Penn State the start of something special potentially in Morgantown Neil Brown led the MERS to a 9 and4 record a year ago they won the Dukes Mayo Bowl the confidence is building in inside mil pusar Stadium they feel like they have a chance to knock off the nitty Lions you want to play and you want to coach at places where it really matters and matters here I challenge you know our fans I think that that could be a big a big factor in the game you know and not not only when things are um are going good you know me they they have good players you those running backs they're they're you know all all across their offense receiver tight end quarterback's a good player and and they're going to make they're going to make some plays you know they're they're going to be they're good team just like I tell our players this next play mentality and I think our I think our fans carry that same mindset into it can be a huge Factor be as loud as you can be you know I think I think the fans the fans are already really excited um you know I know the blue light will be be rocking and rolling before I wake up um so I'm I'm looking forward to to being out there um and you know plan in that environment is our guys are excited about the opportunity it's going to be a great challenge not going to make or break our season anyway but I'm not trying to minimize the importance of it this is this is a big time college football weekend we got Fox big noon game the crew is going to be here MCA is going to be here on Friday lot going on and in the spotlights on morgant town I fully expect our fans and our community to really Blossom under the under the bright lights all right Je mean West Virginia Penn State noon on Fox I've already kind of gave out my prediction on the game by game prediction so I won't waste much time here I the closer we get to this game though I will say the gut feeling is that the Mountaineers are going to really give Penn State a true scare I don't know what that looks like I don't know if it's a late thing I don't know if they lead late in the game Penn State comes back and wins it or something in between I just feel Penn State is the more talented team talented teams find a way to win games even on the road in hostile environments they're going to find a way to win but man I'm telling you Jean it has taken everything within me to not pick West Virginia because I really feel good about them for some reason but I'm going Penn State West Virginia 24 Penn State 17 oh we got we even got a score prediction here okay 24- 17 great game back and forth battle West Virginia pulls it out in the fourth quarter with some big plays a big defensive stop and green gets it done with his legs to put us up 24-17 WVU Victory The Crowd Goes Crazy you're going to hear New Jersey going crazy my house is be fpp upside down yeah man West Virginia will win this football game well that means that one of us is going to be wrong obviously and maybe the college football 25 simulator hopefully will be wrong because they picked 21 to 15 as we showed earlier in the show but that's going to do it that's a wrap on the first show of this season for the walkthrough game day show I'm Skyla Callen that's Eugene Napoleon thank you guys so much for watching it's the sixth year of our show we're so thankful to be able to keep doing this we have a ton of fun doing it be sure to put your your your picks in the in the comment section on YouTube just like we did last year if you nail every single one of them we'll send you a Eugene Napoleon autograph uh picture from his playing days I'm could I be wrong here but is is that picture not from against Penn State or or am I wrong I have a few oh okay okay but you know what the one I will yes it will be against pin there you go so that's going to do it for us here today we will be back though on Saturday after the game we'll break everything down if West Virginia wins we maybe have to call the fire department to get Eugene's house put out because he's going to be liting it on fire with that couch and everything but we'll get it all taken care of we'll get the water on it and we'll make sure we get the postgame show in there so be sure to join us back here on Saturday after the game West Virginia Penn State thank you guys for watching we'll see you guys on on Saturday