Penn State coach James Franklin is under no illusion about the environment that awaits the No. 8-ranked Nittany Lions in Morgantown for their season opener at noon Saturday against West Virginia.
In what marks Penn State’s return to the Mountain State for the first time since 1992, Franklin expects a sellout full of hostile fans at Milan Puskar Stadium.
“Everything in that state revolves around West Virginia and Mountaineer football,” Franklin said Monday in State College.
For Franklin, getting his players ready to play the Mountaineers goes deeper than trying to replicate crowd noise during practice settings.
Franklin wants his players to understand that the second they cross the state border into West Virginia, they’ll be entering enemy territory. As the team prepares to get settled in Morgantown, great care must be taken by everyone in the program.
“It’s making sure a freshman doesn’t leave one of our test or tip sheets on the floor in a meeting room, because everybody that works in that hotel is probably connected or related to somebody at West Virginia football,” he said.
“I know that stuff sounds funny and silly, but it happens. We’re doing everything we possibly can to prepare our players.”
When they met last year in Happy Valley to begin the 2023 season, the Nittany Lions defeated the Mountaineers, 38-15, in a game that Penn State led just 14-7 at halftime.
West Virginia went on to post a 9-4 campaign, winning the Duke’s Mayo Bowl over North Carolina in coach Neal Brown’s most successful year since he was hired in 2019.
Franklin, now in his 11th year at Penn State, has guided the program through some tough Week 1 tests in recent seasons, including at Purdue in 2022 and at No. 12 Wisconsin in 2021.
“Opening with this type of game I think is really good because it motivates and prepares everybody that you better have your I’s dotted and your T’s crossed and understand and be prepared for what that environment is going to be like,” Franklin said. “From what I understand, you can’t get a ticket to this game.”
His anticipation of a sellout Saturday partially can be attributed to excitement surrounding the Mountaineers, who received 17 votes in the Associated Press preseason poll, ranking them unofficially at No. 33.
“It’s a team that I think is feeling really, really good about themselves and has a lot of confidence,” Franklin said. “They won nine games. Really should have won 10 games — that Houston game (which the Cougars won on a Hail Mary) was a very, very tough loss. In my mind, they played well enough to win 10 games.
“They ended the season winning five of their last six games, including the bowl game. So they have a lot of positive momentum. The quarterback played really well, so our focus is totally on that right now.”
Looking to take care of business against West Virginia for the second straight year is a host of returning Nittany Lions players, including junior quarterback Drew Allar, who diced up the Mountaineers, throwing for 325 yards and three touchdowns.
“The kid played pretty well last year,” Brown said. “He played really well against us. He was the difference in the game last year. … He hit some explosive passes against us that really hurt us, and I thought he was accurate with the football in our contest.”
Allar and his new-look group of receivers will aim to exploit a West Virginia defense that was porous against the pass last year, finishing 85th nationally, allowing 237.4 yards per game and 26 touchdowns, second most in the country.
Saturday’s showdown in Morgantown also features two explosive rushing offenses from last year.
The Mountaineers will have to contend with tailbacks Kaytron Allen and Nicholas Singleton, who helped the Nittany Lions to 184.8 yards per game, a running attack that ranked 28th nationally.
West Virginia was even more dominant on the ground, ranking third in the nation (228.9 yards per game), led by returning running backs CJ Donaldson and Jahiem White, plus shifty quarterback Garrett Greene.
Perhaps most notable on either team with regards to new faces are Penn State’s three first-year coordinators: Andy Kotelnicki (offense), Tom Allen (defense) and Justin Lustig (special teams).
As the new play-callers get ready to lead their groups in action for the first time, Penn State’s path to the College Football Playoff runs right through Morgantown.
“Our focus now is directly on West Virginia and making sure we’re in the best possible position to go win at a place that I got a ton of respect for,” Franklin said. “A team that’s returning a ton of starters and a team that’s returning a ton of starters that had success — that creates challenges.”
Justin Guerriero is a TribLive reporter covering the Penguins, Pirates and college sports. A Pittsburgh native, he is a Central Catholic and University of Colorado graduate. He joined the Trib in 2022 after covering the Colorado Buffaloes for Rivals and freelancing for the Denver Post. He can be reached at jguerriero@triblive.com.
