Penn State expects a hostile welcome in season opener at West Virginia

When No. 8 Penn State opens its season against West Virginia in Morgantown at noon on Saturday, it will feel familiar. Head coach James Franklin, now in his 11th season leading the Nittany Lions, will walk the sidelines. Junior quarterback Drew Allar will start under center in the season-opener for the second time in his career. Even the foe will be recognizable, as the Nittany Lions beat West Virginia in Happy Valley, 38-15, in the first game of the 2023 season.

However, a lot will be new. The opener will be the debut for Franklin’s revamped coaching staff, which includes offensive coordinator Andy Kotelnicki, defensive coordinator Tom Allen, and special teams coordinator Justin Lustig. It is also the Nittany Lions’ first game in the expanded, division-less Big Ten with the first 12-team College Football Playoff system awaiting later this year.

Can the Nittany Lions reach the now-expanded playoff field for the first time? That question will hover over Happy Valley for the 2024 season, but Penn State first needs to avoid slipping up early.

Here are three things to watch for in the Nittany Lions’ opener:

In its last road opening game, in 2022, Penn State traveled to Purdue and snuck away with a win, 35-31.

“The Big Ten has prepared us for road games very well, to open the season and to open the conference,” Franklin said. “We embrace it.”

The Nittany Lions are 7-2 away from home over the past two seasons, with the only losses coming in Columbus and Ann Arbor.

While West Virginia is far from a powerhouse, Morgantown remains a difficult atmosphere. The Mountaineers are coming off their best year yet under head coach Neal Brown. A 9-4 finish was the best mark for the program since 2016.

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“It’s going to be a tough game, it’s a tough environment, I’ve got a lot of respect for them,” Franklin said. “They’re confident after how their season ended. It’s going to be a challenge, but I do think we have enough veterans coming back that have opened in some of these games before, and that’s helpful.”

With coach-to-player in-helmet communication in use for the first time across the FBS, pre-snap communication from the sideline is a key part of the success of an offense, especially on the road. Franklin emphasized that an early-season collegiate offense always has some wrinkles to iron out, but that a main area of focus for the offense is pre-snap adjustments.

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“Offensively, we’ve got to make sure that we’re doing a great job on all the pre-snap stuff, the substitutions, the motions, the shifts,” Franklin said. “All the pre-snap gymnastics that you go through, we’ve got to make sure that those things are all clean.”

Having an experienced quarterback in Allar will help. With Franklin in his ear until 15 seconds on the play clock or the snap, Allar will have help making sure everyone is in the right spot.

The Nittany Lions do not have a clear-cut, workhorse running back by design. Junior running backs Kaytron Allen and Nick Singleton were within one rushing attempt of each other by the end of last season, though Allen led the team with 902 rushing yards. Franklin said that keeping backs fresh is a key part to the success of the Nittany Lions as well as the NFL development of his players.

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“We just want to make sure we’re one of these programs that’s not only developing big-time college players, but also preparing them for their NFL future,” Franklin said. “I think that our philosophy that we have used has been helpful for Penn State, but also just as important for these guys and their futures too.”

Franklin said the depth of the running back position will allow the Nittany Lions to play some 20 personnel sets with no tight ends and two running backs.

“That’s really when 20 personnel is most effective,” Franklin said. “When they have to fear both those backs as blockers and also receivers.”