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Kickoff time, TV network announced for Penn State-West Virginia season opener

On3-Social-Profile_GRAYby:On3 Staff Report•05/06/23
Joey Porter Jr., Penn State Nittany Lions cornerback
Penn State cornerback Joey Porter Jr. urges the Nittany Lions faithful to get loud during a game against Minnesota on Oct. 22, 2022. (Dan Rainville / USA TODAY Sports)

Penn State‘s season opener will be featured in primetime under the lights at Beaver Stadium, the program announced on Saturday afternoon.

The non-conference opener against West Virginia will take place at 7:30 p.m. ET with a broadcast on NBC as that network begins its coverage of Big Ten football.

The network announced its plans for Big Ten coverage back in February, with a Big Ten Saturday Night broadcast team that includes Todd Blackledge, Noah Eagle and Kathryn Tappen.

“NBC Sports today announced its Big Ten Saturday Night college football announce team, featuring Todd Blackledge (analyst) and Noah Eagle (play-by-play) in the booth and Kathryn Tappen as sideline reporter,” read an NBC release back in February. “Every weekend from Sept. 2 through Nov. 25, the trio will call a Big Ten Football game, which will be broadcast on NBC and simulstreamed on Peacock.

“Big Ten Saturday Night highlights an NBC Sports-record 33 college football games in Fall 2023.”

The Penn State season opener against West Virginia is the start of a home-and-home series, with the return game taking place at West Virginia in 2024.

The two teams have a long history against each other, though the most recent meeting was more than 30 years ago, all the way back in 1992.

Penn State holds a dominant lead in the series, boasting a 48-9-2 all-time record. Penn State has won the last four meetings, while West Virginia’s last win was a 51-30 affair in Morgantown in 1988.

West Virginia’s last win at Penn State came back in 1954.

The Mountaineers will be entering their fifth season under coach Neal Brown, hoping for a little more success. In each of Brown’s first four seasons the program has won either five or six games.

Penn State, meanwhile, is coming off a much more successful 11-2 campaign and will be looking to make a push for the College Football Playoff in 2023. The Nittany Lions will likely begin the season as a top-10 team and they’d certainly love to begin it with a win in the Penn State season opener.