How did the College GameDay crew pick Penn State-West Virginia?
Penn State’s season opener against West Virginia has finally arrived, and there’s no shortage of opinions on who will win Saturday. ESPN’s College Gameday crew provided their picks this morning, and as you would expect, former West Virginia specialist Pat McAfee went with the Mountaineers to pull the upset.
However, he wasn’t the only one, as Desmond Howard and Nick Saban also picked the Mountaineers. The rest of the staff leaned toward the Nittany Lions, including former Texas A&M quarterback Johnny Manziel, who was today’s guest picker with the show airing from College Station, Texas, ahead of tonight’s game between Texas A&M and Notre Dame.
Kirk Herbstreit: Penn State
Desmond Howard: West Virginia
Lee Corso: Penn State
Johnny Manziel: Penn State
Nick Saban: West Virginia
Pat McAfee: West Virginia
Computer model picks for Penn State-West Virginia
– ESPN Bill Connelly’s SP+ model predicts a 34-20 win for the Nittany Lions. That would be a cover for the Lions. It’s also a pick for the over.
– Sportsline sees similarly to Connelly in terms of a cover for the road team while the over hits. It predicts a 37-17 PSU triumph.
– The Athletic’s XMOV model from Austin Mock predicts a 30-22 Lions win. It puts the outcome right around the spread and total.
– Finally, The Dunkel Index projects a WVU upset. It calls for a one-point Mountaineers win and puts the total at 49.
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Lions-Mountaineers picks from a national perspective
At The Athletic, Bruce Feldman calls for a Nittany Lion win, but the Mountaineers cover by a final score of 20-17.
“It’ll be fascinating to see what the Nittany Lions offense looks like under new coordinator Andy Kotelnicki,” Feldman writes. “Even though quarterback Drew Allar isn’t Jalon Daniels or Jason Bean, he can still run some version of the option and do enough to keep defenses guessing. Quarterback Garrett Greene will keep the Mountaineers in this one throughout with his wheels and playmaking skills.”
For College Football News, Pete Fiutak predicts a 26-20 Nittany Lions victory.
Bill Bender of the Sporting News calls for a PSU win and cover by a final score of 31-20. David Kenyon of Bleacher Report agrees with the winner but disagrees on the cover. He sees a 31-27 Lions triumph, with WVU staying inside of the number.
Beat writer predictions for Penn State-West Virginia
At PennLive, its coverage team unanimously calls for the Nittany Lions to win and cover in Morgantown.
“The environment in Morgantown will be hostile as the Nittany Lions travel for what could be their toughest road test of the 2024 season,” the outlet’s Johnny McGonigal writes. “But I have faith in the defense to keep Greene and these tailbacks relatively in check. Look for Drew Allar and Penn State’s own running game to hit on a few explosive plays and pull away late.”
Mark Wogenrich of SI picks PSU to win a tight 24-21 contest. Frank Bodani of the York Daily Record sees it differently. He calls for a big Lions triumph by a final score of 29-14.
How the BWI staff picked Lions-Mountaineers
Fans can read Blue White Illustrated’s complete predictions here.
Nate Bauer: Penn State: 27, West Virginia: 17
Sean Fitz: Penn State: 34, West Virginia: 17
Thomas Frank Carr: Penn State: 31, West Virginia: 21
Matt Herb: Penn State: 24, West Virginia: 20
Greg Pickel: Penn State: 34, West Virginia: 21
Ryan Snyder: Penn State: 31, West Virginia: 24
