Instant Analysis: Blue White Illustrated staff recaps Penn State's win over West Virginia

Morgantown, W.Va. – Penn State picked up a massive win Saturday, going on the road and handily beating West Virginia on both sides of the ball, 34-12. The Nittany Lions were excellent on defense, limiting the Mountaineers to less than 250 yards of offense, but for most fans, it was the play on offense that everyone will be talking about over the next week.

Quarterback Drew Allar played one of the best games of his career, throwing for three touchdowns, two of which went to wide receiver Trey Wallace. After missing much of last season with an injury, Wallace’s play, combined with a new offense led by Andy Kotelnicki, was one of the key storylines of the game.

“I think that the Trey Wallace thing is super interesting dating back to last year,” said Blue White Illustrated’s Nate Bauer. “James Franklin kind of laced these comments through the course of last season as Penn State was struggling with its explosiveness about how Trey Wallace would change things for them if he had been available. It changes what the offense does. Omari Evans changes what the offense does. [Franklin] talked about it in the postgame about [Omari] being ‘fast, fast’ and that he can ‘run, run.’

Highs & Lows: Penn State summits bad weather and the Mountaineers in 34-12 win

“When you have dynamic playmakers on the field like that, I don’t think it becomes a surprise then that Nick Singleton, things free up a little bit and he gets back into his groove a little bit.”

BWI’s Sean Fitz added, “Trey Wallace stepped up. This is a guy that we’ve been talking about for a long time, but he hasn’t been on the field to prove it. Today, he proved it. He was awesome, absolutely awesome.”

Of course, Kotelnicki’s scheme was also a major talking point. Last year, the Nittany Lions scored 30 or more points in nine of their games, but it was the fluidity of the offense that stood out the most Saturday in Morgantown.

“That’s a good first start for Andy Kotelnicki,” said Fitz. “34 points isn’t lighting the world on fire, but you look at how they did it and I think they did it pretty well. I go back to that first touchdown and they go for two right away. It showed that Penn State wanted to be the aggressor, wanted to step on their throat. It didn’t work out for them, but you look at the thought process behind that and say, ‘Hey, they came here to stomp on them,’ and they did.”

Saturday’s game opened back in the spring with Penn State as much as a 12-point favorite, but that changed throughout the week. The spread finished around 7.5 points, depending on the sportsbook, which Fitz noted throughout the week didn’t make sense.

Watch: James Franklin recaps Penn State’s 34-12 win over West Virginia

“It was one of the more nonsensical lines I’ve seen,” he said. “If you look at West Virginia, what they were losing, what they were bringing back, and it just wasn’t that team. I don’t know if they caved to public pressure or whatever. I know guys picked West Virginia on [College Gameday] and I know this is a phenomenal atmosphere, but that’s just not a great team. Penn State showed that they were bigger, stronger, more aggressive and they showed it from the start. They really took it to West Virginia.”

Penn State now has a four-game home stretch starting next week against Bowling Green. Following a bye week, they’ll then host Kent State, Illinois and UCLA before hitting the road again on Oct. 12 to face USC. With this win under their belts and the Lions expected to be heavy favorites in each of those games, it presents an opportunity for the offense to get even better before a step up in competition.

“When healthy, this is what Penn State wants to look like,” Bauer said. “If you consider that version of it today against West Virginia, and [now] having the opportunity over the next few weeks to get better and kind of iron those things out, I think it bodes fairly well for the type of team that Penn State can be this season.”