Game Recap: Penn State takes down West Virginia, 34-12

Morgantown, W.Va. — Kickoff is here, Penn State fans! The Nittany Lions start their 138th season in program history this afternoon when they take on West Virginia. The action begins just after Noon ET on FOX. A large part of today’s expected sellout crowd filed into Milan Puskar Stadium shortly after the gates opened early this morning to get ready for what will likely be the final meeting between these two nearby non-conference foes for quite some time.

“It’s proven that the home field advantage is a real thing,” Lions coach James Franklin said this week. “It’s a real thing. It factors into a lot of things. But home field advantage is a real thing. I think that’s number one. I think number two, when you talk about the specifics of a home field advantage, it’s the noise in the stadium. You can replicate that a little bit.

“So, making sure we are doing everything we can d to prepare the players. It’s magnified in a place that does not have an NFL team. Like everything in that state revolves around West Virginia and Mountaineer football. They’re a prideful place.”

Get ready for kickoff with pregame updates below. Then, follow along for the latest score, stats, and news throughout the day.

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Fourth Quarter updates

5:48 p.m. — Final Score – Penn State 34 – West Virginia 12

5:42 p.m. — Cornerback Elliott Washington intercepts West Virginia QB Garrett Greene. Penn State takes over at its own 30-yard line. 2:37 left in the game.

5:40 p.m. — Kicker Sander Sahaydak misses a 47-yard attempt. West Virginia takes over at the PSU 37-yard line. 3:48 remaining in the game.

5:32 p.m. — Turnover. West Virginia quarterback Garrett Greene fumbles the ball, recovered by Penn State defensive end Dani Dennis-Sutton. PSU ball on the WVU 43-yard line. 8:00 left in the game.

5:25 p.m. — Touchdown, Penn State: Beau Pribula finds tight end Tyler Warren for a 19-yard touchdown. 34-12. 9:00 left in the game.

5:22 p.m. — On the first play of the drive, Nick Singleton busts a 40-yard run. 12:46 left in the game. Penn State has the ball at West Virginia’s 30-yard line.

5:16 p.m. — Touchdown, West Virginia: CJ Donaldson runs in from a yard out. The Mountaineers pull within 27-12 and will go for two with 12:49 left. The try failed. PSU 27, WVU 17 with 12:49 to go.

5:13 p.m. — West Virginia faces 4th and 10 with 14:04 left at the PSU 15. It will go for it with 14:04 to play. It converts, as Greene hits Clement for a first down at the PSU 1.

Third Quarter updates

5:07 p.m. — After three, Penn State leads West Virginia 27-6. The Mountaineers have 1st and 10 at the PSU 15 coming out of the break.

5:04 p.m. — Drew Allar scrambles on third down but not enough for a fourth down. Penn State will punt it back to WVU late in the third quarter.

4:53 p.m. — Garrett Greene’s third down pass falls incomplete. West Virginia will punt it away down 27-6 facing 4th and 4 at its own 43. The Lions take over at its own 12.

4:46 p.m. — Penn State goes three and out on its ensuing drive and will punt it back to WVU. We’re midway through the third quarter.

4:39 p.m. — Sack: A host of Nittany Lions get to WVU QB Garrett Greene, led by Zane Durant. West Virginia will punt it away to end its first drive of the second half.

4:33 p.m. — Touchdown, Penn State: Nick Singleton takes a handoff and goes right up the middle 40 yards for a touchdown. He was hardly touched en route to pay dirt. The Lions now lead West Virginia 27-6 nearly five minutes into the third quarter.

4:23 p.m. — After a 2 hour and 19 minute delay, the second half is underway. Penn State receives the opening kickoff of the second half.

Halftime updates

4:18 p.m. — Warmups are nearly complete. FOX will carry the second half when it resumes at approximately 4:23 p.m. ET.

3:58 p.m. — Without any more lightning, the game will resume at 4:23 p.m. ET after warmups at 4:08 p.m.

3:40 p.m. — Plans were set to restart the game at 4:05 p.m. But, right after that was announced, another lightning strike flashed here and reset the 30-minute clock. There is no longer a tentative start time.

3:05 p.m.– Officials here in Morgantown have not yet met to decide when to resume Penn State-West Virginia due to lightning still being in the area.

2:30 p.m. — The countdown clock to clear the field for play cannot start for at least 30 minutes. So, expect the next update at 3 p.m. ET.

2:16 p.m.– The non-conference contest entered a weather delay at 2:04 p.m. ET. Lightning in the area of the field was the cause of it. As of 2:16, rain is now falling, but the sky has darkened. And radar indicates that a nasty line of thunderstorms is approaching. 

Second Quarter updates

HALFTIME: Penn State 20, West Virginia 6. Drew Allar is 8 of 13 for 199 yards and three touchdowns. Trey Wallace leads all receivers with five catches for 117 yards. And Jaylen Reed and KJ Winston have eight tackles a piece.

1:45 p.m. — Touchdown, Penn State: Drew Allar to Trey Wallace for a quick six before the half. After a 55-yard toss to Omari Evans, the Lions QB hit Wallace in the corner of the end zone. Great throw and catch. Lions lead WVU 20-6 with six seconds left in the first half.

1:39 p.m. — West Virginia kicks a field goal from 42 yards, and it’s good. The 39-yard make put the score at PSU 13, WVU 6 with 37 seconds left in the half.

1:23 p.m. — PSU quickly went three and out on its next possession. WVU has it back with under five minutes to go in the half.

1:16 p.m. — Michael Haynes’ field goal is good. Penn State 13, West Virginia 3 with 6:15 left in the first half.

1:03 p.m. — Touchdown, Penn State: A quick flip from Drew Allar to Kaytron Allen sees the Nittany Lions running back take it the rest of the way. Sander Sahaydak’s extra point is good. PSU 13, WVU 0 at the 9:46 mark of the second quarter.

12:58 p.m. — PSU is back into WVU territory after first down runs from both Beau Pribula and Drew Allar.

12:49 p.m. — Penn State forces a quick three and out as Cam Miller comes up with a third down stop. West Virginia will punt again.

12:43 p.m. — Touchdown Penn State: Drew Allar to a wide open Trey Wallace for a 50-yard score. It was an easy pitch and catch for six. Penn State went for two after Trey Wallace’s score. Beau Pribula’s pass to Joey Schlaffer was incomplete. It’s 6-0 PSU over WVU early in the second quarter.

First Quarter updates

12:39 p.m.— After one, it’s Penn State 0, West Virginia 0. The Nittany Lions have a first down at the WVU 50 to start the second quarter.

12:35 p.m.— West Virginia lines up to go for it again facing 4th and 1 at the PSU 15 late in the first quarter, and a Greene sneak is short. The Lions defense holds in the red zone. PSU gets it back at its own 15 with 1:35 left in the quarter.

12:27 p.m.— West Virginia Garrett Greene fumbled on a designed run but fell right back on top of it after a gain of 11. Before that, WVU converted a third and long and now the Mountaineers are back in PSU territory at the Lion 45.

12:24 p.m.— Penn State will punt after a 3rd and 6 run nets nothing. Drew Allar had Omari Evans open on second down but a bad throw fell incomplete. WVU starts at its own 20 with 9:15 to go in the first quarter.

12:18 p.m.— One play, one turnover: WVU has its own bad snap, and Jaylen Reed ends up recovering it. Penn State takes back over around midfield.

12:17 p.m.— Penn State turns it over after a fumble by Drew Allar. It’s currently being reviewed. Looked like a bad and early snap from first-time starting center Nick Dawkins. After review, call stands. WVU ball at the PSU 28 with 10:38 to go in the first quarter.

12:12 p.m. — WVU picked up one first down but no more as the Lions blew up a third down screen to force a punt with 12:32 left in the first quarter.

12:05 p.m. — PSU lost the toss. WVU took the ball. So they start the game with it and the Lions get it to start the second half.

Penn State-West Virginia pregame updates

11:30 a.m. — Dani, Ellies, Durant, Abdul
Vanover, Izzard, Beamon, Smith, Granville
Others in uniform with the DL. Ford, Jaylen Harvey, Jordan Mayer, Blanding. Gilliam is dressed but listed as out.

11:07 a.m. — Saunders, Jaylen Reed, Ivey, and Jake Spencer back on punts. Singleton, Wallace, Evans, Fleming back taking kicoffs.

11:06 a.m. — First field goal attempt taken in warm-ups is Chase Meyer. Sander Sahaydak is second. Gabe Nwosu warming up for kickoff.

10:30 a.m. — This Nittany Lions are out today:

Quarterback Jaxon Smolik
Tight end Khalil Dinkins
Defensive end Mylachi Williams
Linebackers Kari Jackson and Keon Wylie
Defensive end Mason Robinson
Defensive tackle Xavier Gilliam
Receiver Peter Gonzalez
Tight end Jerry Cross
Linemen Sam Siafa, Liam Andrews, T.A. Cunningham, De’Andre Cook

Penn State-West Virginia betting line

Penn State opened as a 12.5-point favorite at various sportsbooks earlier this summer. Unlike last year, though, the line has dropped since. As of Saturday morning, the Lions are now an 8-point favorite.

As for the betting total, it sits at 51.5 points.

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Blue-White Illustrated predictions

Nate Bauer: PSU: 27, West Virginia: 17
Sean Fitz: Penn State: 34, West Virginia: 17
Thomas Frank Carr: PSU: 31, West Virginia: 21
Matt Herb: Penn State: 24, West Virginia: 20
Greg Pickel: PSU: 34, West Virginia: 21
Ryan Snyder: Penn State: 31, West Virginia: 24