Return to West Virginia evokes memories from Penn State assistant and former Nittany Lion Terry Smith
Penn State’s return to West Virginia on August 31 will be the Nittany Lions’ first trip to Morgantown since 1992. That 40-26 win for Joe Paterno’s team came one year after the conclusion of the playing career of current Penn State assistant Terry Smith. Smith was 3-1 in his career against the Mountaineers, but the one — a 51-30 shellacking at the hands of Major Harris and then-No. 7 West Virginia — left a lasting impression.
“So when we lost to Major Harris’ team, they stormed the field. I got caught in the far end zone, and it was chaos,” recalled Smith. “It’s not a place to be for an opponent. You’re getting hit, you’re getting taunted, you’re trying to run to the locker room.
“It’s crazy because a buddy of mine that I graduated high school with, he went to West Virginia. He comes and hugs me on the field and finds me. So at least that was like a safe spot. But the fanbase, they’re pretty enthusiastic. They’re tremendous.”
The silver lining of that day for Smith was a largely meaningless 40-yard hookup from Lance Lonergan with 2:32 to play that got the Nittany Lions within two touchdowns. It was the first of 15 career scores for Smith, who still sits 11th in program history in the category.
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Beyond the head-to-head matchups, Smith is plenty familiar with the Mountaineers. Growing up in the Pittsburgh area, West Virginia was one of the prominent programs in the region and Smith had plenty of friends who would wind up in Morgantown. His older brother, Harvey Smith, played for the Mountaineers from 1984-1987. Terry was a part of the crowd in Morgantown when West Virginia upset Doug Flutie and then-No. 4 Boston College in October of 1984.
The fanbase’s diehard reputation is something that coaches like Smith and Ja’Juan Seider, a player and a coach for the Mountaineers, have tried to communicate to the current group of Nittany Lions. Penn State won the front end of a home-and-home last season at Beaver Stadium and owns the all-time series 49-9-2, but Milan Puskar Stadium is another animal altogether.
“There’s been tough battles,” said Smith. “There was the Beast of the East and every time you strapped up and played those guys, you better be ready to play. They’re going to be ready. I’m pretty sure they’ll be ready come September.”
