No. 7 Penn State starts season with prime-time victory over West Virginia

College football made its 2023 debut on Saturday night with an old rivalry between No. 7 Penn State and West Virginia. As Beaver Stadium sat quietly for five straight months without fans, a Helmet Stripe Out theme called for a deafening environment and intense game.

It was the Drew Allar and KeAndre Lambert-Smith show that gave No. 7 Penn State a 38-15 victory over West Virginia in the season opener.

Prime time action began with West Virginia’s offense against Penn State’s defense after the blue and white won the toss but elected to defer.

As they established the run game on the first drive, the Mountaineers began to hit a roadblock in the air with the Nittany Lions secondary locking down to force a punt. Then came the moment Penn State fans have been anticipating for months.

Inside the five-yard line, Allar trouted out onto the field with the offense to set the tone early on. Two first downs later, Allar’s instinct took over as he stepped away from pressure and delivered a 72-yard strike to Lambert-Smith.

Despite little success in the run game, a blown coverage over the top put the Mountaineers right on the Nittany Lion’s doorstep. Devin Carter went one-on-one with Johnny Dixon, but a miscommunication with Dominic Deluca left Carter free down the field.

Three plays later, CJ Donaldson Jr. lowered his shoulder into the endzone to end a nine-play drive and tie the game at seven. The sophomore, who came off a season-ending injury from last season, scored his ninth touchdown of his career.

Allar and Kaytron Allen kicked off the response with multiple runs and dump-off passes for two first downs. After a physical sack made by Tomiwa Durojaiye, the sophomore quarterback slung the ball to Harrison Wallace III and Lambert-Smith for separate chunk gains.

On the two-yard line, the T-formation was brought back out to set Nicholas Singleton up for his first touchdown. A 10-play, 81-yard touchdown drive in five minutes sparked a massive wave of energy felt across the stadium.

That energy continued into the ensuing West Virginia drive that resulted in a forced timeout. The Mountaineer’s struggles didn’t end there. Garrett Greene missed an open Traylon Ray on a fourth down and five attempt.

Five minutes before the half ended, an 18-yard connection to Wallace III put the offense in striking distance. That’s when the drive took a turn for the worse as the offense stalled out and Sander Sahaydak pulled the field goal attempt wide right of the goal posts.

Curtis Jacobs gave the Nittany Lions another chance with a sack on Greene to force a Mountaineer three and out. With that chance, Singleton ran wild as Allar let his receivers work to get them in field goal range.

Sahaydak lined up for a 38-yard field goal for a chance at redemption but yet again sent the kick wide of the uprights. While Penn State led in every category on the stat sheet, West Virginia was just one score from a tied ball game.

Back after the break, the Allar and Lambert-Smith connection continued to brew with a 12-yard touchdown floater in the back of the endzone. The duo ended the day with a total of 123 yards and two scores for the Nittany Lions.

In its second drive of the half, West Virginia entrusted the ball into Greene’s hands and legs to pick up crucial first downs. Greene began to find a rhythm in the passing game as his team was down by two scores.

As a crowd of 110 thousand people sat silent from West Virginia’s march down the field, Adisa Isaac and Abdul Carter turned up the heat to force an incompletion and end the drive.

With the ball at the 27-yard line, Allen gets his fair share of carries to flip the field for the Nittany Lions. Allar then found Dante Cephas for a 22-yard gain to put himself at 300 yards passing on the day and extend Penn State’s lead to 17 with a field goal from Alex Felkins.

Carter was finally able to cash in for a sack and give the ball back to Allar for his final drive. With that drive, the offense functioned like clockwork before Allar capped off the day with a pass to Malik McClain, who made a few moves and fought across the goal line.

West Virginia punched in a final eight points off of two of its longest passes of the game and a Greene rushing touchdown. The Mountaineers then ended the game with style as they ran a trick Carlisle motion in the huddle before they handed it off to Donaldson Jr. for two.

In the final minutes of regulation, Beau Pribula came in at quarterback to lead a nine-play, 46-yard touchdown drive. The redshirt freshman ran it in at the five-yard line for the first touchdown of his college career and ended the game on a high note.

Micheal Bolger is a third-year majoring in broadcast journalism. To contact him, please email mpb6233@psu.edu