3 Things We Learned From Penn State's Win Over West Virginia

The Nittany Lions were creative on offense and quick on defense in routing the Mountaineers.

Penn State safety Jaylen Reed breaks up a pass intended for West Virginia's Traylon Ray in the first half. / Dan Rainville / USA TODAY NETWORK

A nearly 2-and-a-half rain delay did little to slow Penn State in its 34-12 win over West Virginia. Going into the season, Penn State was optimistic that new offensive coordinator Andy Kotelnicki could awaken an offense dormant in big games. It’s been only one game, but the No. 8 Nittany Lions certainly passed the eye test on Saturday. 

Here’s what we learned from Penn State’s season-opening win in Morgantown. 

Penn State brings back the explosive play

Penn State ranked 97th nationally last season with just 47 plays of 20+ yards. Against West Virginia, the Nittany Lions tallied 11 explosive plays and seemed much more willing to push the ball downfield. 

Nick Singleton especially looked rejuvenated, breaking off two 40-yard runs. His longest run last season was 24 yards. 

A key sequence in the game occurred at the end of the first half, when Penn State, leading 13-6, had the ball at its own 27-yard line with 32 seconds to play. In previous years, the Nittany Lions might have run the ball into the half. Instead, Kotelnicki called a deep shot from Drew Allar to Omari Evans, who snatched a 55-yard reception to get the Lions into field-goal range. 

With 10 seconds left and no timeouts, Penn State was aggressive again. Allar threw an 18-yard touchdown strike to Harrison Wallace II to give the team a 20-6 halftime lead.  

"That was a huge part of the game," Allar said. "It shows coach K's aggressiveness as a play-caller."

It’s encouraging to see the Nittany Lions take more chances. Those opportunities can make or break a close game. 

The Nittany Lions get creative

Kotelnicki was advertised as a creative mind, and he showed some of those wrinkles against West Virginia. A few plays saw 350-pound lineman Vega Ioane motion as a wide receiver to help crack the defensive end. This was a great way to use Penn State’s offensive line depth, setting up an extra blocker to help in both pass protection and run plays.

One of the Nittany Lions’ best plays was when Beau Pribula faked a pop pass to Kaytron Allen, then gunned a throw up the seam to a wide-open Tyler Warren for a 19-yard touchdown. 

And this is only in Week 1. As the season progresses and film study comes more into play, the Nittany Lions can add even more plays to keep defenses off balance. “There’s more to come, for real,” Singleton said after the game. 

Penn State's new secondary impresses

Penn State’s biggest defensive question mark entering the season was cornerback, which replaced three starters. But transfers Jalen Kimber (Florida) and A.J. Harris (Georgia) looked solid outside, and safety Jaylen Reed flew around the field from the team’s new “Lion” position. 

Kevin Winston Jr. and Zakee Wheatley played as deep safeties, while Reed operated from the nickel. Having all three safeties on the field at the same time proved a huge boost for Penn State in both pass and run defense. 

The secondary held quarterback Garrett Greene to just 161 yards passing and contested passes all day. Penn State’s defense complemented that with an outstanding performance against West Virginia’s rushing offense, limiting the Mountaineers’ three-headed monster of Greene, Jahiem White and CJ Donaldson to just 80 total yards on a 2.6-yard average. Greene, who rushed for 71 yards against Penn State last season, managed just 5 yards on 10 carries Saturday. 

Penn State’s defense seems like it hasn’t missed a beat since last year. If the offense can make improvements, the Nittany Lions could be scary.  

More Penn State Football

Penn State revels in Andy Kotelnicki's "super creative" offense at West Virginia

The Penn State-West Virginia report card

Penn State 34, West Virginia 12: Breakdown of a beatdown in Morgantown

Sam Woloson has covered Penn State Athletics for the past three years and is currently the managing editor of The Daily Collegian. His work has also appeared in Pittsburgh Post-Gazette, Huntingdon Daily News and Rivals. Follow him on X @sam_woloson