How James Franklin Is Preparing Penn State for a 'Challenging' Trip to West Virginia

The Nittany Lions haven't been to Morgantown since 1992. "Everything in that state revolves around West Virginia and Mountaineer football," Franklin said.

West Virginia Mountaineers football fans cheer during the first quarter against the Brigham Young Cougars at Mountaineer Field at Milan Puskar Stadium. / Ben Queen-USA TODAY Sports

“It feels like you blink, and we’re back.” 

Although Penn State’s 2023 season ended 241 days ago with a loss to Ole Miss in the Peach Bowl, that was how James Franklin opened his first weekly press conference of the 2024 season: By reflecting on how quickly the offseason flew. 

Suddenly, the Nittany Lions are preparing for a trip to West Virginia on Saturday. It may be the same program they faced in Week 1 last season, but Penn State will face plenty of new challenges this time — visiting Morgantown chief among them.  

‘70,000 people that kind of hate you’

Among Penn State’s scheduled road games for 2024, the West Virginia matchup already promised a tough road environment. Mix in the regional rivalry, a strong Mountaineers team seeking revenge for last year’s result and even ESPN’s Pat McAfee creating buzz around the game, and this is no easy Week 1 matchup. 

“It's a very, very challenging place to play,” Franklin said. “For an opener, that is going to create some challenges and issues for us.”

Franklin knows the power of home-field advantage. The Nittany Lions are 55-15 at home since he took over in 2014.  When you have a sold-out crowd on your side, it changes a lot. 

“It's proven that the home-field advantage is a real thing,” Franklin said. “It's the noise in the stadium … It's players that are playing for Penn State for the first time. How are they going to handle that? It's one thing to do it at home in front of 100,000, which is challenging. It's another thing to do it on the road with 70,000 people that kind of hate you.”

Saturday’s game vs. the Mountaineers will provide a loud, involved crowd. This time though, Penn State will be on the receiving end. .  

“It's magnified in a place that does not have an NFL team,” Franklin said. “Everything in that state revolves around West Virginia and Mountaineer football.”

Preparing to play at WVU

Especially for Penn State’s younger players, traveling for a Week 1 game at West Virginia is a challenge. Players who haven’t traveled with the team before — which involves new hotels, different beds and meals, etc. — must prepare for a rowdy environment and be cautious about the little things.

“Some of those things you can prepare them for and other things you can't,” Franklin said. “It's making sure the freshmen doesn't leave one of our [preparation] sheets on the floor in the meeting room, because everybody that works in that hotel is probably connected to or works for somebody at West Virginia football. That stuff sounds funny and silly, but that happens.”

The history behind the matchup is another theme. This may be the Nittany Lions’ first trip to West Virginia since 1992, but it’s the 61st meeting, and there’s a deep history behind the pride, coaching history and matchups between the programs.  

“They're a prideful place,” Franklin said. “I think all the way back to [former West Virginia coach] Don Nehlen and what he was able to do. I noticed there was like six relatives of Don Nehlen working on their staff somewhere in the building. There are a ton of cool things about West Virginia football, this game and the historical aspects of this game.”

Scouting the Mountaineers

Roster-wise, West Virginia is in a similar position to the Nittany Lions. Head coach Neal Brown returns a solid number of players in key areas, including quarterback Garrett Greene, with some transfers mixed into the lineup. That presents challenges in deciphering how the Mountaineers will look with similar overall talent to last season but also with new schemes and improvements. 

“[West Virginia is a] team that I think is feeling really, really good about themselves and has a ton of confidence,” Franklin said. 

Despite Mountaineers corner Garrett Hollis Jr. saying recently that Penn State doesn’t “show too much respect” to its opponents unless they’re Ohio State or Michigan, on Monday, Franklin of course is taking the Mountaineers seriously. 

“Neal Brown has done a great job,” Franklin said. “They won nine games (in 2023). Really should have won 10. That Houston game was a very, very tough loss.”

Opening with a tough opponent

Since Franklin took over in 2014, Penn State has opened its season on the road five times, winning three of those games. With the chaos of this Week 1 matchup, the team doesn’t have any kind of cushion period to get into a flow. 

But the Nittany Lions also face a unique situation to begin 2024. They’ll begin with a tough opponent, then take on a pair of nonconference opponents at home in games they’ll be heavily favored in, with a bye sandwiched between.

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Daniel Mader, a May 2024 graduate of Penn State, is an Editorial Intern with The Sporting News. As a student journalist with The Daily Collegian, he served as a sports editor and covered Nittany Lions women’s basketball, men’s volleyball and more. He has also covered Penn State football for NBC Sports and the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette, with additional work in the Centre Daily Times, Lancaster Online and more. Follow him on X @DanielMader_  or Instagram @dmadersports.