Penn State's James Franklin Says West Virginia Is 'Undervalued'

"They definitely have our attention," Franklin said before the Nittany Lions' first visit to Morgantown since 1992.

Penn State coach James Franklin looks on from the sideline during the fourth quarter against the West Virginia Mountaineers at Beaver Stadium. / Matthew O'Haren-USA TODAY Sports

Penn State coach James Franklin has made no secret that he favors easing into a season with a favorable non-conference game, preferably at home. The Nittany Lions get neither Saturday, when they visit West Virginia for one of college football's most-anticipated Week 1 games.

The game is sold out, and a spectacle is forthcoming. FOX's Big Noon Kickoff will broadcast from Almost Heaven Village, West Virginia grad Pat McAfee is bringing his ESPN show to campus and musician Machine Gun Kelly will deliver a live pre-game performance. Area schools have canceled classes Friday because of traffic concerns.

West Virginia is treating this like a playoff game, and Franklin believes that the Mountaineers might field a playoff contender against the Nittany Lions.

"I don't know if disrespect is the right word, but maybe they're getting the least appreciation in the country, in my opinion," Franklin said on the Penn State Coaches Show on Thursday. "Under-ranked, undervalued, whatever you want to say. They won nine games last year, and if you watch the Houston game, they really [should have] won 10."

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After losing to Penn State 38-15 on the road to begin the 2023 season, West Virginia recalibrated to finish 9-4, including a 30-10 win over North Carolina in the Duke's Mayo Bowl. One of those losses was to Houston, which scored on a 49-yard touchdown pass on the game's final play. The Mountaineers, unranked in either the AP Top 25 or Coaches Poll, return a strong collection of offensive talent, including quarterback Garrett Greene, running backs CJ Donaldson and Jahiem White and left tackle Wyatt Milum.

As a result, Franklin said, "they definitely have our attention."

"Their personnel is as good as [head coach] Neal [Brown] has had since he's been there," Franklin said. "And we're going there [to Morgantown]. They're saying this is the biggest home opener they've had in 30 years. You can't get a ticket. It's sold out. It's going to be a heck of an environment, a really challenging opening game, and I think they've got the team to back it up.

"They definitely have our attention, they definitely have our respect, and our guys have been practicing that way."

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The game marks the sixth time Franklin will open a season on the road. Penn State is 3-2 in those games, but each has been nerve-jangling. Most recently, the Nittany Lions opened the 2021 and '22 seasons with road wins over Wisconsin and Purdue, each of which concluded with some harrowing fourth-quarter moments.

"It gets everybody’s attention," Franklin said of starting the season on the road against a Power 4 team. "It helps. But I would also say, there’s a reason in the NFL they have preseason games. There's a reason in college football that a lot of people start out with lower-level games. ... You're trying to knock some of the rust off, and we're not in a position to do that with the opponent we're playing Week 1 on the road. It's a challenge, but when you approach it the right way and you embrace it, I think it could be a real positive for us. But we’ve got to go play well."

The Penn State-West Virginia game kicks off at noon ET Saturday on FOX.

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Penn State on SI is the place for Penn State news, opinion and perspective on the SI.com network. Publisher Mark Wogenrich has covered Penn State for more than 20 years, tracking three coaching staffs, three Big Ten titles and a catalog of great stories. Follow him on X (or Twitter) @MarkWogenrich.