The Most Interesting Stats From Penn State's Win Over West Virginia

Drew Allar and Nicholas Singleton reached milestones, and the defense extended a streak vs. the Mountaineers.

Penn State Nittany Lions quarterback Drew Allar throws a pass to Harrison Wallace III for a touchdown during the second quarter against the West Virginia Mountaineers. / Ben Queen-USA TODAY Sports

Penn State won its sixth straight game against West Virginia, its defense continued a streak that dates to 2021 and quarterback Drew Allar achieved something not seen since the Trace McSorley era.

The No. 8 Nittany Lions handled West Virginia 34-12 in Morgantown on Saturday, compiling an interesting stat list in the process. Here's a look at the unique numbers from Penn State football's first win of the 2024 season. Penn State's athletics communications department helped compile this list.

Penn State improved to 50-9-2 all-time against West Virginia, winning its sixth straight game in the series and 34th in the teams' last 36 meetings.

The Nittany Lions improved to 114-22-2 in season-openers and are 20-3 since 2002. Coach James Franklin is 9-2 in season-openers at Penn State.

Penn State also improved to 22-11 in road season-openers and 77-15-2 against the current Big Ten.

Penn State extended its non-conference, regular-season win streak to 20 games. The Nittany Lions haven't lost a non-conference, regular-season game since falling to Pitt in 2016.

The Nittany Lions rushed for 222 yards, led by Nicholas Singleton's 114. Under Franklin, Penn State is 39-5 in games when it rushes for 200+ yards.

Allar became the first Penn State quarterback since Trace McSorley to throw three touchdown passes in a single quarter. Allar threw his third against West Virginia with 6 seconds remaining in the second quarter. McSorley threw three touchdown passes in one quarter against Michigan State in 2016.

Allar has thrown 32 career touchdown passes, ranking 11th all-time at Penn State. He also went over the 3,000-yard career mark against the Mountaineers.

Allar completed 5 of 7 passing attempts of 15+ yards. The Nittany Lions generated 10+ yards on 15 of their 60 plays overall.

Quarterback Beau Pribula threw his fifth career touchdown pass.

Singleton topped the 3,000-yard mark for career all-purpose yards at Penn State. He became the 21st Nittany Lion to reach the milestone.

Running back Kaytron Allen scored the first receiving touchdown of his career.

Receiver Harrison Wallace III (five catches, 114 yards) had his first 100-yard receiving game.

Tight end Tyler Warren caught his 12th career touchdown pass. Warren needs five more to break the school record for receiving touchdowns by a tight end, currently held by Pat Freiermuth.

Penn State's defense has not allowed a touchdown on the opening series of a game since 2021 against Michigan State. That's a span of 28 games, the nation's longest active streak.

Penn State's defense has gone 15 consecutive games without allowing more than 20 points against a non-conference opponent in a regular-season game.

Penn State's three-turnover game marked the 56th under Franklin with multiple turnovers. Since 2022, Penn State is 14-0 when forcing more than one turnover.

Penn State held West Virginia to 85 yards rushing, marking the defense's 20th game since 2022 of allowing fewer than 100 yards rushing. The Nittany Lions lead the FBS in that statistic since 2022.

Penn State's offense was efficient on first down, averaging 8 yards per play. The Nittany Lions averaged 6.2 yards rushing on first down.

Penn State's defense committed six of the team's eight penalties, accounting for 50 of the 60 penalty yards. That included four offsides calls against the defensive line.

Six Nittany Lions made their first starts: center Nick Dawkins, right tackle Anthony Donkoh, cornerback AJ Harris, tight end Andrew Rappleyea, linebacker Tony Rojas and safety Zakee Wheatley.

Three true freshmen saw action: offensive lineman Cooper Cousins, safety DeJauan Lane and tight end Luke Reynolds.

Five other Nittany Lions played for the first time: offensive lineman Alex Birchmeier, receiver Tyler Johnson, defensive end Jordan Mayer, tight end Joey Schlaffer and running back Cam Wallace.

Up next

Penn State hosts Bowling Green in its home opener Sept. 7 at Beaver Stadium. Kickoff is scheduled for noon ET on Big Ten Network.

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