Despite entering the game as the favorite, Penn State head coach James Franklin knows the situation his team will be facing when it opens the season at WVU.
“It’s a hornet’s nest,” said Franklin when asked about starting the season on the road against West Virginia at Big Ten Media Days on Wednesday.
“They take a lot of pride in their football team. They’ve got no pro team, so it’s all about West Virginia, all about Morgantown. So it will be a great environment to play in.”
Penn State HC James Franklin on opening the season at West Virginia.
“It’s a hornet’s nest. They take a lot of pride in their football team. They’ve got no pro team, so it's all about West Virginia, all about Morgantown. So it will be a great environment to play in.”
— Mike J. Asti (@MikeAsti11) July 25, 2024
With WVU fans hoping the home field advantage can be an equalizer, especially with the added “Stripe the Stadium” promotion, most sportsbooks still expect Penn State to win. The Nittany Lions opened up as a 12.5-point favorite when the initial line was released months ago.
West Virginia head coach Neal Brown also talked about the matchup at Big 12 Media Days, focusing on what beating Penn State could mean for, not only the WVU program, but the Big 12 as a conference.
“Without a question it’s something, whether it’s West Virginia or any other program in the Big 12 gets those kind of marquee wins, our brand will continue to grow and we’ve got to make some noise in the playoff,” Brown said. “I think Commissioner [Brett] Yormark spoke about this: We’re the most competitive league. I would say we’re the deepest football league in the entire country. But we’ve got to go. TCU had a nice run, but we’ve got to have more wins in the playoff once we get in.”
Neal Brown Views West Virginia Opening with Penn State as Opportunity for Big 12
Add Nittany Sports Now as a preferred source in Google! Click here to add us.West Virginia and Penn State are scheduled to be Fox’s “Big Noon” game on Saturday, Aug. 31.
“We’re fired up about that,” Brown said about the FOX broadcast. “Our fans will be ready for that, too.”
There’s also intrigue and some storyline carryover from the 2023 edition. In addition to the 2023 game marking the first the time two historic programs faced off in decades, the night ended with some controversy.
Despite being up by two scores, PSU Franklin decided to try to get another touchdown rather than take a knee, and Penn State succeeded, scoring with six seconds left. Brown didn’t like that too much.
“I wouldn’t have done it,” Brown said in his postgame presser. “But it doesn’t bother me. Stuff like that comes back around.”
After a 9-4 (6-3) season and a Duke’s Mayo Bowl victory, West Virginia is hungry to start off the 2024 season by getting revenge on James Franklin and the Nittany Lions. Penn State beat WVU in the 2023 season opener at Beaver Stadium 38-15 before finishing the year at 10-3 (7-2) and then losing to Ole Miss in the Peach Bowl.
This story initially appeared on our partner site WV Sports Now.
