Some might be wondering if Penn State is taking Saturday’s season opener at West Virginia lightly, but coach James Franklin is well-aware of the challenge.
WVU went 9-4 last season and returns key players such as QB Garrett Greene presents, especially in Morgantown.
When Penn State played at WVU last season, the Mountaineers were coming off a 5-7 campaign and many wondered if Neal Brown would win enough in 2023 to keep his job.
He did, and Franklin feels Brown’s team could have even better days ahead in 2024, and not that not enough people realize it.
“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 Thursday on the first Penn State Coaches Show of 2024. “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.”
The Houston game James Franklin is referring to happened last October, when WVU lost on a Hail Mary.
WHAT JUST HAPPENED
This is the craziest ending to a game I’ve ever seen
WVU scores what I assumed was the game winning TD….
Then Houston has a Hail Mary as time expires to win it. Wow. pic.twitter.com/L1bwLYFvgE
— Adam Breneman (@AdamBreneman81) October 13, 2023
Brown has been WVU’s coach since 2019, and for Franklin, this is as a good a roster as he’s had since then.
“Their personnel is as good as Neal has had since he’s been there,” Franklin said.
Franklin, who coached in Morgantown four times when he was an assistant at Maryland (2000-04, 2008-10), also knows— or at least has an idea or what he’s walking into.
“They’re saying this is the biggest home opener they’ve had in 30 years,” he said. “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.”
Penn State and West Virginia are scheduled to kickoff at noon on Fox Saturday.
