Penn State Sports Magazine
Issue link: https://comanpub.uberflip.com/i/1503568
8 4 A U G U S T 2 0 2 3 W W W . B L U E W H I T E O N L I N E . C O M There were plenty of hard fe e l i n gs wh e n Pe n n S ta te headed to the Big Ten in the early 1990s, leaving the Eastern independents to carry on with- out their flagship program. But in the years since, most of those grudges have been put aside. The Nittany Lions have renewed ac- quaintances with Pitt, Syracuse, Boston College and Temple, and they have been meeting Rutgers annually ever since the Scarlet Knights were absorbed into the Big Ten themselves in 2014. West Virginia has been the exception. Although the Moun- taineers' campus is located just 180 miles from Penn State's, t h e se p rog ra m s h ave b e e n strangers since the start of the Big Ten era. That changes in September. West Virginia will visit Beaver Stadium for the first game of a home- and-home series that brings these for- mer border rivals together again. No one on the WVU sideline will re- member the Mountaineers' most recent visit in 1991, and that's probably for the best; Penn State romped 51-6. If it's go- ing to fare better in the rematch, West Virginia will need to see improvement on both sides of the ball, but especially on defense. A year ago, the Mountaineers fielded one of the most porous pass defenses in the FBS, allowing 262.7 yards per game through the air to rank 111th in the coun- try. And even though there were footballs flying all over Mountaineer Field, West Virginia wasn't very opportunistic. In- deed, 21 FBS players had more intercep- tions individually than the 4 that WVU totaled as a team last year. Given those numbers, it might seem alarming that only one starter — junior safety Aubrey Burks — returns in the secondary. But the Mountaineers have welcomed a pair of potentially impact- ful cornerback transfers, bringing in Beanie Bishop from Minnesota and Mon- tre Miller from Kent State. Bishop saw action against Penn State last year, mak- ing 5 tackles in the Go- phers' 45-17 loss at Beaver Stadium. With the infusion of manpower, there's some cause for optimism here. On offense, West Vir- ginia's top priority in pre- season camp will be to choose a starting quarter- back. Junior Garrett Greene saw action in nine games last fall and threw for 204 yards and 3 touchdowns against Kansas State, but he'll be challenged by red- shirt freshman Nicco Mar- chiol in preseason camp. The running game could be a strength, even with last year's top rusher, Tony Mathis Jr., transferring to Houston in May. CJ Donaldson Jr., a 6-foot-2, 239-pound former high school tight end, will vie for the starting role at running back. He's coming off a season- ending leg injury but looked good in the spring game, rushing for 36 yards and a touchdown. — Matt Herb S E P T . 2 | 7 : 3 0 P. M . | N B C | B E A V E R S T A D I U M | U N I V E R S I T Y P A R K CJ Donaldson Jr. rushed for 526 yards as a freshman last fall before suffering a season- ending injury in Week 8 against TCU. PHOTO BY DALE SPARKS/WEST VIRGINIA ATHLETICS GAME 1 WEST VIRGINIA WHAT COULD GO RIGHT A solid offensive line anchored by pre- season All-American Zach Frazier at center could open enough holes for the running game to thrive, buying time for the passing attack to develop and keeping the Moun- taineers' defense off the field. WHAT COULD GO WRONG The defense could struggle out of the gate against an all-Pennsylvania nonconference schedule (Penn State, Duquesne, Pitt), sad- dling the Mountaineers with a couple of losses even before the Big 12 slate begins. QUICK FACTS All-Time Series: Penn State leads 48-9-2 Last Meeting: The visiting Lions defeated West Virginia 40-26 on Oct. 24, 1992 Head Coach: Neal Brown (22-25 in four seasons at West Virginia; career coaching record: 57-41) 2022 Record: 5-7, 3-6 Big 12 Returning Starters: 11 (6 offense, 4 defense, 1 specialist) RETURNING LEADERS Rushing: RB CJ Donaldson Jr. (526 yards, 8 TD) Passing: QB Garrett Greene (493 yards, 5 TD) Receiving: WR Cortez Braham (147 yards, 0 TD) Tackles: MLB Lee Kpogba (92) Sacks: DE Sean Martin (4) Interceptions: CB Malachi Ruffin (2) 2023 SCHEDULE Date Opponent 2022 Result Sept. 2 Penn State — Sept. 9 Duquesne — Sept. 16 Pitt L, 38-31 Sept. 23 Texas Tech L, 48-10 Sept. 30 at TCU L, 41-31 Oct. 12 at Houston — Oct. 21 Oklahoma State W, 24-19 Oct. 28 at UCF — Nov. 4 BYU — Nov. 11 at Oklahoma W, 23-20 Nov. 18 Cincinnati — Nov. 25 at Baylor W, 43-40