Saturdays in Morgantown are a tradition of its own, but when you add a game of this caliber to the mix, the stakes are much higher. It was a star studded atmosphere for what would be the biggest home opener in Morgantown in over twenty years. Fox Big Noon Kickoff would cover the game, the beloved Pat Mcafee would host his show there on Friday.

Artist, Machine Gun Kelly, would perform prior to the game; not to mention a plethora of former WVU players such as two-time Super Bowl winner Jeff Hostetler, and newly drafted Steelers offensive linemen Zach Frazier were also looking on. With over 62,000 in attendance, and the eighth ranked Penn State Nittany Lions in town, would these stars align?

Penn State’s offense lacked the big plays late last season, and are in a “win now” mode with the revamped offense. This would lead to the firing of then Offensive Coordinator, Mike Yurcich. WVU on the other hand looked to stop the streak of losing four straight season openers, as well as seven straight to a ranked opponent.

This would have been a major signature win for Neal Brown, but the team wasn’t able to get it done.

Drew Allar would go on to throw for three TD’s in the second quarter. Penn State’s offense was able to move the ball down the field seemingly at will. WVU wasn’t able to get pressure on Allar, forcing him to settle in early and build momentum.

With Penn State having a 20-6 lead at halftime, a lightning delay would prohibit the players from returning to the field for two hours and nineteen minutes.

When asked “how do you keep your team loose and ready during such a long delay?”, Neal Brown would respond ” We just watched the game, tried to get our guys calmed down.” Neal Brown would also say that “You have three phases of a football team: offense, defense, and special teams. Special teams gave us our only chance to win the football game.”

Penn State would go on to win the football game by a score of 34-12. After the loss WVU Head Coach Neal Brown would state that “We have a veteran football team. I don’t understand the anxiety. We were prepared, and this stuff didn’t happen throughout the week.”

When asked about the loss, WVU QB Garrett Greene said “We aren’t hitting the panic button. Everything we want is still right in front of us.”

Conclusion: WVU will try to gain there footing Saturday night when Albany comes to town. Was the hype in Morgantown the teams kryptonite? Some believe so, but this is Neal Brown’s most talented and veteran lead football team of his tenure. Time will tell if they can get back to the level of success that was experienced in the early 2000’s.

Written By: Joshua Petry

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