Between The Eers: Mountaineers Held Their Own Against Penn State

West Virginia dropped the season opener to seventh-ranked Penn State 38-15 in Happy Valley after sitting in Beaver Stadium and then rewatching the game several times over, I give my final thoughts on all three phases of the game.

Defense

The West Virginia secondary looks to still be a weakness for the Mountaineer defense. Penn State lost the bulk of its production and replaced the starting quarterback but threw for 332 yards and three touchdowns. Granted, sophomore Drew Allar was a highly touted quarterback and got plenty of meaningful reps a season ago, but the secondary was horrendous.

The corners lined up 10 yards off the line of scrimmage at times, and Allar, wisely, recognized it and threw quick screens. Head coach Neal Brown acknowledged it following the game, and defensive coordinator Jordan Lesley echoed the same sentiments in the weekly press conference, but we'll wait and see the adjustments moving forward.

Weakside linebacker, for that matter, the linebacker unit, was a big question mark heading into the season. For the PSU matchup, Lee Kpogba moved to WILL from MLB and Trey Lathan got the nod in the middle. Kpogba was all over the field and ended his night with 13 tackles, affecting the passing game.

The defensive line fought and clawed to a respectable outing. There were without a doubt some missed holds up front, which showed the unit was winning some battles and got to Allar twice. That is a good offensive line and like the linebackers, it was a solid start to the season.

Offense

The men up front showed they may be one of the best units in the country. Even when it was obvious the Mountaineers were utilizing the quarterback sneak, they got push up front. The passing protection was pretty good and most of the PSU defensive pressure came on blitzes, which they sent more than WVU could account for.

CJ Donaldson took a big step forward from a year ago, most notably, with his conditioning. He was still dishing out punishment in the fourth quarter. His 18 carries for 81 yards and a touchdown are a good start to his sophomore campaign.

The passing game is still a work in progress, which did not come as a surprise. The biggest hurdle Garrett Greene had to become the starting quarterback was reading the defense and he missed opportunities. He must be a little more aggressive in his read and get rid of the ball. He knows where the receiver should be and needs to have a little more trust to put the ball in the spot. He also missed some throws, but the missed reads were the biggest issue. Again, that's a tough defense and they did a phenomenal job disguising coverages, as they should with the production and talent, they returned this year.

The receivers have to make plays. There has been improvement in that area but there were a couple of opportunities to make big plays - Preston Fox in the end zone and Devin Carter down the right sideline in the second half. They are not easy plays to make but if you want to take down a top 10 team on the road, those are the plays that have to be made. However, they got open and had some moments, and the addition of tight end Kole Taylor bodes well moving forward.

Special Teams

Outside of one shanked punt, the special teams were good. West Virginia had three kickoffs, two were touchbacks and the one Nicholas Singleton brought out of the endzone had a NET loss of six yards, bringing out to just the 19.

Overall

I thought West Virginia matched Penn State's physicality and their speed. The key difference between the two programs was talent and that talent has played together for a few years while WVU is still recouping from the beginning of the transfer portal/NIL era. This is the most depth West Virginia has returned since 2020, and for them to be in the game heading into the fourth quarter bodes well for the Mountaineers moving forward.

You can follow us for future coverage by liking us on Facebook & following us Twitter:

Facebook - @MountaineersNow

X - @MountaineersNow and Christopher Hall @WVHallBilly