Mountaineers Can’t Play With The Elite – WVU loses 34-12 to Penn State
MORGANTOWN, WV—Apparently the #8 ranked Penn State Nittany Lions and their new assistant coaches had six months of preparation to figure out how to stop Garrett Greene and the WVU offense and defense. The Mountaineers never got off to a good start and played poorly the entire game, falling 34-12.
In future openers,WVU’s Athletic Director Wren Baker may want to start the season with a lesser opponent rather than the elite in college football. WVU has lost four straight season openers for the first time in 132 seasons.
The Mountaineer defense was not up to the task either. With only 40 seconds left in the second quarter and only behind 13-6, the defense couldn’t stop a quick PSU touchdown that pretty much demoralized WVU going into the half and the long weather delay. There was really no way the sluggish offense could get back on track against an elite Nittany Lion defense.
The Mountaineer offense was undisciplined. WVU made too many mistakes to stay competitive in this contest. The Mountaineers recovered a fumble on Penn State’s 28 yard line only to cough it back up on the next play. WVU also had the ball inside of the 30 five times and only came away with a touchdown and two field goals. GG was 15 of 28 for 161 yards. However, several of those dropped passes were catchable. We also didn’t see Garrett run much. It is hard to fathom why you wouldn’t use your elite quarterback to scramble and make plays. I’m honestly dumbfounded by that decision.
Now the Mountaineers are faced with really needing to beat Albany and Pitt to get back on the right track before entering play with Big 12 opponents.
Coach Neal Brown is getting WVU on the right track but the Mountaineers still have a long way to go to become one of the elite teams in college football like Penn State. Hopefully the next time Penn State is on the schedule WVU will be able to compete. It has been too many years since WVU has beat a top 10 team.
WVU needs a much needed tuneup against Albany at home this Saturday before travelling to Pitt in the Backyard Brawl.