West Virginia

No. 7 Penn State’s meeting with West Virginia highlights the Big Ten’s Week 1 schedule

Published

9 months ago

August 31, 2023

Press Room

No. 7 Penn State’s meeting with West Virginia highlights the Big Ten’s Week 1 schedule

Things to watch during Week 1 of play in the Big Ten Conference:

GAME OF THE WEEK

West Virginia at No. 7 Penn State, Saturday, 7:30 p.m. ET (NBC)

This will be the 60th football game between the schools but first since 1992. The Nittany Lions have won 48 of the previous 59 meetings and are 20 1/2-point favorites in this one, according to FanDuel Sportsbook.

The national spotlight will shine on quarterback Drew Allar, who is the key to Penn State’s hopes of challenging Michigan and Ohio State in the Big Ten East and earning a College Football Playoff spot.

FILE - Penn State coach James Franklin gives instructions during the NCAA college football team's spring practice Tuesday April 4, 2023, in State College, Pa. Penn State opens their season at home against West Virginia on Sept. 2. (Joe Hermitt/The Patriot-News via AP, File)

West Virginia’s Neal Brown got a reprieve from new athletic director Wren Baker after last year’s five-win season, but no coach’s seat is hotter entering 2023.

BEST MATCHUP

Nebraska at Minnesota, Thursday, 8 p.m. ET (Fox)

Matt Rhule becomes the fifth Nebraska coach in 20 years tasked with bringing the tradition-rich Cornhuskers back to prominence. Right now the program sits near the bottom of the Big Ten West, and opening with a division game is a tough draw.

P.J. Fleck’s Gophers have won four straight against Nebraska and five of the last six. QB Athan Kaliakmanis begins his first full season as the starter, and he should be confident. Last year he took over for an injured Tanner Morgan against Nebraska and led the Gophers to scores on four of his first five series in a 20-13 come-from-behind win.

INSIDE THE NUMBERS

No. 2 Michigan hosts East Carolina and begins its 144th football season with an NCAA-record 989 wins. … Kirk Ferentz enters his 25th season at Iowa when the No. 25 Hawkeyes host Utah State. He needs two wins to reach 200 as a Division I coach. … Michigan State, which opens against Central Michigan, is 10-0 in Friday night games since 2011. … When No. 19 Wisconsin hosts Buffalo, RB Braelon Allen will begin his bid for a third straight 1,000-yard season. … Fourth-year Maryland QB Taulia Tagovailoa already owns school records for passing yards (7,879), passing touchdowns (51), total touchdowns (59), completions (665), completion percentage (67.4), 300-yard passing games (12) and total offense (8,067). … Northwestern heads to Rutgers with the most combined quarterback starts (50) in the Big Ten. Wildcats starter Ben Bryant has 22.

LONG SHOT?

Illinois should be on upset alert when 2022 Mid-American Conference champion Toledo visits. The Rockets are 9 1/2-point underdogs, according to FanDuel Sportsbook, and going for their first win over a Big Ten team since 2010. Bret Bielema’s Illini enter the season riding momentum and they received votes in the AP poll. The Rockets are picked to repeat as MAC champs. They return 16 starters, including QB Dequan Finn, and are expected to have the league’s best defense again.

IMPACT PLAYER

Kyle McCord beat out Devin Brown for Ohio State’s starting quarterback’s job, and the successor to C.J. Stroud opens with a Big Ten East road game against Indiana. McCord started a game in 2021 when Ohio State rested the banged-up Stroud, and he has completed 58 passes for 606 yards and three touchdowns in his career. There’s no shortage of talent around McCord, with Marvin Harrison Jr., Emeka Egbuka and Julian Fleming among his receivers and TreVeyon Henderson and Miyan Williams returning at running back.

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AP college football: https://apnews.com/hub/college-football and https://apnews.com/hub/ap-top-25-college-football-poll

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West Virginia

Water, Sewer Providers Must Assess Security Risks As Cyberattacks Rise – West Virginia Public Broadcasting

Published

32 mins ago

May 17, 2024

Press Room

Water, Sewer Providers Must Assess Security Risks As Cyberattacks Rise – West Virginia Public Broadcasting

In late 2023, reports of foreign cyberattacks targeting local water systems across the United States spurred calls for providers to strengthen their cyber protections nationwide.

Now, the Public Service Commission of West Virginia (PSC) announced it will require all water and sewer utility providers across West Virginia to complete cybersecurity investigations.

The investigations require providers to assess their cyber risks, with financial support from federal agencies like the U.S. Department of Homeland Security.

Water and sewer systems will also be required to develop long-term cybersecurity plans, and appoint an employee to oversee plan compliance.

“This is a seriously developing problem across the nation and the Public Service Commission wants to be in the forefront of helping assure the safety of data concerning utilities and their customers,” PSC Chairman Charlotte Lane said in a press release Thursday. “These attacks are widespread and will become more common, we fear, as we rely more and more on computers in our daily lives and in running our businesses.”

The PSC-prompted investigations mark another step in a months-long effort to reinforce water system cybersecurity in West Virginia as cyberattacks have continued to rise nationally.

In January, the Office of Environmental Health Services (OEHS) — part of the West Virginia Department of Health Bureau of Public Health — began coordinating cyberattack prevention initiatives with water providers across the state.

OEHS also coordinated with the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency to spread awareness about free cybersecurity assessments offered by the federal agency.

Water and sewer providers in West Virginia will be required to complete their investigations by July 15 — 60 days after the PSC order was released.

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West Virginia

West Virginia Falls Short in Ft. Worth

Published

8 hours ago

May 17, 2024

Press Room

Ft. Worth, TX – The Big 12 Conference leader in strikeouts, TCU junior starting pitcher Payton Tolle, kept the West Virginia bats at bey with 11 strikeouts to collected his seventh win of the season as the Mountaineers (31-20, 17-11) dropped game one to the Horned Frogs (31-17, 14-14) Friday night 6-3.

TCU took an early 1-0 lead in the bottom of the first inning after freshman Sam Myers and redshirt sophomore Jack Arthur hit back-to-back singles before a sacrifice bunt and a slow groundball down to third from redshirt senior Kurtis Byrne for the sacrifice RBI put the game’s first run on the board.

The Horned Frogs added a pair of runs in the second when junior Brody Green lined a leadoff single up the middle and sophomore Anthony Silva drilled an RBI double into the gap in left centerfield. Then, freshman Ryder Robinson hit a sacrifice RBI groundball to first for a 3-0 lead.

Sophomore Benjamin Lumsden put the Mountaineers on the board in the third with a solo home run, his seventh of the season.

Anthony Silva lifted a two-run home run in the fourth to extend the TCU lead to four, 5-1.

West Virginia got back within three in the fifth after Lumsden worked a full count walk, sophomore Skylar King advanced Lumsden with a bunt and sophomore Logan Sauve smacked the 0-2 pitch through the left side for an RBI single.

In the bottom of the frame and with two outs and the bases loaded, Green hit a high chopping ground ball over the head of freshman reliever Chase Myer for the sacrifice RBI and a 6-2 Horned Frogs’ lead.

The Mountaineers loaded the bases in the eighth, and with no outs on the board, TCU head coach called to his bullpen for the team leader in saves, sophomore lefty Ben Abeldt. WVU senior Reed Chumley brought a runner across with a sacrifice fly to left field but that’s all the Mountaineers could muster as the Horned Frogs were holding onto a 6-3 lead.

Ben Abeldt struck out two in the ninth as part of a 1-2-3 inning to hold any potential of a Mountaineer rally for the 6-3 decision.

West Virginia will look to even the series on Saturday in game two. The first pitch is set for approximately 7:30 p.m. EST and the action will stream on ESPN+.

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West Virginia

Office of Energy warns West Virginians about new phone scam – WV MetroNews

Published

15 hours ago

May 16, 2024

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Office of Energy warns West Virginians about new phone scam – WV MetroNews

CHARLESTON, W.Va. — There’s a new phone scam that’s targeting homeowners in West Virginia.

The West Virginia Office of Energy (WVOE) is warning people of a scam where callers are claiming to be from a legitimate power company, including West Virginia Power Company, Appalachian Power and FirstEnergy, and are offering to perform free in-home services that are funded through federal grants. Scammers then will ask people for personal information like the victim’s full name and home address. This information could then be used to commit crimes like identity theft.

Energy officials encourage homeowners to ask for information like the name of the company and a phone number to call back later if they are skeptical about the legitimacy of the caller. A business license number can also be cross-checked on the Secretary of State’s website, sos.wv.gov.

“If the caller cannot provide their company’s West Virginia business license and details about the grant funding the project, it is likely a scam,” says Nicholas Preservati, director of the Office of Energy. “You should never give out personal information over the phone without first making sure the call is legitimate.”

There is currently no grant providing free service of this kind for West Virginia residents. The Office of Energy says they will inform the public of any such initiatives in the future.

More information about WVOE’s current and pending projects can be found at energywv.org.

Those that believe they’ve been a victim of a scam should contact the Attorney General Office’s Consumer Protection Hotline at 1-800-368-8808 or visit ago.wv.gov.

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