West Virginia

Penn State Explodes Into The Season

Published

1 year ago

September 1, 2024

Welcome back friends! Let’s take a longer look at the first game of the season, as the Nittany Lions put the West Virginia Mountaineers away pretty early, and as our friend Bennett put it, the hornet’s nest that Penn State was supposed to walk into “became more like that annoying wasp that gets caught between your storm door and front door.

I’ll add my little bit of spice to that. For the past couple of seasons, Penn State has been the recipient of “oh they might get upset by X, Y, or Z team” narratives, only for the Nittany Lions to roll. Two years ago, it was Purdue, then Auburn, then Utah. Last season, it was Illinois and Iowa. This season, it’s West Virginia, Wisconsin, USC, Washington, you name it.

The season just started, but and the Nittany Lions can very well lose its fair share of games outside of Ohio State, but one of those hopeful teams that will take down Penn State could barely put up a fight on Saturday. The hopes and wishes from people outside of the fanbase (and some inside the fanbase, let’s not get it twisted), will have to wait another week. Who knows, maybe they’ll play down against Bowling Green and get upset there.

The Nittany Lions, for a hot minute, did look like a team susceptible to being upset. The first quarter started with a too-jittery offense, fumbling on a bad snap on their first drive. West Virginia would kindly reciprocate, fumbling their own snap and giving the ball right back to the Nittany Lions. The Mountaineers had several opportunities in the first quarter, but couldn’t take advantage of any of them, especially after the Lion defense started to settle down.

Shortly after, Penn State’s offense followed suit, and settled down themselves. A four-play, 84-yard drive put the Nittany Lions on the board. After a failed two-point conversion, the Lions led 6-0. The Lions scored on the next drive, going up 13-0 as the second quarter rolled on. But they weren’t done. With 32 seconds left in the second quarter, the Nittany Lions scored a third touchdown, aided by a 55-yard pass to Omari Evans, then another one to Harrison Wallace III for his second receiving touchdown of the game.

[Please hold. Big weather delay ongoing]

Penn State received the ball in the second half, and wasted no time putting the game away. A 9-play, 78-yard drive capped by a 40-yard run from Nicholas Singleton put the Nittany Lions up 27-6, and from there, it was all a formality.

West Virginia, who scored two field goals in the first half, tacked a touchdown onto their score, followed by another Penn State touchdown where Andy Kotelnicki broke tendencies and let Beau Pribula throw a dart to Tyler Warren for what would become the final score.

It’s unlikely that Penn State goes undefeated. It’s possible that the Nittany Lions lose to non-Ohio State teams before postseason play. But, this week, that upset alert was more of a whisper.

Stats and Storylines

Well on his way – Harrison Wallace’s 117 receiving yards in this game is a little over half of his receiving yards for 2023. What a difference does a year, a coordinator change, and health, can make!

7 – The Nittany Lions had seven total plays that went for more than 20 yards. They’re well on their way to their season total, and it was only one game.

Did you see that – Drew Allar looked in control of the offense, leading to questions of how much responsibility actually rests on his shoulders for last season. However, did you see how fired up he was throughout the game? One of the themes of the offseason was Allar leveling up his leadership and being more vocal. Mission accomplished in week one.

Did you hear that – There was a “hot mic” moment early in the fourth quarter, where, after making a big play on defense, Jalen Kimber was heard saying some “not for TV” things that were hilarious to me, but awul to the pearl clutchers out there. To them, I say “**** no *****!

Highlights

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West Virginia

West Virginia’s Chances of Making the NCAA Tournament Drop to 0.1%

Published

2 hours ago

February 19, 2026

Press Room

West Virginia’s Chances of Making the NCAA Tournament Drop to 0.1%

A lot needed to happen for West Virginia down the stretch to be able to have a shot at making the NCAA Tournament. After last night’s head-scratching loss to Utah, the path just became even more difficult.

Because the Mountaineers now have a Quad 3 home loss on the resume, you’re likely looking at a situation where they have to bank on cutting down the nets in Kansas City a couple of weeks from now to punch their ticket.

Following their win over UCF, TeamRankings.com projected WVU’s magic number to get into the field at 24, which I thought was incredibly high. One miserable loss later, that win total seems spot on. The Mountaineers have five regular season games remaining and need eight wins to reach that 24 mark. To expect this team to sweep its upcoming two-game road trip, beat BYU, and then finish off sweeps against Kansas State and UCF, AND win three games in the Big 12 tournament is quite the ask.

Now, TeamRankings gives WVU just a 0.1% chance to secure an at-large bid, which is also the same percentage given for them to lock up an auto bid (aka winning the Big 12 tournament).

TeamRankings.com

“I wouldn’t say devastation because the reality is you’re going to be on a plane on Friday,” Hodge said when asked if the timing of this loss adds to the devastation. “The gift and the curse, we talked about it, being in the Big 12 is you still have opportunities in front of you. Now, those opportunities can run out, and that’s a reality. But you still have opportunities, and you still have all your goals in front of you. That’s the truth. Two things can be true at once. You let a great opportunity slip tonight, that puts more pressure on your other opportunities. I think any messaging you have between now and Saturday is going to be trying to figure out how you play better for longer stretches where you don’t have the inconsistent pockets of putting yourself down 14.”

Hodge isn’t a fool. He’s well aware of how much this loss impacts his team’s chances. But the reality is, there are still five games left, and he’s technically right about everything still being in front of them. Now, there is zero margin for error at this point, but until they are mathematically eliminated, there is still hope.

Crazier things have happened in this sport. I mean, look at what NC State did just a few years ago. They were 17-14 entering the ACC Tournament, with their only way into the field being an ACC title, and they did it. Then, the Wolfpack carried that momentum into the tourney, reaching the Final Four.

Do I expect that to happen here? Absolutely not. But that’s why Hodge is saying everything is still in front of them. You’re not going to throw in the towel just because things look bleak. There’s a reason you play the games.

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West Virginia

Morrisey, Interior secretary sign agreement expanding West Virginia’s authority over coal mining on federal lands – WV MetroNews

Published

14 hours ago

February 18, 2026

Press Room

Morrisey, Interior secretary sign agreement expanding West Virginia’s authority over coal mining on federal lands – WV MetroNews

U.S. Secretary of the Interior Doug Burgum and Gov. Patrick Morrisey signing the amended agreement (Photo: WV Governor website)

CHARLESTON, W.Va. –Governor Patrick Morrisey joined Secretary of the Interior Doug Burgum Wednesday to formalize an amendment to the State-Federal Cooperative Agreement between the mountain state and the U.S. Department of the Interior.

According to a news release, the amendment expands West Virginia’s authority to regulate coal mining and reclamation activities on federal lands within its borders.

It also allows the state to regulate federal lands that contain coal leased by the U.S. Bureau of Land Management.

“This amendment strengthens the principle of cooperative federalism that underpins SMCRA,” Morrisey said. “West Virginia has long demonstrated that we can regulate responsibly while supporting the workers and communities that power our nation. By clarifying roles and reducing duplication, this agreement ensures greater efficiency, stronger accountability, and continued environmental protection. It allows decisions affecting West Virginia communities to be made closer to the ground by the people who understand our land, our workforce, and our economy.”

The revised agreement states that the West Virginia Department of Environmental Protection will assume primary responsibility for permitting, inspection, and enforcement activities for both privately owned and federally leased coal operations in the state.

“This agreement delivers on President Trump’s commitment to American Energy Dominance and cutting unnecessary red tape,” Burgum said. “By empowering West Virginia to take the lead, we’re streamlining regulations, boosting certainty for coal producers and supporting jobs and investment that strengthen our economy and energy security.”

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West Virginia

SEC Powerhouse Officially Pries Key Assistant Larry Knight Away From West Virginia

Published

1 day ago

February 18, 2026

Press Room

SEC Powerhouse Officially Pries Key Assistant Larry Knight Away From West Virginia

Roughly 36 days, give or take. That’s all the time that pass rush specialist Larry Knight spent as an assistant coach with the West Virginia Mountaineers. The man probably didn’t even have enough time to get accustomed to making early morning trips to Tudor’s Biscuit World or finish decorating his office inside the Milan Puskar Center before he packed his bags.

On Tuesday, it was officially announced by Georgia that Knight had been hired to be the Bulldogs’ new outside linebackers coach.

“We are excited to add a coach and a man of Coach Knight’s caliber to the staff,” said Georgia head coach Kirby Smart in a press release. “He has produced on the field at all of his coaching stops and has also proven his worth as one of the best recruiters around. Coach Knight was a conference champion on the field when he played for Central Michigan, and I know he is ready to get to work in his home state.”

Knight was officially hired by WVU on January 12th, with Rich Rodriguez saying, “Larry has done an outstanding job of building defensive lines and developing pass rushers who can bring pressure off the edge. His ability as a lead recruiter at several of his stops brings our program another experienced recruiter.”

WVU hired him away from Arkansas State, where he helped lead the Red Wolves to the best pass rushing attack in the Sun Belt Conference. As a team, they totaled 39 sacks and averaged three sacks per game, which ranked sixth nationally among FBS teams.

Knight had also spent time at Tennessee, Cincinnati, Georgia Tech, Georgia State, Temple, and had brief stints with the Atlanta Falcons and Green Bay Packers.

With Jeff Casteel retiring again and his son, Jake, becoming the head coach at Glenville State, the Mountaineers don’t have an in-house option that makes sense to replace Knight. I would fully expect another hire to be made in the coming weeks before the start of spring ball, unless Rich Rod can somehow talk Jeff Casteel to come back for one more season.