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

Delegate Larry Kump, master of various catch phrases, has died – WV MetroNews

Published

7 hours ago

March 1, 2026

Press Room

Delegate Larry Kump of Berkeley County has died, state officials announced. Kump was 78 years old.

Larry Kump

Kump, a Republican, served in the House from 2010 to 2014, again from 2018 to 2020 and finally 2022 to the present. He had announced plans to run again in the coming electoral cycle.

“As a battle-tested and liberty minded Christian and Constitutional Conservative, my consecrated action principles of good governance remains solid and steadfast,” he wrote to supporters in January.

He had been serving in the ongoing legislative session, but had been absent in recent weeks.

The daily prayer in the House of Delegates this past Wednesday included an expression of concern for Kump: “A special prayer for Delegate Larry Kump. Lord, you know where he is in the hospital now, and I pray right now that you would send your angels there to touch him, to be with him.”

Gov. Patrick Morrisey announced Kump’s death on social media, calling Kump “a devoted public servant who dedicated many years of his life to improving West Virginia.

“Delegate Kump served with a deep commitment to the principles he believed would strengthen our communities and protect our freedoms.

“On behalf of the First Lady and myself, we extend our condolences to Larry’s family, friends, former colleagues, and all those who had the privilege of knowing and serving alongside him. His legacy of service and his love for our state will never be forgotten.”

Secretary of State Kris Warner also posted condolences to Kump’s family. “Larry was a conservative Christian and a true Mountaineer! He will be sadly missed by his friends and colleagues,” Warner posted.

The West Virginia Democratic Party also put out a statement to offer condolences, saying Kump’s work reflected a lifelong commitment to accountability, public policy, and the effective administration of government.

“Delegate Larry Kump devoted his life to his family, his community, and to his state. He brought experience, independence and thoughtfulness to his role, and he never lost sight of the people he served,” said Mike Pushkin, the Democratic Party chairman who is also a delegate from Kanawha County.

Kump was known for his turns of phrase, for example kicking off his comments on the House floor with “Great googly moogly” for emphasis. He often described his adoration for his “beloved and bodacious wife Cheryl.”

He regularly concluded interactions and written communications this way: “Meanwhile, and for sure and for certain, may God bless you all real good!”

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West Virginia

Vape Safety Act of 2026 passes W.Va. House, tightening oversight and licensing for shops

Published

19 hours ago

March 1, 2026

Press Room

Vape Safety Act of 2026 passes W.Va. House, tightening oversight and licensing for shops

CHARLESTON, W.Va. (WCHS) — The Vape Safety Act of 2026 passed in the West Virginia House of Delegates on Friday, aiming to crack down on what lead sponsor of the bill Del. David McCormick, R-Monongalia, said are the bad actors in the vape shop world.

“They’re very lightly regulated,” McCormick said. “Here’s something that is becoming a blight on our landscape out here in our neighborhoods and towns. They’re all over the state and they need some oversight.”

McCormick said the bill will also strengthen licensing as to who can run the shops.

A key part of the legislation that passed the House by a vote of 88-5 is an FDA registry, requiring all the products sold in the shops to be approved at the federal level.

“Make sure that something doesn’t have 30 times the nicotine in it that it’s supposed to, which has happened, and get a 12-year-old kid addicted to nicotine,” McCormick. “That’s buying something that looks like Pokémon.”

Cracking down on the marketing strategies vape shops use is also included in the bill. It has gained support from both sides of the aisle.

“You walk into them and they have you know it looks fun and all the flavors and all the things,” Del. Hollis Lewis, D-Kanawha said. “So when teens go in there, it’s geared towards teens. So I think some regulation is important.”

Other provisions include vape shops not being allowed within 300 feet of schools, libraries or churches.

“I would deem these things almost attractive nuisance for kids and teenagers,” Lewis said. “What we want to do in this piece of legislation, we want to ultimately, above anything else, is protect our children and to get rid of bad actors to make sure that we know what’s being sold in the shop and we know who’s selling it.”

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West Virginia

BYU Cougars at West Virginia Mountaineers odds, picks and predictions

Published

1 day ago

February 28, 2026

Press Room

BYU Cougars at West Virginia Mountaineers odds, picks and predictions

The No. 23 BYU Cougars (20-8, 8-7 Big 12) visit the West Virginia Mountaineers (16-12, 7-8) Saturday for a 5:30 p.m. ET (FOX) tip from WVU Coliseum in Morgantown, West Virginia. Let’s analyze BetMGM Sportsbook’s NCAA basketball odds around the BYU vs. West Virginia odds and make our expert college basketball picks and predictions for the best bets.

BYU has dropped 2 of its last 3 games after falling 97-84 against UCF on Tuesday, failing to cover as a 13.5-point home favorite with the Over (162.5) hitting. F AJ Dybantsa led all scorers with 29 points and G Robert Wright III added 20 as only 3 Cougars players scored in double figures in the upset loss.

West Virginia has dropped 3 games in a row after falling 91-84 in overtime against Oklahoma State on Tuesday, failing to cover as a 1.5-point road underdog with the Over (143.5) hitting. G Honor Huff scored a game-high 20 points on 6-of-12 shooting from 3, while the Mountaineers overcame a 13-point halftime deficit to force OT before running out of gas.

– Rankings: USA TODAY Sports Coaches Poll

Watch NCAA basketball on Fubo!

BYU at West Virginia odds

Provided by BetMGM Sportsbook; access USA TODAY Sports Scores and Sports Betting Odds hub for a full list. Lines last updated 10:20 a.m. ET.

Moneyline (ML): BYU -135 (bet $135 to win $100) | West Virginia +110 (bet $100 to win $110)
Against the spread (ATS): BYU -1.5 (-115) | West Virginia +1.5 (-105)
Over/Under (O/U): 142.5 (O: -110 | U: -110)

BYU at West Virginia picks and predictions

Prediction

BYU 81, West Virginia 74

PASS.

There is better value on the Cougars to cover the spread.

BET BYU -1.5 (-115).

A win all but guarantees a cover for the Cougars in this matchup with such a slim spread. They have covered in 2 of their last 3 and 3 of their last 5, including back-to-back road games.

Neither side has played particularly well recently, with both teams being 4-6 straight up (SU) and 3-7 ATS over their last 10 games. This matchup will give Dybantsa, the nation’s leading scorer (25.1 points per game) who earned USBWA Oscar Robertson National Player of the Week honors last week, an opportunity to take over the game.

BET OVER 142.5 (-110).

The Mountaineers have scored at least 74 points in 2 of their last 4 games while allowing 67 or more in 3 of their last 5.

The Cougars have hit the Over in 7 of their last 10 games. They have scored 79 or more points in 4 of their last 5, including 90 or more twice in that span. They have scored 82 or more points in 7 of their last 10 and have allowed at least 86 in 6 of their last 9.

For more sports betting picks and tips, check out SportsbookWire.com and BetFTW.

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