Countdown to Kickoff – Penn State
![Countdown to Kickoff Penn State](/thumb/phpThumb.php?src=%2Fuploads%2Fnews%2F49%2F4902%2F7%2F4902769-countdown-to-kickoff-penn-state.jpg&w=706&hash=a22f3a8388fa02fb6e0061309fd405be)
Tale of the Tape (2023) | ![]() |
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Points Per Game | 36.2 | 31.5 |
Points Against | 13.5 | 26.2 |
Rushing Yards Per Game | 184.8 | 228.9 |
Rushing Yards Allowed Per Game | 75.5 | 143.4 |
Passing Yards Per Game | 215.0 | 205.7 |
Passing Yards Allowed Per Game | 172.1 | 237.4 |
Total Yards Per Game | 399.8 | 434.6 |
Total Yards Allowed Per Game | 247.6 | 380.8 |
First Downs For | 292 | 290 |
First Downs Against | 181 | 258 |
Fumbles/Lost | 13/6 | 12/7 |
Interceptions/Return Yards | 12/177 | 11/170 |
Net Punting | 42.9 | 41.1 |
Field Goal/Attempts | 19/26 | 17/21 |
Time of Possession | 32:32 | 32:41 |
3rd Down Conversions | 75/184 | 69/174 |
3rd Down Conversion Defense | 54/179 | 66/171 |
4th Down Conversions | 20/26 | 19/36 |
4th Down Conversion Defense | 11/20 | 14/27 |
Sacks By/Yards Lost | 49/343 | 33/217 |
"I want our fans to be as loud as possible when Penn State has the ball and a little quieter when we have the ball … until we score," Brown said. "Then they can be as loud as they want." Offensive tackle Ja'Quay Hubbard echoes his coach, with an added twist. "When the defense is on the field, every fan should leave with their voice raspy," he said. "I want this to be the most challenging atmosphere in America. Mountaineer Nation, I know you will. I need you guys to get amped up. "Now, when we're on offense, they should take a deep breath and settle down, let us make our calls and make our checks," Hubbard added. "Then when we score, they can get just as loud as when we are on defense. I want to see some timeouts and false starts when we are on defense."
Keep an eye on senior Nick Dawkins, who is expected to make his first career start on Saturday for Penn State after serving in a backup role the last four seasons. On the flip side, the challenge for the fans to the team is to give them a reason to be loud from kickoff all the way to finish, much like it was here in 1984 and in 1988. Here is today's Countdown to Kickoff: 10 – Pennsylvania is one of four states boasting TEN or more players on West Virginia's roster this year. The Mountaineers have 14 Keystone State residents, which ranks third to West Virginia (28) and Ohio (17) and ahead of Florida (13). 9 – West Virginia's NINE victories over Penn State occurred in 1925 (Morgantown), 1931 (Morgantown), 1942 (Morgantown), 1944 (State College), 1953 (State College), 1954 (State College), 1955 (Morgantown), 1984 (Morgantown) and 1988 (Morgantown). 8 – The Mountaineers' last EIGHT home victories against ranked teams, dating back to their first year in the Big 12 in 2012, were by an average of 10.6 points per game. 7 – Last year as a freshman, running back Jahiem White averaged better than SEVEN yards per rush (7.7), the highest yards-per-carry average ever for a Mountaineer running back with at least 100 rushing attempts. 6 – No. 8 Penn State is one of SIX teams on West Virginia's schedule this year either in the Associated Press Preseason Top 25 poll or receiving votes. The others are No. 17 Oklahoma State, No. 18 Kansas State, No. 21 Arizona, No. 22 Kansas and RV Iowa State. 5 – The Mountaineers have only lost FIVE home openers in Milan Puskar Stadium, originally known as Mountaineer Field. Overall, West Virginia is 39-5-1 in its home openers since 1980. 4 – WVU has won FOUR times when playing games on Aug. 31, including a 3-1 record at Milan Puskar Stadium. The last game on this date was in 2019 against James Madison, a 20-13 Mountaineer victory. 3 – Penn State coach James Franklin made THREE appearances at Milan Puskar Stadium as Maryland's assistant coach in 2000, 2002 and 2004. 2 – Penn State and UCF are the only TWO programs in college football with TWO career 1,700 rushers who played their entire careers at one school – Kaytron Allen and Nicholas Singleton for the Lions. 1 – Penn State's preseason No. 8 ranking marks the highest ranked season-opening foe for West Virginia since 1998 when the Mountaineers entertained Ohio State, ranked number ONE in the country. Today's matchup will kick off at noon and will be televised nationally on FOX with Gus Johnson, Joel Klatt and Jenny Taft handling the call. The FOX Big Noon Kickoff crew is on site in Almost Heaven Village to promote today's game and other week-one college football action. That show begins at 10 a.m. The contest is also Stripe the Stadium and fans wanting to wear their gold or blue can access the seating chart to determine the appropriate colors for their seating sections. Audio coverage begins with the Mountaineer Tailgate Show at 9 a.m. leading into the regular network coverage with Tony Caridi, Dwight Wallace and Jed Drenning at 11 am on stations throughout West Virginia, online via WVUsports.com and the popular Varsity Network and WVU Gameday apps. Caridi is beginning his 40th season with the network. Members of Don Nehlen's 1984 team that defeated Penn State 17-14 at Mountaineer Field will be recognized during the game. Relevant game day information was released earlier this week.