| Story of the Tape (2023) |  |
|
|---|---|---|
| Factors Per Recreation | 36.2 | 31.5 |
| Factors Towards | 13.5 | 26.2 |
| Dashing Yards Per Recreation | 184.8 | 228.9 |
| Dashing Yards Allowed Per Recreation | 75.5 | 143.4 |
| Passing Yards Per Recreation | 215.0 | 205.7 |
| Passing Yards Allowed Per Recreation | 172.1 | 237.4 |
| Complete Yards Per Recreation | 399.8 | 434.6 |
| Complete Yards Allowed Per Recreation | 247.6 | 380.8 |
| First Downs For | 292 | 290 |
| First Downs Towards | 181 | 258 |
| Fumbles/Misplaced | 13/6 | 12/7 |
| Interceptions/Return Yards | 12/177 | 11/170 |
| Internet Punting | 42.9 | 41.1 |
| Discipline Aim/Makes an attempt | 19/26 | 17/21 |
| Time of Possession | 32:32 | 32:41 |
| third Down Conversions | 75/184 | 69/174 |
| third Down Conversion Protection | 54/179 | 66/171 |
| 4th Down Conversions | 20/26 | 19/36 |
| 4th Down Conversion Protection | 11/20 | 14/27 |
| Sacks By/Yards Misplaced | 49/343 | 33/217 |
MORGANTOWN, W.Va. – West Virginia gamers and coaches alike have one message for Mountaineer followers attending at the moment’s sellout Penn State recreation – carry the noise!
Even Finland’s Eddie Vesterinen, a relative stranger to American soccer rivalries, understands the significance of a loud and enthusiastic crowd inside Milan Puskar Stadium.
He performed earlier than final 12 months’s 110,000-plus crowd at Beaver Stadium, and whereas Penn State is dodging an enormous bullet by enjoying West Virginia right here at midday as a substitute of in prime time underneath the lights, noise remains to be noise.
And in Milan Puskar Stadium, which sits subsequent to Legislation Faculty Hill, 60,000 followers could be simply as loud as 100,000!
“Final 12 months, the noise impacted our communication,” Vesterinen stated earlier this week. “On this recreation, we want the followers to be 100%. I want I couldn’t hear something whereas enjoying protection. If that occurs, they will not be capable of hear something on offense.
“We’ve got to carry all of the loudness, all of the vitality. That may assist us on protection.”
There you’ve gotten it, from a man who has hardly been uncovered to the frenzied atmospheres of West Virginia-Penn State and West Virginia-Pitt soccer video games of years previous.
Eddie V wasn’t even alive when quarterback Jeff Hostetler, a Penn State switch, scored the go-ahead landing in West Virginia’s come-from-behind victory over Pitt in 1983. The group roar was so loud after Hostetler’s landing run that residents in close by Westover may hear it.
It was the identical deal a 12 months later in 1984 when WVU lastly snapped Penn State’s almost three-decades-long successful streak over the Mountaineers. The noise was there from begin to end in West Virginia’s 51-30 victory over the Lions 4 years later in 1988.
Neal Brown, his coaches and gamers have gotten doses of the noise prior to now.
The ambiance for Texas throughout Brown’s first 12 months right here in 2019 was fairly good, as had been current Virginia Tech and Pitt video games, however that pales compared to what it was like for LSU in 2011, or most of the large video games performed right here within the early 2000s when Wealthy Rodriguez had issues going.
Penn State coach James Franklin skilled a few of it when he was an assistant coach at Maryland, standing on the sidelines for video games at Milan Puskar Stadium in 2000, 2002 and 2004. All of these occurred within the afternoon, nevertheless.
The very last thing Franklin wished to do was to come back right down to Morgantown, play at evening, after which have to take a seat on a bus using again to State School within the wee hours of the morning being serenaded to the soothing sounds of tinnitus.
Hopefully, his ears will likely be ringing afterward whereas it is nonetheless daylight.
“I need our followers to be as loud as doable when Penn State has the ball and a little bit quieter when we’ve got the ball … till we rating,” Brown stated. “Then they are often as loud as they need.”
Offensive deal with Ja’Quay Hubbard echoes his coach, with an added twist.
“When the protection is on the sphere, each fan ought to depart with their voice raspy,” he stated. “I need this to be probably the most difficult ambiance in America. Mountaineer Nation, I do know you’ll. I would like you guys to get amped up.
“Now, after we’re on offense, they need to take a deep breath and quiet down, allow us to make our calls and make our checks,” Hubbard added. “Then after we rating, they’ll get simply as loud as after we are on protection. I wish to see some timeouts and false begins after we are on protection.”
Regulate senior Nick Dawkins, who is anticipated to make his first profession begin on Saturday for Penn State after serving in a backup position the final 4 seasons.
On the flip aspect, the problem for the followers to the workforce is to offer them a motive to be loud from kickoff all the best way to complete, very like it was right here in 1984 and in 1988.
Right here is at the moment’s Countdown to Kickoff:
10 – Pennsylvania is certainly one of 4 states boasting TEN or extra gamers on West Virginia’s roster this 12 months. The Mountaineers have 14 Keystone State residents, which ranks third to West Virginia (28) and Ohio (17) and forward of Florida (13).
9 – West Virginia’s NINE victories over Penn State occurred in 1925 (Morgantown), 1931 (Morgantown), 1942 (Morgantown), 1944 (State School), 1953 (State School), 1954 (State School), 1955 (Morgantown), 1984 (Morgantown) and 1988 (Morgantown).
8 – The Mountaineers’ final EIGHT house victories towards ranked groups, courting again to their first 12 months within the Huge 12 in 2012, had been by a median of 10.6 factors per recreation.
7 – Final 12 months as a freshman, operating again Jahiem White averaged higher than SEVEN yards per rush (7.7), the best yards-per-carry common ever for a Mountaineer operating again with at the least 100 speeding makes an attempt.
6 – No. 8 Penn State is certainly one of SIX groups on West Virginia’s schedule this 12 months both within the Related Press Preseason Prime 25 ballot 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 solely misplaced FIVE house openers in Milan Puskar Stadium, initially referred to as Mountaineer Discipline. General, West Virginia is 39-5-1 in its house openers since 1980.
4 – WVU has gained FOUR occasions when enjoying video games on Aug. 31, together with a 3-1 report at Milan Puskar Stadium. The final recreation on this date was in 2019 towards 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 one TWO packages in faculty soccer with TWO profession 1,700 rushers who performed their whole careers at one faculty – Kaytron Allen and Nicholas Singleton for the Lions.
1 – Penn State’s preseason No. 8 rating marks the best ranked season-opening foe for West Virginia since 1998 when the Mountaineers entertained Ohio State, ranked quantity ONE within the nation.
At this time’s matchup will kick off at midday and will likely be televised nationally on FOX with Gus Johnson, Joel Klatt and Jenny Taft dealing with the decision.
The FOX Huge Midday Kickoff crew is on web site in Virtually Heaven Village to advertise at the moment’s recreation and different week-one faculty soccer motion. That present begins at 10 a.m.
The competition can also be Stripe the Stadium and followers desirous to put on their gold or blue can entry the seating chart to find out the suitable colours for his or her seating sections.
Audio protection begins with the Mountaineer Tailgate Present at 9 a.m. main into the common community protection with Tony Caridi, Dwight Wallace and Jed Drenning at 11 am on stations all through West Virginia, on-line through WVUsports.com and the favored Varsity Community and WVU Gameday apps.
Caridi is starting his 40th season with the community.
Members of Don Nehlen’s 1984 workforce that defeated Penn State 17-14 at Mountaineer Discipline will likely be acknowledged in the course of the recreation.
Related recreation day data was launched earlier this week.