The 138th season of Penn State football will kickoff Saturday at Noon in Morgantown, WV as the Mountaineers and Nittany Lions meet for the 2nd consecutive season. The Nittany Lions won 38-15 last season in Happy Valley.
The Nittany Lions were a solid but underwhelming 10-3 last season while the Mountaineers overachieved with a 6-3 mark in the Big 12 and an overall record of 9-4. Each side wants more in 2024. Each wants a spot in the expanded playoffs.
Penn State returns 7 starters on offense and 23 players overall with experience on that side of the ball. Sounds like a positive but the question on every Penn State fan’s mind is will that experience translate into production and points?
The top rushing unit in the Big 12 returns largely intact for West Virginia which believes it can move from conference surprise to conference contender.
We’ve got all the info and analysis you need to know ahead of the game, including the latest info on the how to catch first-pitch, projected pitching matchup, lineup cards, recent team performance, player stats, and of course, our predictions, picks & best bets for the game from our modeling tools and staff of experts.
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Game details & how to watch Nittany Lions vs. Mountaineers Saturday
● Date: Saturday, August 31, 2024
● Time: 12PM EST
● Site: Milan Puskar Stadium
● City: Morgantown, WV
● TV/Streaming: FOX
Game odds for Penn State vs. West Virginia
● Moneyline: Penn State (-300), West Virginia (+240)
● Spread: Nittany Lions -8.5
● Total: 51.5
*Odds courtesy of BetMGM
NBC Sports Bet Best Bets
Vaughn Dalzell (@VmoneySports) believes West Virginia will Cover:
“Since 2005 Top 25 teams on the road against unranked opponents in season openers are 29-40-3 ATS (42%), which points towards West Virginia covering. As someone who grew up in PA, expect a dogfight and one-to-two possession game throughout.”
Brad Thomas (@MrBradThomas) likes WVU QB Garrett Greene to do damage on the Ground:
“Garrett Greene Over 42.5 Rushing Yards (-112) – “There is a buzz about this West Virginia team. Could Penn State be on upset alert? I don’t think so. Garrett Greene has one great attribute, and that is his legs. He gashed them for 70+ yards on the ground last season despite taking three sacks. In addition, if the spread for the game dips to 7, you have to take the Nittany Lions. James Franklin loves covering the spread.”
The bet is Garrett Greene over 42.5 Rushing Yards (-112)
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From the BetMGM Trading Desk courtesy of John Ewing:
Most bet OVERS (tickets)
1. Colorado-North Dakota State 59.5
2. Clemson-Georgia 48.5
3. Akron-Ohio State 59.5
Most bet UNDERS (tickets)
1. Notre Dame-Texas A&M 46.5
2. Temple-Oklahoma 59.5
3. Fresno State-Michigan 45.5
Most bet Underdogs to win (tickets)
1. Notre Dame +125
2. North Dakota-State +270
3. West Virginia +240
Names to Know for Penn State vs. West Virginia
○ Nittany Lions: QB Drew Allar – Junior signal-caller enters his 2nd season as the starter. He must complete a higher percentage of his passes in 2024. Last season he threw for just north of 2600 yards but completed just 60% of his passes. A positive is Allar tossed 25 TDs and just 2 picks for the season. Critics will say that is because he does not push the ball downfield.
○ Mountaineers: QB Garrett Greene – As NBC Sports Betting Analyst Brad Thomas pointed out, the 5th-year Greene can beat you with his arm or his feet. He threw for 2400 yards including 16 TDs and only 4 INTs. RB Jaheim White – Sophomore who exploded in his first year late last season registering games of 146, 204, and 133 yards rushing in November.
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Top betting trends & insights to know ahead of Nittany Lions vs. Mountaineers on August 31, 2024
● Penn State’s offense features 3 new starters along the offensive line
● WVU led the Big 12 with 33 sacks last season
● West Virginia ranked 3rd nationally in total yards rushing in 2023
● WVU was one of only 3 schools to have a player rush for over 100 yards against Penn State last season
● New coordinators on offense (Andy Kotelnicki) and defense (Tom Allen) for James Franklin and the Nittany Lions in 2024
Expert picks & predictions for Saturday’s Penn State vs. West Virginia game
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Our model calculates projections around each moneyline, spread and over/under bet for every game on the MLB calendar based on data points like past performance, player matchups, ballpark information and weather forecasts.
Once the model is finished running, we put its projection next to the latest betting lines for the game to arrive at a relative confidence level for each wager.
Here are the best bets our model is projecting for Saturday’s Nittany Lions vs. Mountaineers game:
- Moneyline: NBC Sports is staying away from a play on the Moneyline.
- Spread: NBC Sports is leaning towards a play on the Mountaineers getting 8.5 points
- Total: NBC Sports is leaning towards a play on the Total UNDER 51.5 points
Follow our experts on socials to keep up with all the latest content from the staff:
- Jay Croucher (@croucherJD)
- Drew Dinsick (@whale_capper)
- Vaughn Dalzell (@VmoneySports)
- Brad Thomas (@MrBradThomas)
