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PSU point/counterpoint: Did anything happen in the opener that surprised you?
By Neil Rudel
nrudel@altoonamirror.com
Penn State, on both sides of the ball, played better than I expected.
I picked the Nittany Lions to win but close (28-27) as it appeared, at least to me, that because it was on the road and because it was the season opener, this was one of the more challenging games on the schedule -- behind Ohio State and now apparently USC.
Plus the last time we saw PSU, it was getting routed in the Peach Bowl.
And I wasn't alone as the majority of Fox's pre-game panel -- including Urban Meyer -- predicted a West Virginia upset. Thankfully, I didn't take that leap.
But while Penn State played well, even dominant at times, I was most surprised that West Virginia didn't. In fact, the Mountaineers fell apart.
And it didn't take long for WVU coach Neal Brown to blast his team afterward.
He praised Penn State, but in his next breath said, "We played bad football. That's the deal."
Brown was right.
West Virginia moved the ball early, especially on the ground, and was hanging in the game, trailing just 13-6, with 30 seconds remaining in the first half.
After Penn State handed off on first down to Nick Singleton and looked content to run out the clock, the Lions went deep for 55 yards to Omari Evans as WVU was somehow playing man-to-man defense and exposing its suspect secondary.
The Lions pounced on the mistake, and then Drew Allar pinpointed an NFL-like touchdown to Trey Wallace for a 20-6 lead with only 10 seconds remaining in the half.
That sequence sucked the life out of the Mountaineers, who came out of the unfortunate 139-minute weather delay even less inspired.
West Virginia dropped several passes, fumbled four times as there were center-quarterback exchange troubles, got about every key call in the game and couldn't take advantage of eight Penn State penalties.
And that didn't count the questionable spots that left even the game announcers perplexed. One gave the Mounties a first down late in the first half, which they turned into a field goal, and the other awarded WVU a fourth-quarter touchdown that didn't cross the goal line.
Or the score could have been even worse.
Brown took some blame -- "It starts with me, I'm the head coach and I'm responsible for it," he said -- but he also pivoted quickly.
"Our staff, we didn't put our players in positions in some key times, especially in the first half," he said. "Then our best players just didn't play very well."
He praised his special teams and credited a couple defensive players, but outside of them, he said, "I don't think any of our players played at a level that is going to be required to beat a team like that."
Based on the way West Virginia finished strong last season, with a returning quarterback who actually did his part at times, and having an old rival at home before a full house, I thought the Mountaineers would at least get their fans in the mood to sing "Take Me Home, Country Roads."
They didn't.
Rudel can be reached at nrudel@altoonamirror.com.