Penn State slogs way past West Virginia, 34-12
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MORGANTOWN, W.Va. -- Penn State opened its season with a soggy victory Saturday.
The Nittany Lions controlled the first half en route to a 34-12 win over West Virginia at Milan Puskar Stadium.
The teams endured a 139-minute delay due to lightning.
Penn State led 20-6 at halftime, at which point the game was suspended.
Fans were asked to seek shelter on the stadium concourse or return to their vehicles. About half of them returned following the delay.
PSU wideout Trey Wallace caught five passes for 117 yards and two touchdowns in the first half from Drew Allar.
Allar’s 50-yard touchdown to Wallace over the middle opened the scoring, then the Lions put together a 71-yard drive that included a fourth-down conversion pass to Tyler Warren and a 20-yard TD to Kaytron Allen to go up 13-0.
Michael Hayes kicked a 38-yard field goal to get the Mountaineers on the board, cutting the lead to 13-3 with 6:15 remaining in the first half and added a 39-yarder to make it 13-6 with 37 seconds left in the half.
When it looked like the Lions might accept a one-score lead, Allar heaved a 55-yard bomb to Omari Evans, setting up first down at the WVU 18.
One play later, Allar found Wallace on the left side of the end zone for a TD and a 20-6 lead with six seconds left in the half.
Nick Singleton’s 40-yard touchdown run extended the lead to 27-6 in the third quarter.
Down 27-6, West Virginia mounted a touchdown drive of 70 yards, finished by a 1-yard plunge by C.J. Donaldson, cutting the PSU lead to 27-12 with 12:49 remaining in the game.
Backup quarterback Beau Pribula threw a 19-yard touchdown to Warren with 9:00 to play to set the final score.
Allar finished the day 11-of-17 for 216 yards and three TDs. He also scrambled for 41 yards.
Singleton gained 114 yards on 13 carries — an 8.8 average.
Penn State hosts Bowling Green next Saturday at noon. WVU will host Albany.
The Mirror will have full coverage in Monday’s edition.