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Penn State wide receivers Omari Evans (#5) and Harrison Wallace III (#6) celebrate after Wallace scored a touchdown against West Virginia during the first half of an NCAA game in Morgantown, W.Va., on Saturday, Aug. 31, 2024.
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Jason Mackey: Penn State-West Virginia was fun … but should only be one-third of yearly regional slate

Kathleen Batten/Associated Press

Jason Mackey: Penn State-West Virginia was fun … but should only be one-third of yearly regional slate

MORGANTOWN, W.Va. — The same as the Subway Series (Mets-Yankees) or Battle of the Beltway (Nationals-Orioles), MLB considers Pirates-Tigers an annual rivalry.

Nothing against the drama or palpable disdain that surely framed the 1909 World Series, but it always felt inauthentic or forced. Still, give baseball points for trying.

As it pertains to college football and an exciting weekend around here that saw Pitt and No. 8 Penn State start their seasons in style, it was easy to lament the Nittany Lions playing a regional rival … but not the regional rival.

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Just imagine the ins and outs that could run through a season-long series featuring regional games among all three, perhaps Pitt toppling West Virginia in a couple weeks, then breaking the tie with the Nittany Lions seven days later.

Penn State coach James Franklin reacts after cornerback Elliot Washington II (16) intercepts the ball off of West Virginia wide receiver Jaden Bray (5) during the second half of an NCAA college football game in Morgantown, W.Va., Saturday, Aug. 31, 2024.
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As much fun as it was in Morgantown for Penn State’s 34-12 win, I’m not holding my breath.

Seems the other two are willing to open their doors, but the Nittany Lions would rather check out every other room in the hotel before committing to multiple regional rivalry games in one season.

On some levels, I get it. Penn State has had more success than the other two. It probably matters less to the Nittany Lions than it does Pitt or WVU. But that also shouldn’t be allowed to be the only input.

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I’ll give Penn State this, though: It came out of the gates strong, taking on an extremely legitimate opponent, unlike many of the other top 12 or so teams around the country.

“It's a philosophy, right?” coach James Franklin said. “Athletic directors have a big role in this. Head coaches have a big role in this. What type of out-of-conference games are you going to schedule? And what's in everybody's best interest?

“You see across the country, you start out with a tough loss … and you play not as clean as normal because you're still working through some of the kinks. Obviously when you get the win, it's a huge positive. But if you don't, you can start your season on the wrong path, and you're gonna have to battle through it.”

Eleven of the top 12 teams have completed their Week 1 games, the long exception being No. 10 Florida State. They’re scored an averaged of 44.4 points, pitched five shutouts and cruised to an average margin of victory of 38.1 points per game.

Penn State wide receiver Harrison Wallace III (6) is defended by West Virginia cornerback Garnett Hollis Jr. (1) during the first half of an NCAA college football game in Morgantown, W.Va., Saturday, Aug. 31, 2024.
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Wanting to smooth out some rough edges makes sense because there’s no preseason. At the same time, tax-paying fans are robbed of one of college football’s best qualities: the school pride that exists when comparing similar institutions.

It was awesome to see how Milan Puskar Stadium embraced this sort of thing Saturday. It’s just too bad that it was a one-off.

‘Fuming on the inside’

It took fewer than 30 minutes of game clock for Penn State to match the number of 100-yard receiving performances it enjoyed all of last year.

One.

Along with quarterback Drew Allar’s maturation, what Harrison Wallace III showed against the Mountaineers makes me think the Nittany Lions’ offense could be really dangerous under new coordinator Andy Kotelnicki.

“I think we saw who we thought [Wallace] could be all along,” Allar said. “Trey had a really good game.”

Trey Wallace, as he’s more commonly known, finished with five catches for 117 yards and two touchdowns on nine targets. They came a variety of ways: deep, intermediate, crossing, across the middle, toward the sideline. The chemistry with Allar was obvious.

So was Wallace’s speed and shiftiness, something Penn State’s passing game has lacked. Penn State had six completions of 15-plus yards in the first half, part of an overall day that showed the explosive capabilities Kotelnicki was supposed to bring to Happy Valley.

Wallace, who caught just 19 balls and missed five games last season, was a huge part of that.

“I can’t even express how great I’m really feeling,” Wallace said. “Just know I’m fuming on the inside.”

Franklin has talked up Wallace throughout camp, teasing at a potential breakout. And the Nittany Lions need it after losing KeAndre Lambert-Smith to Auburn via the transfer portal.

With just six career starts on his resume, it’s time for Wallace, a fourth-year receiver, to emerge as Penn State’s go-to guy. He took several strides toward that goal Saturday.

‘A good football team’

What an unfortunate opener for West Virginia. Five times the Mountaineers made it inside the Penn State 30 and came away with just one touchdown and two field goals. They fumbled four times (losing two), went 4 for 14 on third down (29%) and averaged a mere 3.7 yards per play.

“We played bad football,” West Virginia coach Neal Brown said. “To say I’m disappointed in how we played would be an understatement.”

Playing bad football, yes.

A bad football team? No.

West Virginia will be fine. More than anything, I think we saw a Penn State team that's firmly inside of the College Football Playoff bubble, a balanced group with a defense capable of both stopping the run and putting pressure on the quarterback.

It's too bad West Virginia didn't have a better showing in front of its fans, but I hardly anticipate Brown's group to take a step backward from going 9-4 and winning the Duke's Mayo Bowl in 2024.

"That’s a good football team," Franklin said. "They're gonna win a ton of games in the Big 12.”

Jason Mackey: jmackey@post-gazette.com and @JMackeyPG on X.

First Published: September 1, 2024, 3:41 p.m.
Updated: September 1, 2024, 10:22 p.m.

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