Penn State vs. West Virginia final odds and prediction

Last season in Week 1, the Drew Allar era started with a bang. The sophomore quarterback threw for 325 yards and three touchdowns in a 38-15 win over West Virginia, a team that appeared to be on the brink of a coaching change. 

Then, Penn State and Allar faltered on offense and had to move on from OC Mike Yurcich after losses to Ohio State and Michigan, while West Virginia turned the season around to finish 9-4. A year after Penn State’s 23-point win at Beaver Stadium, the Nittany Lions are just over a touchdown favorite for Saturday’s matchup at Milan Puskar Stadium in Morgantown. 

Let’s take a look at the final odds for the Penn State Nittany Lions and West Virginia Mountaineers in Week 1 of the college football season. 

Penn State vs. West Virginia odds, spread, and total

These odds are available in the FanDuel Sportsbook. 

Moneyline

• Penn State -321
• West Virginia +255

Spread

• Penn State -8.5 (-114)
• West Virginia +8.5 (-106)

Total

• 51.5 (over -112/under -108)

Penn State vs. West Virginia prediction

Penn State’s offseason was all about rebuilding the offense and while James Franklin didn’t do much in terms of upgrading his personnel, he upgraded massively on the coaching staff with new offensive coordinator Andy Kotelnicki. Kotelnicki built an innovative offense with Lance Leipold at Kansas and competed in the Big 12 without much blue-chip talent. 

This year, Kotelnicki will be tasked with making up the talent gap between Penn State and Ohio State, but against West Virginia, Penn State’s roster has the upper hand. Allar should take a step forward in his junior year, and one thing to look for is increased aggressiveness after a season with 25 touchdown passes to just two interceptions. 

However, against WVU, Penn State just needs to ride the Lawn Boyz to a resurgent season. Kaytron Allen was more efficient than Nick Singleton in their sophomore year, and Singleton has further beefed up, weighing in at 226 pounds, so with a thunder and thunder combination in the backfilled, the Nittany Lions will wear down the Mountaineers until the dam breaks. 

Garrett Greene was excellent at pushing the ball downfield in 2023 and didn’t take many sacks, but once Penn State gets a lead, Abdul Carter and Dani Dennis-Sutton will take the game over. After a close first half, expect Penn State to pull away for a convincing victory.