Three Takeaways From No. 8 Penn State’s 34-12 Win Over West Virginia

1: Early season hiccups

While not ideal on the road against a power conference opponent, the Nittany Lions got through some early game miscues common in first-game situations, and especially common with new coordinators on both sides. The defense settled down rather quickly, taking advantage of West Virginia’s own miscues. The offense, however, took a little longer to get going.

It’s certainly fortuitous for Penn State to have a defense reliable enough to give the offense time to settle into the environment.

2: Wallace might be healthy

With a final stat line of 5 receptions for 117 yards and 2 touchdowns, what we knew coming into the season was confirmed: Harrison Wallace III is the guy at the receiver spot, and now all we need to see is who can emerge as the second option. So far, it’s looking like Omari Evans is making a claim for number two.

3: No weather delay shenanigans

As soon as the weather delay got announced, flashbacks to 2017 dissipated across the Nittany Lion contingent. The Nittany Lions wouldn’t have a repeat of the Michigan State game, however, as they came out on fire, scoring on their first drive of the second half, holding West Virginia to a three-and-out shortly after, then putting the game away for good early in the fourth quarter.

BONUS: Appreciate these games

I don’t often tell y’all what to do with your lives, but I’d be remiss if I didn’t mention #Unrivaled is just a slogan. Let’s appreciate all of Penn State’s rivalries, big and small. No matter how uneven they are, rivalries are what make college football what it is. And Penn State has plenty of historical ones. Who knows when Penn State will play West Virginia again, so let’s appreciate the past two years for what they were: A chance for the Nittany Lions to rekindle some of their history.