WVU Football: 2023 Season in Review (game-by-game recap)

Game 1 - at Penn State 

Overpowered in Happy Valley

On September 2nd, the West Virginia Mountaineers marched their way into Beaver Stadium for a matchup with 7th-ranked Penn State. West Virginia hung around for a while against the highly favored Nittany Lions. At halftime, the Mountaineers trailed by just a touchdown. Penn State left some points on the field after Sander Sahaydak missed field goals from 34 and 38 yards. Penn State just proved to be too much on both sides of the ball as the Nittany Lions scored 24 points in the second half, including a late touchdown run with 6 seconds remaining that drew some criticism. 

 Needless to say, the WVU team that started the season at Penn State looked a lot different from the unit that won the Duke’s Mayo Bowl in Charlotte. Freshman All-American Jahiem White did not even see the field against the Nittany Lions. White would go on to be the team’s leading rusher with 842 yards on the season. 

As head coach Neal Brown said postgame, “I have no doubt we will bounce back. We are onward and upwards.” 

Mountaineer Notables:

Garrett Greene - 162 yards on 16/27 | 15 carries, 71 yards, 1 touchdown 

CJ Donaldson Jr - 18 carries, 81 yards, 1 touchdown 

Devin Carter - 6 receptions, 90 yards

Lee Kpogba - 13 tackles

Final Score: Penn State 38, West Virginia 15