Postgame Notes: No. 7 Penn State vs. West VirginiaPostgame Notes: No. 7 Penn State vs. West Virginia
Mark Selders

Postgame Notes: No. 7 Penn State vs. West Virginia

TEAM

  • Penn State is now 49-9-2 all-time against West Virginia.
  • The Nittany Lions have won five-straight matchups in the series and 33 of the last 35 contests.
  • Penn State is now 122-13-1 all-time in home openers and 113-22-2 all-time in season openers.
  • The Nittany Lions have won 20 of their last 22 home openers.
  • Penn State is now 75-18-2 all-time against the current members of the Big 12, including a 70-15-2 mark in regular season contests.
  • Penn State has won 16-consecutive games over non-conference opponents during the regular season.
  • Penn State has won 22-straight non-conference home games.
  • Penn State welcomed 110,747 fans to Beaver Stadium, marking the fourth-highest crowd in its history and the most since Sept. 29, 2018 against Ohio State (110,889).
  • Seven Nittany Lions made their first career collegiate start: QB Drew Allar, DT Zane Durant, LB Kobe King, OL JB Nelson, S Jaylen Reed, WR Harrison Wallace III and S Kevin Winston Jr.
  • DE Chop Robinson made his first career start at Penn State.
  • Seven Nittany Lions made their collegiate debut: CB Kolin Dinkins, DE Jameial Lyons, QB Beau Pribula, LB Ta'Mere Robinson, LB Tony Rojas, CB Zion Tracy, CB Elliot Washington II.
  • Thirteen Nittany Lions made their Penn State debut: WR Dante Cephas, CB Kolin Dinkins, K Alex Felkins, DE Jameial Lyons, S King Mack, WR Malik McClain, RB Trey Potts, QB Beau Pribula, LB Ta'Mere Robinson, LB Tony Rojas, P Riley Thompson, CB Zion Tracy, CB Elliot Washington II.
  • Six Penn State true freshmen played: DE Jameial Lyons, S King Mack, LB Ta'Mere Robinson, LB Tony Rojas, CB Zion Tracy, CB Elliot Washington II.

 
OFFENSE


Team

  • Penn State scored on its opening drive, a 72-yard touchdown pass by Drew Allar to KeAndre Lambert-Smith.
  • The Nittany Lions scored on their opening drive of the season for the first time since 2020 at Indiana.
  • Penn State had 478 yards of offense and extended its 400+ total yards streak to seven games.

 
Drew Allar

  • QB Drew Allar became the first Penn State quarterback to throw for at least 300 yards in a season opener since Christian Hackenberg's 454 passing yards against UCF in 2014.
  • Allar is the first Penn State quarterback to throw for at least 300 yards in his first career start since Michael Robinson threw for 379 yards vs. Wisconsin in 2003.
  • Allar threw for a career-high 325 passing yards, besting his previous high of 88 yards against Ohio in 2022.
  • He completed a career-high 21 passes, beating his previous mark of nine at Indiana in 2022.
  • The sophomore attempted a career-best 29 passes, topping his previous best of 12 at Indiana in 2022.
  • Allar threw for a career-high three touchdown passes. His previous best was two.
  • He earned his first career 200-yard passing game and 300-yard passing game.
  • The Medina, Ohio native recorded multiple touchdown passes in a game for the third time in his career.
  • Allar tossed a 72-yard touchdown pass to KeAndre Lambert-Smith on Penn State's opening drive.
  • The sophomore connected with Lambert-Smith on a 12-yard reception in the third quarter.
  • Allar found Malik McClain for a 25-yard touchdown in the fourth quarter.
  • The 72-yard touchdown pass is Allar's longest career pass. His previous long was a 32-yard pass against Ohio in 2022.
  • In the second quarter, Allar surpassed 500 career passing yards. He now has 669 for his career.

 
Nicholas Singleton

  • RB Nicholas Singleton scored on a 2-yard run in the second quarter. It was his 13th career rushing touchdown.
  • Singleton's 70 rushing yards give him 1,131 career rushing yards.
  • On a 10-yard run in the first quarter, Singleton surpassed 1,500 career all-purpose yards. His 90 all-purpose yards give him 1,585 all-purpose yards in his career.

 
Kaytron Allen

  • RB Kaytron Allen had 51 yards rushing, giving him 918 for his career.

 
KeAndre Lambert-Smith

  • WR KeAndre Lambert-Smith finished with four receptions for 123 yards and a career-high two touchdowns.
  • Lambert-Smith earned his second career 100-yard receiving game. He finished the night with 123 yards. He had 124 yards against Utah in the 2023 Rose Bowl.
  • He hauled in a 72-yard touchdown pass on Penn State's opening drive.
  • The junior owns three career touchdown receptions of 70+ yards, joining his 83-yard touchdown against Villanova in 2021 and his 88-yard touchdown reception against Utah in the 2023 Rose Bowl.
  • Lambert-Smith added a 30-yard reception in the second quarter.
  • Including his two receptions or over 20 yards, Lambert-Smith has 17 career 20+ yard receptions.

 
Malik McClain

  • WR Malik McClain hauled in a 25-yard touchdown reception in the fourth quarter for his sixth career touchdown catch.
  • McClain had a career-best 58 receiving yards. His prior high was 51 yards while at Florida State against UMass in 2021.
  • McClain tied a career high with four receptions. He had four for Florida State last season against Syracuse.

 
Dante Cephas

  • WR Dante Cephas hauled in a 22-yard reception in the third quarter, giving him a reception in 28-straight games.

 
Harrison Wallace III

  • WR Harrison Wallace III recorded a career-high seven receptions, besting his previous mark of four against Ohio in 2022.
  • Wallace also had a career-high 72 receiving yards. His previous best was 57 yards at Michigan in 2022.
  • He finished with seven catches for 72 yards and a long reception of 18 yards.

 
Beau Pribula

  • QB Beau Pribula scored the first rushing touchdown of his career in his first action of his career on a 5-yard run in the fourth quarter.
  • Pribula completed a seven-yard pass in the fourth quarter for the first attempt and completion of his career.

 
DEFENSE
 
Team

  • The Nittany Lions stopped West Virginia on three fourth-down conversion attempts.
  • Penn State posted six tackles for loss and has recorded at least six tackles for loss in each of the last nine games.
  • Penn State held West Virginia to 162 passing yards, the 65th time that the Nittany Lions have held an opponent under 200 passing yards in a game since 2014.

 
Curtis Jacobs

  • LB Curtis Jacobs finished the game with 10 tackles. He recorded double-digit tackles in a game for the third time in his career.
  • The 10 tackles for Jacobs were his most in a game since recording a career-high 14 vs Minnesota in 2022.
  • Jacobs notched a solo sack in the second quarter. It was the eighth sack of his career.

 
Dominic DeLuca

  • LB Dominic DeLuca registered a solo sack in the second quarter. It was his second career sack. His first came at Rutgers in 2022.

 
Cam Miller

  • CB Cam Miller had a career-high four tackles. His previous best was three against Ohio in 2022.
  • In the second quarter, Miller recorded his first career tackle for loss.

 
Abdul Carter

  • LB Abdul Carter recorded a solo sack, giving him 7.5 for his career.

 
Dvon Ellies

  • DT Dvon Ellies secured four tackles, tying a career mark set at Michigan State in 2021.

 
Kevin Winston, Jr.

  • S Kevin Winston, Jr. tied a career high with three tackles. He previously had three at Rutgers in 2022.

 
Zuriah Fisher

  • DE Zuriah Fisher tied his career best with two tackles. He also had two against Arkansas in the 2022 Outback Bowl.

 
Zion Tracy

  • CB Zion Tracy recorded two tackles in the first game of his career.

 
Tony Rojas

  • LB Tony Rojas had two tackles in his first collegiate debut.

 
Elliot Washington II

  • CB Elliot Washington II notched his first career tackle in his collegiate debut.

 
Kolin Dinkins

  • CB Kolin Dinkins posted his first career tackle in his first career game played.

 
 
SPECIAL TEAMS


Team

  • Penn State has not allowed a special teams touchdown in 49-straight games, since the start of the 2019 season.

 
Alex Felkins

  • K Alex Felkins converted a 25-yard field goal in the fourth quarter and also hit two extra-points for his first points as a Nittany Lion.

 
Sander Sahaydak

  • K Sander Sahaydak converted both of his extra-point attempts.