Drew Allar, new-look Penn State offense shine bright in win over West Virginia

MORGANTOWN, W.Va. — As the officials turned and faced West Virginia's captains following an opening coin toss that had gone the home team's way, the words of senior safety Aubrey Burks reverberated around Mountaineer Field courtesy of a referee's microphone.

"We want the ball," Burks said in a moment of confidence that was broadcast across the video boards at either end of the stadium. "And we wanna go score."

Once, twice, three times, Burks repeated himself until the referee pointed both sets of players toward the sidelines as kickoff approached. The Mountaineers arrived for Saturday's nationally televised opener brimming with confidence after closing the 2023 campaign with five victories in six games, stamped by a 20-point win over North Carolina in the Duke's Mayo Bowl last December. A conference record of 6-3 and an overall mark of 9-4 were enough to spark optimism, excitement and a contract extension for head coach Neal Brown.

But choosing to receive the opening kickoff did little in West Virginia's quest to follow through on the intention Burks had so publicly outlined. Four possessions came and went before the Mountaineers mustered any points at all, and even then, after turning the ball over twice in the first quarter alone, they settled for a lowly field goal. And field goals were never going to be enough against a new-look, new-age Penn State offense that began to unlock the potential of former five-star quarterback Drew Allar (11-of-17 for 216 yards and three TDs).

Under the direction of first-year offensive coordinator Andy Kotelnicki, whom head coach James Franklin plucked from Kansas, the Nittany Lions finally began to roar. There were chunk plays through the air from Allar to wideouts Omari Evans (two