Penn State Nittany Lions vs West Virginia Mountaineers Prediction, 8/31/2024 College Football Picks, Best Bets & Odds

Game: Penn State Nittany Lions vs West Virginia Mountaineers

Date: Saturday, August 31, 2024

Location: Milan Puskar Stadium in Morgantown, WV

TV: FOX

Odds/Point Spread: Mountaineers (+8)

Total/Over-Under: 51.5

The West Virginia Mountaineers (9-4 last year) will try to defeat the Penn State Nittany Lions (10-3 last season) at Milan Puskar Stadium on Saturday, August 31, 2024. Penn State opens this contest as 8.0-point favorites from Vegas oddsmakers. The total is set at 51.5.

The Penn State Nittany Lions finished the season holding a 10-3 record. In their last matchup, the Nittany Lions played against the Ole Miss Rebels and walked away from this one with a loss by a score of 38-25. The Penn State Nittany Lions ended up rushing 28 times and amassed 163 yds, which came out to an average of 5.8 yds per carry. Once the final whistle blew, they tallied 68 plays which converted into 506 yards. Penn State conceded 26 pass completions on 41 tries for 394 yds, and a completion percentage of 63.4%. Against the rush, the Nittany Lions gave up 146 yds on 47 attempts, which averages out to 3.1 yds per run surrendered.

The Nittany Lions had 5,197 yards in total over the course of last season. Penn State compiled 30 touchdowns via the pass and 26 rushing touchdowns. They turned the football over 8 times. Penn State compiled 293 1st downs, and they were called for 65 penalties for 563 yds. As a unit they had an average of 184.8 yards on the ground, which had them sitting 29th in the nation. Regarding putting the ball in the endzone, the Penn State Nittany Lions were sitting at 36.2 points per game.

When talking about passing yards, the Nittany Lions conceded 2,237 yds which ranked them 8th in college football. Over the course of their 13 games played last year, they conceded 172.1 yards per outing via the pass as well as relinquishing a completion percentage of 58.4%. They yielded 247.6 yards per contest ranking them 2nd in the nation. They yielded 10 passing touchdowns and 10 touchdowns on the ground. They gave up an average of 2.3 yards per rush and 75.5 rushing yards per game last season. Overall, they allowed 982 rushing yards through 13 games. The Nittany Lions were ranked 3rd in college football concerning the opposition scoring, allowing 13.5 points per contest.

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The Mountaineers wrapped up their year with a 9-4 record. In their last game, the Mountaineers got the victory with a final of 30-10 against the North Carolina Tar Heels. West Virginia ran the football for 5.5 yds per carry, finishing the contest with 164 yards on 30 carries. The Mountaineers finished the contest with a total of 392 yards while running 53 plays (7.4 yds per play). The Mountaineers pass defense conceded a completion rate of 66.7%, relinquishing 199 yards on 18 out of 27 passing. West Virginia gave up 41 rush attempts for 140 yards (3.4 yards per rush).

The West Virginia Mountaineers averaged 434.6 yards per contest, which had them sitting 27th in the nation. The West Virginia offense accrued 603 yds of penalties on 68 violations, which ranked 94th in D-1 in terms of helping out the opposition. They averaged 228.9 yards per game via the ground game and ran for 2,976 yards for last season. They gave away 7 interceptions while allowing opponents to recover 7 fumbles and they tallied 290 first downs. When discussing this team's ability to score points, the Mountaineers earned a ranking of 40th in college football holding an average of 31.5 PPG. Last season, the Mountaineers earned 2,674 passing yards along with an average of 205.7 passing yards per game, which had them sitting 91st in D-1.

The Mountaineers surrendered 26.2 PPG, ranking them 64th in the nation. West Virginia allowed a total of 1,872 yards rushing (144.0 yards/game) as well as 16 touchdowns on the ground last year. Over the course of the season, they surrendered 341 total points. They surrendered 26 touchdowns via the pass and 236.8 yards/game, which had them in 86th in the country. The Mountaineers defense was on the field for 855 plays, ranking them 72nd in the country. Their defense had 5 fumbles and 10 picks over the course of the prior season.

Who will win tonight's Nittany Lions/Mountaineers college football game against the spread?

Guy's Pick: Take the Mountaineers +8.0

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