Let’s be real for a second. Penn State is a solid favorite at home against West Virginia to open up the season in Week 1, but you have to play the games for a reason. College football is fueled by upsets. And there is a chance Penn State could lose to West Virginia. It’s not likely, but it could happen.
Penn State is a massive favorite this weekend. The Nittany Lions are a nearly three-touchdown favorite according to the betting line and ESPN’s matchup predictor analytics give Penn State an 88.7% chance of starting the season 1-0. This is to be expected when Penn State is expected to firmly be on the College Football Playoff radar into November and West Virginia was picked to finish last in the newly expanded Big 12.
Everything you can do to look at this game suggests Penn State should feel comfortable starting the season on the winning foot against West Virginia. So how could the Mountaineers pull this one off? For obvious reasons, we’ll avoid the injury discussion because injuries can happen to anybody at any time. So let’s take a look at another five possible ways Penn State could potentially stub a toe against West Virginia in Week 1.