Penn State will be opening a season on the road for the fourth time in the last five seasons this weekend when they take on West Virginia in Morgantown, West Virginia. Penn State has not played at West Virginia since the 1992 season, the final season before Penn State moved to the Big Ten. The anticipation for the season opener is always high, but considering this is Penn State’s first visit to their former regional rival in over 30 years, it is no wonder why this week’s ticket is one of the hottest of the season for the Nittany Lions.
Of course, head coach [autotag]James Franklin[/autotag] has a lot on his plate in preparing for the game. Doing so on the road adds some extra caution to take into consideration this week. The first time on the road is always a bit concerning, but doing so for the season opener has Franklin double checking as many things as he can think of before Saturday.
“It’s traveling for the first time, and we haven’t traveled with some of those guys before,” Franklin said during his weekly press conference this week. “The hotel, the bus, you know, the meals, the sleep, sleeping in a different bed; all these types of things, they factor in.”
Franklin already knows the environment for Saturday will be raucous. While he has guided Penn State to places like Wisconsin and Ohio State, the scene in Morgantown might be something on a different level in some regards.
“It’s magnified in a place that does not have an NFL team,” Franklin said of West Virginia. “Like everything in that state revolves around West Virginia and Mountaineer football.”
Penn State is favored this week for the noon kickoff.
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