Penn State will renew one of its older regional rivalries for the first time since before joining the Big Ten in 1993 when it opens the 2023 season at home against West Virginia. As if the revival of this fun regional rivalry is not enough to stand on its own, the game is being considered among the top nonconference matchups in college football for the upcoming season by CBS Sports.
CBS Sports put together a list of 100 college football storylines, odds, and more to commemorate the start of the 100-day countdown to the start of the new college football season recently. Part of the list ranked the top 20 nonconference matchups to look forward to this season, seemingly in no real particular order. But the season opener for the Nittany Lions and M<ountaineers was among the first games listed right behind Colorado‘s road trip to TCU (Deion Sanders’ coaching debut with the Buffaloes on the road against last season’s College Football Playoff national championship runner-up) and Florida‘s road trip to Utah for the backend of their home-and-home series.
Penn State’s home game against West Virginia will market the first meeting between the two schools since 1992. Penn State joined the Big Ten in 1993 and West Virginia continued its college football life in the Big East before eventually leaving for its current home in the Big 12. Penn State leads the all-time series with the Mountaineers by a 48-9-2 margin according to Winsipedia, and it owns a four-game winning streak in the series that ran from 1989 through 1992 before the long hiatus for the series.
Penn State’s season opener against West Virginia will be featured in primetime with new Big Ten media rights partner NBC. Penn State will enter the season with high expectations for a potential New Years Six bowl bid at the end of the season, and potentially its first appearance in the College Football Playoff if things go exceptionally well. This game will also feature the start of the Drew Allar era at quarterback. West Virginia is coming off a tough 5-7 season and is entering its fifth year under head coach Neal Brown, and that puts him on a bit of a hot seat for the upcoming season.
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