The best sportsbooks favor the No. 8 Penn State Nittany Lions by 7.5 points over the West Virginia Mountaineers. Drew Allar is back, along with the dynamic running tandem of Kaytron Allen and Nicholas Singleton. They hope to win double digits for the third consecutive year and hope that their performance will be sufficient to secure a position in the College Football Playoffs.

Penn State vs. West Virginia Betting Odds By BetOnline

Team	SP/RL	TOTAL	ML
Penn State	-8½ -110	51½ -110	-315
West Virginia	+8½ -110	51½ -110	+255

Betting Penn State Nittany Lions

The goal for the Penn State Nittany Lions entering the 2024 campaign is to improve on consecutive seasons with ten or more wins, as they did in their 10-3 overall and 7-2 Big Ten conference record. The season ended in a 38-25 defeat in the Peach Bowl against Ole Miss. In 2024, Drew Allar will be back at center for Penn State, having completed his sophomore campaign with 2,631 yards, 25 touchdowns, and 2 interceptions.

Even with Tyler Warren back at tight end after recording seven touchdown catches the previous season, the receiving corps still features some strong players. Keandre Lambert-Smith, the team’s top receiver from 2023, moved out, but Ohio State’s Julian Fleming will start at wide receiver opposite Harrison Wallace III and Kaden Saunders. The Nittany Lions have a strong 1-2 option out of the backfield with Nicholas Singleton and Kaytron Allen.

After switching from playing linebacker to defensive end/edge rush last season, Abdul Carter leads the pass rush on defense. Dani Dennis-Sutton is also anticipated to fill the front line. After ranking second on the Nittany Lions with 59 tackles the previous season, Kobe King is also back. After compiling a team-high 61 tackles, Kevin Winston is back in Penn State’s secondary, and AJ Harris joins the team from Georgia to take over at cornerback.

According to the BettheSuperBowl website, Penn State has gone 15-4-1 ATS in their last 20 games. Penn State has gone 15-3 SU in their last 18 games. Lions have gone 5-1 ATS in their last six games on the road.

Penn State has gone 6-0 ATS in their last six games against an opponent in the Big 12 conference. Lions have gone 6-0 SU in their last six games played in August. Penn State has gone 7-0 SU in their last seven games played in week 1. The total has gone OVER in seven of Penn State’s last nine games played on a Saturday when on the road.

Betting West Virginia Mountaineers

With a 9-4 overall record, including a 6-3 record in Big 12 play, the West Virginia Mountaineers were one of college football’s biggest surprises in 2023 and hope to build on that success heading into the 2024 season.

The surprise stemmed from head coach Neal Brown sustaining criticism before the start of the season. However, Brown is now focused on leading WVU to double-digit wins for the first time since 2016. In the Duke Mayo Bowl, the Mountaineers defeated North Carolina 30–10 to close up the season. After throwing for 2,406 yards, 16 touchdowns, and 4 interceptions and rushing for 772 yards and 13 scores on the ground, Garrett Greene is back at quarterback for the Mountaineers.

After averaging 798 rushing yards and 11 touchdowns, CJ Donaldson returns as a running back, and Jahiem White, in his sophomore year, is looking to build on his 842 rushing yards and four touchdowns.

The Mountaineers lost Devin Carter, who led them in receiving the previous season. Fear not, though, as Kole Taylor is returning after leading WVU with 35 catches the previous season, and Jaden Bray is coming from Oklahoma State.

Ben Cutter will take over Lee Kpogba’s linebacking group, as Kpogba is done for the season. Sean Martin leads the WVU defensive front, which led the Big 12 in sacks the previous season. The WVU secondary will be led by Anthony Wilson and Aubrey Burks in what should be yet another outstanding season in Morgantown.

Per to the best sportsbooks, West Virginia has gone 8-4 ATS in their last 12 games. The total has gone OVER in six of West Virginia’s last eight games. West Virginia has gone 5-1 SU in their last six games.

Mountaineers have gone 5-1 ATS in their last six games at home. West Virginia has gone 2-6 ATS in their last eight games against an opponent in the Big Ten conference. The total has gone UNDER in four of West Virginia’s last five games played in August.

West Virginia has gone 13-5 SU in their last 18 games played in week 1. The total has gone OVER in five of West Virginia’s last six games played on a Saturday. West Virginia has gone 4-1 SU in their last five games played on a Saturday when playing at home.

Penn State Nittany Lions vs. West Virginia Mountaineers Pick

Many people have great expectations for Penn State this season, and with good reason—the Nittany Lions boast a strong roster once again, and we believe Drew Allar will continue to improve with each play he makes.

Though it will be interesting to see if 2023 was an anomaly or if there is something there, Morgantown is a difficult place for any road team, so we believe that the newfound optimism following a strong 2023 season comes with a lot of excitement, especially for a top-10 team to visit for the season opener. Take the Mountaineers and the points.