On Saturday afternoon, the Penn State Nittany Lions hit the road to battle the West Virginia Mountaineers.
The Nittany Lions enter the season ranked No. 8 in the AP Poll. Meanwhile, West Virginia was picked to finish seventh in the Big 12 preseason media poll.
It will be looking to build off a 9-4 2023 season fueled by the return of dual-threat quarterback Garrett Greene. An upset of a top-10 team would certainly jump-start the season.
Historically, Penn State has dominated this series and holds a 49-9-2 edge. I'll be backing the Nittany Lions, but let's get to my full Penn State vs West Virginia same-game parlay picks for Saturday, August 31.
West Virginia vs Penn State Parlay
- Garrett Greene Over 43.5 Rushing Yards (-114)
- CJ Donaldson Anytime Touchdown (+200)
- Nicholas Singleton 50+ Alt Rushing Yards (-220)
- Kaytron Allen 50+ Alt Rushing Yards (-154)
- Penn State -6.5 Alt Spread (-148)
Parlay Odds: +2612 via FanDuel
Remember to bet responsibly — this is a long shot for a reason.
Garrett Greene Over 43.5 Rushing Yards (-114) & CJ Donaldson Anytime TD (+200)
Last season, West Virginia had a rushing play rate of nearly 63% and averaged 228.9 rushing yards per game, which was good for fourth in the nation.
The Mountaineers had a three-headed monster with quarterback Garrett Greene and running backs Jahiem White and CJ Donaldson.
Greene ran for 772 yards on 6.4 yards per carry and eclipsed 44 yards in eight of his 13 games last season, including 71 yards at Penn State.
Donaldson ran for 798 yards on 4.7 yards per carry and is also the Mountaineers' preferred option in the red zone. He scored in 10 of his 12 games last season and finished with 11 touchdowns, including one against Penn State. Nine of his touchdown runs were from far six yards or less.
At +200, he offers great value to find the end zone.
Nicholas Singleton 50+ Rushing Yards (-220) & Kaytron Allen 50+ Rushing Yards (-154)
Penn State also has a dangerous rushing attack and ranked 29th with 184.8 rushing yards per game last season.
Though with the talent it features in the backfield, you can certainly make the case that Penn State should be even better running the football this year with juniors Nicholas Singleton and Kaytron Allen.
I slightly prefer Singleton, who's the more explosive back. He led the Nittany Lions as a freshman in 2022 with 941 rushing yards on 6.3 yards per carry.
Last season, his numbers dipped a bit with 752 yards on 4.4 yards per carry. However, he still ran for 50 yards in seven of his 13 games and had 48 and 49 rushing yards in two other games.
He ran for 70 yards and a touchdown against the Mountaineers last season.
Meanwhile, Allen has been a model of consistency. He has averaged exactly 5.2 yards per carry in each of the past two seasons while posting 867 rushing yards in 2022 and 902 rushing yards last season.
He ran for 50 yards in 11 of his 13 games last season, including 51 against the Mountaineers and in six straight games to end the year.
West Virginia allowed 143.4 rushing yards per game last season, but we're only asking for 100 here. Singleton and Allen both typically receive double-digit carries, which will increase their chances of getting 50 yards apiece.
Additionally, if Penn State has a lead in the fourth quarter, it will likely be running to put the game away.
Penn State -6.5 (-148)
In last year's matchup, Penn State closed at -20.5 and covered with a late touchdown. So, what has swung this line two touchdowns this year?
Well, the Mountaineers exceeded expectations last season, return a lot of offensive production (led the nation in TARP offensively) and are now at home.
Meanwhile, Penn State has two new coordinators, and some have soured on quarterback Drew Allar.
Well, the new coordinators should be a reason for excitement. Offensive coordinator Andy Kotelnicki comes from Kansas, while Tom Allen takes over the defense following Manny Diaz's departure to Duke.
Kotelnicki helped Lance Leipold revitalize Kansas' program on the strength of an offense that averaged over 35 points and 440 yards per game over the past two seasons.
The Jayhawks offense also hummed whether Jalon Daniels or Jason Bean was at quarterback.
Allar did some good things last year, like post a 25:2 touchdown-to-interception ratio, but he didn't push the ball downfield enough for a player with his physical tools. With a year of experience under his belt and now being under Kotelnicki's tutelage, I expect Allar to take a leap this season.
Meanwhile, Diaz was a good defensive coordinator, but replacing him with Allen is basically a wash. Allen produced top defenses at South Florida and Indiana and will have another with the talent Penn State returns.
Abdul Carter leads the way and he is moving from linebacker to defensive end, where he should be even more disruptive. Along with Dani Dennis-Sutton, Zane Durant and Dvon J-Thomas, Penn State will have one of the nation's top defensive lines.
Safety Kevin Winston Jr. is one of the Big Ten's top safeties and the Nittany Lions added depth at corner with a pair of SEC transfers in A.J. Harris (Georgia) and Jalen Kimber (Florida).
While I'm not sleeping on West Virginia, Penn State is the better team on both sides of the ball. Also, when favored by at least seven points, James Franklin is 20-6-1 against the spread. Meanwhile, West Virginia went 0-3 against ranked teams last season and lost by 25 points per game.
While the odds of this parlay make it look like a total long shot, we only need about 145 combined rushing yards, a Donaldson touchdown and a seven-point Penn State victory — all of which hit in last year's game.
