Penn State football opens as heavy betting favorite over West Virginia in season opener

the Penn State football program is set to encounter elevated expectations ahead of a 2023 season opener versus West Virginia. That optimistic outlook is evidenced in an initial betting line freshly released by FanDuel Sportsbook.

The Nittany Lions are an early 18.5-point favorite over West Virginia for a Week 1 showdown in Beaver Stadium. That Sept. 2 matchup will mark the first meeting between these teams since 1992, though it will be their 60th matchup overall.

Penn State owns a 48-9-2 record all-time against the Mountaineers, who last visited Beaver Stadium in October 1991, suffering a 51-6 defeat. West Virginia last prevailed in Happy Valley in 1954, and has won only twice in this series since a 1955 victory in Morgantown. PSU compiled a record of 34-2-1 against West Virginia during the ensuing decades.

The early betting spread reflects very different finishes for these respective programs last season. 

Penn State carried a four-game win streak into the Rose Bowl, then beat a top-10 opponent (Utah) by 14 points. During that span of five consecutive victories, the Nittany Lions outscored opponents by an average of 28 points. PSU's only two losses of 2022 came against eventual College Football Playoff semifinalists Michigan and Ohio State, who each opened as favorites for 2023 games against PSU, per FanDuel.

West Virginia stumbled to 5-7 last fall, winning consecutive games only once and finishing 3-6 against Big 12 foes. Each of the Mountaineers' final four conference losses occurred by a double-digit margin, placing head coach Neal Brown in a seemingly uncomfortable situation.

Brown is 22-25 at WVU since taking over the program in 2019, finishing above .500 only once (6-4 in 2020) through four seasons. West Virginia introduced new athletics director Wren Baker in December, and Year 5 of the Brown era is expected to face significant scrutiny, starting with a Game 1 visit to Beaver Stadium.

An 18.5-point spread matches the betting line of Penn State's last game on home turf: a 35-16 victory over Michigan State last November. The Nittany Lions were favored by more than that four times in 2022 (-19.5 at Rutgers; -25.5 vs. Northwestern; -27.5 vs. Ohio; -28 vs. Central Michigan). PSU covered the spread in 10 of 13 games last season, including the last seven contests.

Meanwhile, West Virginia didn't face any underdog situation deemed more dire than +8.5 (at Oklahoma) in 2022. The Mountaineers were 6-6 versus the spread last season, carrying a 2-3 mark in that department on the road.

Some familiar faces will return to Beaver Stadium when West Virginia travels north. Top-ranked Class of 2023 Mountaineers signee Rodney Gallagher, a receiver, was a long-time Nittany Lions recruiting target out of Laurel Highlands (Uniontown, Pa.) High School, defensive tackle transfer Fatorma Mulbah spent the last three seasons in a Penn State uniform, and receiver transfer Devin Carter (NC State) was briefly committed to Penn State this winter before ultimately signing with WVU.

Following the Sept. 2 game against West Virginia, Penn State will complete its out-of-conference schedule with visits from Delaware (Sept. 9) and UMass (Oct. 14).