After a season-opening defeat, West Virginia has a chance to regroup Saturday when FCS opponent Duquesne visits Morgantown, W.Va.
The Mountaineers (0-1) lost 38-15 to No. 7 Penn State last weekend, when they converted only 4 of 14 third downs and were outgained 478-308 overall.
“We were going to lay it on the line. (The Nittany Lions) made some explosive plays,” West Virginia coach Neal Brown said. “We had some opportunities. We didn’t make the plays, and they made them.”
Mountaineers quarterback Garrett Greene completed 16 of 27 passes for 162 yards without a touchdown or an interception. He did have a rushing score among his 71 ground yards on 15 carries. Running back CJ Donaldson Jr. rushed 18 times for 81 yards and another touchdown.
Still, West Virginia’s defense continued to display a disturbing trend, showing little improvement after allowing at least 31 points in all seven of its losses last season.
Penn State averaged 11.1 yards per pass attempt against the Mountaineers, but Brown isn’t losing any faith in his talented bunch.
“I’m zero discouraged with our guys,” Brown said, adding that he “thought our guys handled the elements. They competed.”
Duquesne (1-0) opened its season with a thorough 49-7 victory over Division II foe Edinboro. The Dukes forced five turnovers, including four in the opening quarter, highlighted by Ayden Garnes’ pick-six on the second play of the contest.
Darius Perrantes passed for two touchdowns and ran for another in the first half as Duquesne built a 35-0 lead.
“Coming off last season, the guys knew we had to really dial in and take care of the little things, and I thought that showed today,” said coach Jerry Schmitt, whose team went 4-7 in 2022.
Saturday will mark the beginning of a four straight road games for Duquesne — its longest stretch away from home since 1990. The Dukes are 1-6 all-time against FBS opponents, including defeats to Florida State (47-7) and Hawaii (24-14) last season.
–Field Level Media
