Penn State begins the 2023 football season by hosting a once-familiar foe.
The Nittany Lions will play West Virginia for the first time since 1992. James Franklin expects a packed house at Beaver Stadium for Saturday’s showdown.
He also seemed to drop fans a hint by calling it a “Sneaky White Out” game.
“This will be a really good example on Week 1 why college football is so special,” Franklin said Tuesday, per The Daily Collegian‘s Seth Engel.
James Franklin has dubbed the season opener against West Virginia as the “Sneaky White Out.”
“This will be a really good example on Week 1 why college football is so special”
— Seth Engle (@bigsengtweets) August 29, 2023
Penn State scheduled its annual White Out game for Sept. 23 against Iowa. However, Franklin thinks he’ll see a sea of white shirts in the stands three weeks sooner.
While he’s looking ahead to the crowd, the coach still wouldn’t reveal his starting quarterback. Sophomore Drew Allar is expected to receive the nod over freshman Beau Pribula, but Franklin refused to disclose his choice.
“We try not to put that information out there because I don’t necessarily see the value in it,” Franklin said of not naming his QB1.
James Franklin said he has a “pretty good idea” of who is starting “everywhere.”
The reason he hasn’t disclosed his starting QB?
“We try not to put that information out there because I don’t necessarily see the value in it”
— Seth Engle (@bigsengtweets) August 29, 2023
Penn State is coming off an 11-2 season marred only by Big Ten losses to Ohio State and Michigan. The Nittany Lions defeated Utah in the Rose Bowl with 448 total yards.
Franklin begins his 10th season at Penn State ranked No. 7 in the AP preseason poll. His program presumably must take down at least one of the Buckeyes or Wolverines to make its first-ever College Football Playoff appearance.
NBC will televise Saturday’s game between Penn State and West Virginia at 7:30 p.m. ET.