Kicking up memories of the WVU-Penn State football series
My first recollection of a Penn State-WVU football game goes all the way back to 1972.
No, I wasn’t covering it. Lol. I’m not THAT old. Rather, I was a 12-year-old boy throwing a football to my little brother outside the house while listening to Jack Fleming’s call on the radio.
I remembered the excitement relayed from Jack when Kerry Marbury opened a game with a 100-yard kickoff return for a touchdown to give West Virginia the 6-0 lead in Morgantown. Joy washed over me. Yet the Nittany Lions, behind John Hufnagel as you surely remember, rallied and won 25-19.
I remember as a 13-year-old listening to Jack’s call as WVU’s Danny “Lightning” Buggs caught a Ben Williams pass and went 96 yards for a touchdown. “King” Artie Owens also had a 95-yard kickoff return for a score in the 1973 game for the Mountaineers. And yet WVU lost 62-14.
That’s the way it’s largely gone for Mountaineer fans regarding the Penn State series, in which the Nittany Lions hold a 48-9-2 lead.
Yes, there have been wonderful moments for WVU. There are two that shine like beacons in the darkness that is the Mountaineers’ series versus the Nittany Lions.
They will be pointed to over and over by WVU media in the lead-up to Saturday’s series renewal in Happy Valley. They are the 1984 17-14 “Finally” home win, which was televised on ESPN, and the 1988 51-30 “Major Harris” victory on CBS. After 29 years of frustration, coach Don Nehlen’s men broke through in 1984 and in 1988 Harris and company gave Joe Paterno one of his worst losses ever.
Those were great memories for me, a former sports writer for 38 years before joining Wheelhouse Creative. I even vividly remember the last time WVU played at Penn State, which it will again this Saturday.
I remember visiting Happy Valley because back in the day, Paterno would mingle with visiting media the Friday before at the Nittany Lion Inn. They’d have hors d’oeuvres and beverages available. Paterno would then stroll in, go straight to the bar, get a skinny glass of whiskey or bourbon, walk around and visit with reporters and, when the whiskey was gone, bid everyone goodnight and leave.
I know his tenure ended in scandal, but the way he handled the media was deft. (Can you imagine coaches doing that these days?)
I remember talking to Paterno one-on-one. I remember the aforementioned big WVU victories, the thrill and exuberance of Mountaineer fans.
Honestly, though, as someone who was graduated from WVU, what mostly comes to mind is this: Ugh.
Friend Mike Oliverio asked if the ’84 and ’88 games were the only time in our lives the Mountaineers have won. The answer: Yes.
Consider that for a moment. I’m 63. WVU and Penn State played football every year of my life through 1992. And there were but two Mountaineer wins.
Ugh.
How dominant has Penn State been? Before 1984, WVU had no wins over their rival since 1955 (there was a tie in there). West Virginia did have a three-game winning streak from 1953-55, but you get the picture. The Mountaineers were held scoreless in the series’ first five games.
Overall, Penn State has outscored the Good Guys 1,550 to 674 through the years. That’s an average 26.3-11.4 score.
And that last time WVU played in Happy Valley? Penn State won 51-6. I remember interviewing Michael Beasley afterward. He had the only Mountaineer TD, a 32-yard pass from Darren Studstill.
I remember looking at Michael, who had become a friend, and thinking, “What the hell am I even going to ask him?” There wasn’t much to say. WVU didn’t even convert the extra point.
This season, WVU is a 20.5-point underdog. The Mountaineers were picked to finish last in the Big 12 via the media poll. Penn State is ranked No. 7 in the A.P. poll. Again, it doesn’t look good for WVU.
Yet once again I’ll hold out hope for my alma mater.
I’ll watch and listen from afar, just as that 12- and 13-year-old boy did oh so many years ago.
And with boyish hope I’ll once again root on my Mountaineers.
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Mitch Vingle covered sports in West Virginia for 38 years. Follow Mitch on Twitter at @MitchVingle and be sure to check out the rest of Wheelhouse Creative’s website for your marketing and advertising needs. If interested, call us at 304-905-6005.