Rivalry leaderboard

Penn State-West Virginia Greatest Games

The series' top 25 meetings, ranked without team allegiance by game-time AP strength, final-score closeness, and overtime.

Games: 25
Top score: 59/100
Overtime: 0

Series context

Completed meetings: 61
Series record: Penn State 50-9-2 West Virginia
Tracked years: 1904-2024
Trophy: No named trophy

Series ranking

The rivalry's top 25 games

22 of these games include at least one AP-ranked team at kickoff. Open a supported game for its box score and statistics.

1954Week 5
West Virginia at Penn State
West Virginia 19, Penn State 14
Winner: West Virginia
No. 14 West Virginia vs. No. 9 Penn State · 5-point margin
Ranking 29/50 · Closeness 30/35 · Overtime 0/15
59
Game score
1953Week 7
West Virginia at Penn State
West Virginia 20, Penn State 19
Winner: West Virginia
No. 7 West Virginia vs. Unranked Penn State · 1-point margin
Ranking 19/50 · Closeness 34/35 · Overtime 0/15
53
Game score
1972Week 8
Penn State at West Virginia
Penn State 28, West Virginia 19
Winner: Penn State
No. 11 Penn State vs. No. 18 West Virginia · 9-point margin
Ranking 23/50 · Closeness 26/35 · Overtime 0/15
49
Game score
1947Week 7
West Virginia at Penn State
West Virginia 14, Penn State 21
Winner: Penn State
Unranked West Virginia vs. No. 5 Penn State · 7-point margin
Ranking 21/50 · Closeness 28/35 · Overtime 0/15
49
Game score
1989Week 10
West Virginia at Penn State
West Virginia 9, Penn State 19
Winner: Penn State
No. 13 West Virginia vs. No. 16 Penn State · 10-point margin
Ranking 23/50 · Closeness 25/35 · Overtime 0/15
48
Game score
1968Week 4
Penn State at West Virginia
Penn State 31, West Virginia 20
Winner: Penn State
No. 3 Penn State vs. Unranked West Virginia · 11-point margin
Ranking 23/50 · Closeness 24/35 · Overtime 0/15
47
Game score
1984Week 10
Penn State at West Virginia
Penn State 14, West Virginia 17
Winner: West Virginia
Unranked Penn State vs. No. 12 West Virginia · 3-point margin
Ranking 14/50 · Closeness 32/35 · Overtime 0/15
46
Game score
1980Week 9
Penn State at West Virginia
Penn State 20, West Virginia 15
Winner: Penn State
No. 13 Penn State vs. Unranked West Virginia · 5-point margin
Ranking 13/50 · Closeness 30/35 · Overtime 0/15
43
Game score
1974Week 8
Penn State at West Virginia
Penn State 21, West Virginia 12
Winner: Penn State
No. 10 Penn State vs. Unranked West Virginia · 9-point margin
Ranking 16/50 · Closeness 26/35 · Overtime 0/15
42
Game score
1982Week 8
Penn State at West Virginia
Penn State 24, West Virginia 0
Winner: Penn State
No. 9 Penn State vs. No. 13 West Virginia · 24-point margin
Ranking 30/50 · Closeness 11/35 · Overtime 0/15
41
Game score
1987Week 10
West Virginia at Penn State
West Virginia 21, Penn State 25
Winner: Penn State
Unranked West Virginia vs. No. 16 Penn State · 4-point margin
Ranking 10/50 · Closeness 31/35 · Overtime 0/15
41
Game score
1986Week 10
Penn State at West Virginia
Penn State 19, West Virginia 0
Winner: Penn State
No. 2 Penn State vs. Unranked West Virginia · 19-point margin
Ranking 24/50 · Closeness 16/35 · Overtime 0/15
40
Game score
1955Week 6
Penn State at West Virginia
Penn State 7, West Virginia 21
Winner: West Virginia
Unranked Penn State vs. No. 8 West Virginia · 14-point margin
Ranking 18/50 · Closeness 21/35 · Overtime 0/15
39
Game score
1956Week 7
West Virginia at Penn State
West Virginia 6, Penn State 16
Winner: Penn State
Unranked West Virginia vs. No. 12 Penn State · 10-point margin
Ranking 14/50 · Closeness 25/35 · Overtime 0/15
39
Game score
1981Week 8
West Virginia at Penn State
West Virginia 7, Penn State 30
Winner: Penn State
Unranked West Virginia vs. No. 1 Penn State · 23-point margin
Ranking 25/50 · Closeness 12/35 · Overtime 0/15
37
Game score
1940Week 5
West Virginia at Penn State
West Virginia 13, Penn State 17
Winner: Penn State
Unranked West Virginia vs. No. 20 Penn State · 4-point margin
Ranking 6/50 · Closeness 31/35 · Overtime 0/15
37
Game score
1969Week 5
West Virginia at Penn State
West Virginia 0, Penn State 20
Winner: Penn State
Unranked West Virginia vs. No. 5 Penn State · 20-point margin
Ranking 21/50 · Closeness 15/35 · Overtime 0/15
36
Game score
1959Week 8
Penn State at West Virginia
Penn State 28, West Virginia 10
Winner: Penn State
No. 7 Penn State vs. Unranked West Virginia · 18-point margin
Ranking 19/50 · Closeness 17/35 · Overtime 0/15
36
Game score
1958Week 9
West Virginia at Penn State
West Virginia 14, Penn State 14
Result: Tie
Unranked West Virginia vs. Unranked Penn State · 0-point margin
Ranking 0/50 · Closeness 35/35 · Overtime 0/15
35
Game score
1923Week 6
Penn State at West Virginia
Penn State 13, West Virginia 13
Result: Tie
Unranked Penn State vs. Unranked West Virginia · 0-point margin
Ranking 0/50 · Closeness 35/35 · Overtime 0/15
35
Game score
1944Week 10
West Virginia at Penn State
West Virginia 28, Penn State 27
Winner: West Virginia
Unranked West Virginia vs. Unranked Penn State · 1-point margin
Ranking 0/50 · Closeness 34/35 · Overtime 0/15
34
Game score
1975Week 6
West Virginia at Penn State
West Virginia 0, Penn State 39
Winner: Penn State
No. 10 West Virginia vs. No. 9 Penn State · 39-point margin
Ranking 33/50 · Closeness 0/35 · Overtime 0/15
33
Game score
1988Week 10
Penn State at West Virginia
Penn State 30, West Virginia 51
Winner: West Virginia
Unranked Penn State vs. No. 7 West Virginia · 21-point margin
Ranking 19/50 · Closeness 14/35 · Overtime 0/15
33
Game score
1992Week 9
Penn State at West Virginia
Penn State 40, West Virginia 26
Winner: Penn State
No. 14 Penn State vs. Unranked West Virginia · 14-point margin
Ranking 12/50 · Closeness 21/35 · Overtime 0/15
33
Game score
1978Week 9
Penn State at West Virginia
Penn State 49, West Virginia 21
Winner: Penn State
No. 2 Penn State vs. Unranked West Virginia · 28-point margin
Ranking 24/50 · Closeness 7/35 · Overtime 0/15
31
Game score

Methodology

How each game earns up to 100 points

AP ranking, 50 points: each team earns 26 minus its game-time AP rank. Unranked teams receive zero.

Closeness, 35 points: the final margin is subtracted from 35, with margins of 35 or more receiving zero.

Overtime, 15 points: overtime starts at nine points and rises by two per additional period, capped at 15.

Regular-season rankings use the AP Top 25 recorded for the game's week. Postseason meetings use the final regular-season AP poll before bowl and playoff results. Games before 2005 remain in the ranking but do not link to unsupported box-score pages. Videos are matched by canonical game ID or by a rematch-safe season matchup.