Backyard Brawl Is back
Pitt quarterback Pat Bostick prepares to throw a pass against West Virginia in 2007. The Panthers stunned the second-ranked Mountaineers in Morgantown, 13-9, knocking them out of the national championship picture. (Submitted photo)
Submitted photo
West Virginia鈥檚 Bill McKenzie boots a game-winning field on the final play to give the Mountaineers a dramatic victory over Pitt in 1975.
West Virginia coach Don Nehlen was carried off the field after the Mountaineers defeated Pitt, 24-21, in 1983. (Submitted photo)
Garrett Ford Sr. rushed for 192 yards and two touchdowns and added four receptions for 76 yards and another touchdown in West Virginia鈥檚 64-48 victory over Pitt in 1965.
After an 11-year hiatus The Backyard Brawl is back.
The college football season kicks off on Sept. 1 with the 105th edition of Pitt vs. West Virginia in front of a national television audience. Both fan bases are energized and the game at Acrisure Stadium is a sellout.
Former Pitt and West Virginia coaches and players are excited about the return of the rivalry. The teams are scheduled to play each other in a four-year series from 2022 to 2025 and from 2029 to 2032.
鈥淣o question I鈥檓 happy to see them playing,鈥� said former WVU head coach Don Nehken, who was 11-8-2 against Pitt. 鈥淭hey are only 75 miles up the road. We fly 1,500 miles to play somebody. Doesn鈥檛 make sense to me that we don鈥檛 play them every year. It鈥檚 just a natural rivalry and we looked forward to playing Pitt because we had so many kids on our team from that area.
鈥淲hen I came to WVU we were one of the 10 worst football teams and Pitt was one of the 10 best,鈥� Nehlen recalled. 鈥淣aturally it took us four years to catch them, but when we caught them we started to beat them.鈥�
鈥淚鈥檓 excited to see the game back on the schedule,鈥� former Pitt quarterback Pat Bostic offered. 鈥淚t鈥檚 a legendary rivalry. It鈥檚 a game now more than ever, with all the college football realignment and talk, that has to be played. It鈥檚 important to both programs and I鈥檓 glad it鈥檚 back and I can鈥檛 wait until September 1.鈥�
The Backyard Brawl has a history of great games. Here are a few of the ones that I witnessed.
West Virginia鈥檚 63-48 victory over Pitt in 1965 set eight school records in a game that saw each team score almost a point-and-a-half for every minute of action. Garrett Ford Sr. ran for 192 yards and two touchdowns, caught four passes for 76 yards and another score, and he also returned four kickoffs for 73 yards 鈥� almost a full season鈥檚 worth of work during the Wing-T, one-platoon football era. His 341 all-purpose yards produced against the Panthers were a school record that lasted 47 years until it was re-discovered when Tavon Austin established a new one against Oklahoma in 2012.
Teletype operators across the country kept messaging the Mountaineer Field press box, wondering if the score was real. Many wondering if this was a basketball score.
In West Virginia鈥檚 colossal collapse at Pitt in 1970 Bobby Bowden鈥檚 team took a 35-8 lead into the locker room at halftime and wound up losing the game 36-35. Pitt switched to a Power-I offense and rallied with four touchdowns.
鈥淭hat is still my darkest day in coaching,鈥� said Bowden, later claiming he could have been physically harmed by irate West Virginia supporters had he not kept his team in the locker room for an extra hour to give the craziest of the crazies enough time to disperse.
Bowden, who died last year, got a small measure of revenge in 1975 when West Virginia beat the nationally ranked Panthers on Bill McKenzie鈥檚 last-second field goal in Morgantown. A walk-on kicker, McKenzie鈥檚 game-winning kick led to one of the longest postgame celebrations ever at old Mountaineer Field. Led by Heisman Trophy winner Tony Dorsett, Pitt would rebound to win the 1976 national championship and 67 of its next 77 regular-season games.
1982, Pitt 16, West Virginia 13: Pitt spent much of the season at No. 1 while starting 7-0, but held on to beat West Virginia only when Paul Woodside鈥檚 long field goal attempt hit the crossbar.
鈥淚 was down on my knees when Woodside kicked it,鈥� Nehlen said. 鈥淭hat effort by that West Virginia team was unbelievable. Pitt had so many more players than we had, you couldn鈥檛 even compare it.鈥�
1983, West Virginia 24, Pitt 21: Jeff Hostetler drove the Mountaineers 90 yards in the final two minutes for their first victory over Pitt since 1975, and Don Nehlen鈥檚 first in four tries as coach.
鈥淲e were running the ball and we drove 90 yards,鈥� former WVU quarterback Hostetler recalled. 鈥淚 kept on telling coach we got the keeper and finally he said okay we鈥檙e going with it and called it at the right time. That was a big one to win.鈥�
1989, Pitt 31, West Virginia 31: The second-greatest comeback in the series鈥� history. Pitt trailed 31-9 at new Mountaineer Field in the fourth quarter, but rallied behind freshman quarterback Alex Van Pelt. Ed Frazier made a tying 42-yard field goal on the final play. After the game, Pitt celebrated as if it had it won. West Virginia was ranked No. 9 at the time.
1994, West Virginia 47, Pitt 41: Pitt comes back from a 31-6 deficit and takes a 41-40 lead in the final minute. But with 15 seconds left, Chad Johnston hit Zach Abraham on a winning 60-yard touchdown pass.
1997, Pitt 41, West Virginia 38 (3 OT): Pitt coach Walt Harris鈥� first season. This win propelled the Panthers into their first bowl game in eight years and began the school鈥檚 turnaround following six losing seasons in seven years. West Virginia鈥檚 Marc Bulger passed for 348 yards. With Pitt about to lose in the third overtime, Pete Gonzalez hit Jake Hoffart for 20 yards and a first down on fourth-and-17, then hooked up with Terry Murphy two plays later on a 12-yard touchdown pass.
2007, Pitt 13, West Virginia 9: Wrapping up an uneventful losing season, the Panthers go to Morgantown and shock the Mountaineers with one of the biggest upsets in college football history, knocking them out of the national championship game. WVU was ranked No. 2 in the country before losing to Pitt, which had just four wins.
鈥淚t鈥檚 a great memory,鈥� Bostick said. 鈥淚t not so much that I was a reluctant hero, but I didn鈥檛 have as much to do with winning that game. I didn鈥檛 play that great, but I was able to score the only touchdown. Really the heroes of that game in my opinion were our entire defense led by Scott McKillop, and certainly running back Shady McCoy. It was a heck of a memory and just a special, special night and one that had quite a ripple effect on not only the series, but also college football at large.鈥�
Pitt leads the Backyard Brawl series 61-40-3.
The changing landscape in college football could have consequences for both schools moving forward.
鈥淭he whole conference realignment screwed up our rivalries,鈥� former WVU defensive tackle Brad Hunt offered. 鈥淚t messed up Virginia Tech and Pitt. It鈥檚 getting worse. The teams that have played rivalries for over a hundred years it鈥檚 a shame that conference realignment eliminated that. I鈥檓 glad to see Pitt-WVU back and there鈥檚 a lot of emotion between those schools and it鈥檚 a huge rivalry. It鈥檚 our biggest rival ever. It needs to happen more than just once a decade.鈥�
The Backyard Brawl rivalry is the 14th oldest in the United States and is typically shown on national television. It will be shown on ESPN on Sept. 1.
鈥淎nytime you have rivalries, especially ones that are historic and they鈥檝e been played for many, many years, I think it鈥檚 a positive,鈥� former Pitt wide receiver Bill Osborn explained. 鈥淚 think it鈥檚 good for the fan base. I think it鈥檚 good for college football in general and I think it鈥檚 good for the programs. You are always trying to play meaningful games and a rivalry is a meaningful game. It鈥檚 a very big thing.鈥�
It is such a big deal that ESPN鈥檚 College Game Day crew is heading to Pittsburgh. The famed college football pregame show will go live from Pittsburgh on Thursday, Sept. 1 ahead of Pitt鈥檚 battle against West Virginia. This season will mark the College Game Day team鈥檚 first visit to Pittsburgh since 2005.
Emotions are starting to run high as the game approaches.
鈥淭hey should play every year,鈥� Hostetler opined. 鈥淵ou hear about this Pitt-West Virginia thing and I came from Penn State and Penn State and Pitt played all the time, it was a big rivalry and I thought I鈥檓 used to this kind of thing. My eyes were wide open my first game against Pitt, because that鈥檚 a hate relationship right there. Just to be part of that is awesome and it should never have gone away and I鈥檓 glad it鈥檚 back and it鈥檚 going to be an awesome time.鈥�
鈥淚t should be played every year,鈥� longtime Pitt play-by-play broadcaster Bill Hillgrove stated. 鈥淚 always enjoyed my trips to Morgantown. Let鈥檚 face it, because of my identity with Channel 4, and Channel 4 was big down through that area, I would be viewed as a celebrity with a love-hate relationship. On one hand they enjoyed my work on the nightly news, but I was the voice of the hated Panthers. It was always fun.
鈥淭he emotions, the feelings they will run high. The players want to play the game and the coaches want to coach the game. I think it should be played every year.鈥�
鈥淭here is still a hatred,鈥� former WVU defensive back Bo Orlando explained. 鈥淚鈥檓 56 years old and I鈥檝e been out of college for 30 some years and I still have a somewhat hatred of Pitt, but those were the days. That was The Backyard Brawl.鈥�
Sept. 1 should ignite the Pitt and WVU rivalry once again. In the words of the late actress Bette Davis in All About Eve, 鈥淔asten your seat belts it鈥檚 going to be a bumpy night.鈥�
George Von Benko鈥檚 鈥淢emory Lane鈥� column appears in the Sunday editions of the 缅北禁地. He also hosts a sports talk show on WMBS-AM radio from 10 a.m. to noon on Saturdays.