In September, Pitt and West Virginia will renew the Backyard Brawl for the fourth straight year. It will be the last time they square off until 2029, though – and Pat Narduzzi called for that to change.
Narduzzi called the Backyard Brawl one of the best rivalry games in college football and he put it alongside the Michigan vs. Michigan State matchup in which he coached from 2007-14. That’s why he argued Pitt and WVU should play every season, especially considering how much each fan base gets into the game.
That’s not the only matchup Narduzzi wants every year, though. He also wants Pitt to play Penn State every season, and he pointed out each program’s non-conference schedule in the coming years.
“This rivalry goes probably right at the top or near the top of rivalry games I’ve played in,” Narduzzi said of the Backyard Brawl on 92.7 The Fan. “If the people of Pittsburgh have never been to a Backyard Brawl, it is one of the best, if not the best, in the country, in my opinion. There’s a lot of hate in this rivalry. I’ve been around a lot of rivalries, but the hate that West Virginia has for Pitt, the disrespect, to me, that makes a rivalry. Sometimes, it’s not clean. I know there’s a lot of Pitt fans that don’t want to travel down to Morgantown because of that. But it’s right up there at the top. I was in the Michigan/Michigan State rivalry for eight years prior to coming here.
“That Penn State/Pitt one – which we’re still trying to figure out why we don’t play that game still. We should be playing West Virginia and Penn State every single year. I’ll go on record as saying I’m ready to go right now. Let’s line it up, especially these two extra years we have here where we’re not playing anybody. It’s a big-time rivalry, for sure.”
Pat Narduzzi has a 2-1 record against West Virginia since the rivalry made its triumphant return in 2022, including last year’s 38-34 victory at home. The Panthers and Mountaineers will square off Sept. 13 this year, and it will be their last scheduled matchup until 2029.
Pitt and Penn State, however, have not played since 2019 – a 17-10 Nittany Lions victory. The two teams played every year until 2000 before returning from a 16-year hiatus for the 2016 matchup, which Pitt won 42-39.
