It’s time for the Backyard Brawl between Pitt and West Virgina. Nothing else needs to be said.
Pitt is back on ESPN for the second week in a row, with ESPN deciding to flex Tulane-Oklahoma to ESPN and Pitt-West Virginia to ESPN2. Mike Monaco will handle play-by-play duties, Kirk Morrison will serve as his analyst and Dawn Davenport will report from the sideline.
Bill Hillgrove — in his 51st season as the voice of the Pitt Panthers — will handle play-by-play duties on 93.7 the Fan and the Pitt Radio Network, with Pat Bostick serving as his analyst and Larry Richert and Dorin Dickerson reporting from the field at Acrisure Stadium.
“There’s maybe not many more important rivalry games in the country,” Pat Narduzzi said on Monday at his weekly presser. “You guys can talk about the River City Rivalry. We all know that’s not really a rivalry this weekend. If you don’t know anything about rivalries, this is the one. This is the one that people in Pittsburgh live for, people down South live for.
“Again, they have a great football team. Brown is a heck of a heck of a football coach. He’s calling the plays. I think schematically he’s very similar to Satterfield last week. I have a ton of respect for him as a football coach, as a scheme guy. He does really good stuff.”
The Brawl, when it’s on the schedule, is one of the most eagerly anticipated games on the Pitt schedule — especially when it’s in Pittsburgh. And with the Panthers coming off a historic comeback victory, Panther Nation will be out in full force this weekend.
Pitt is 2-0, coming off a come-from-behind win against Cincinnati this weekend, and is looking to improve to 3-0 for the first time since 2020.
West Virginia is 1-1, rebounding from a season-opening loss against Penn State with a 49-14 beatdown against Albany. WVU quarterback Garrett Greene and the Mountaineers’ offense are looking to continue their ascent.
Pitt leads the all-time series with West Virginia 62-41-3. It’s a series that initially kicked off in the 1800s, with an 8-0 WVU win in 1895, but the two sides played every season from 1943-2011 — and just about every season since 1900 before that. It’s grown into perhaps the greatest rivalry in college football in the years since.
The series stopped for 10 seasons due to both teams leaving the Big East, with Pitt going to the ACC and West Virginia to the Big 12, following the 2011 season.
But it resumed in the 2022 season. Pitt knocked off WVU, 38-31, to open the season at Acrisure Stadium, and WVU returned the favor with a 17-6 win at Milan Puskar Stadium last season. After last season’s embarrassing showing, with three interceptions from then-quarterback Phil Jurkovec, the Panthers have a lot to prove this time around
Television — ESPN2
Mike Monaco (play-by-play)
Kirk Morrison (analyst)
Dawn Davenport (reporter)
Radio — 93.7 The Fan, Pitt Panthers Radio NetworkÂ
Bill Hillgrove (play-by-play)
Pat Bostick (analyst)
Larry Richert and Dorin Dickerson (reporters)
SiriusXM Satellite Radio
Channels 119 or 193 or on the SiriusXM app
WPTS Radio (Pitt Student Station) — 92.1 FM
