Pitt rallies late to secure 38-31 victory against West Virginia in Backyard BrawlVideo
Dave Wannstedt’s words carried across the room and into M.J. Devonshire’s head long before Pitt put a lock on what became an improbable Backyard Brawl victory, 38-31, against West Virginia. “He said it: ‘Somebody is always going to be legendary and it could be you,’ ” Devonshire said of the...
Before Brawl, Tony Dorsett lends a hand in Pitt’s recruiting efforts
The Pitt sideline at Acrisure Stadium was teeming with recruits and recruiters before the West Virginia-Pitt game Thursday night. One guy — an unofficial Pitt recruiter — stood out among the crowd. Tony Dorsett, who is Pitt’s only Heisman Trophy winner, was engaged in an animated conversation with Austintown Fitch...
ESPN’s Rece Davis, Desmond Howard relish college rivalries like the Backyard Brawl
Never more so than now has money been in the face of a casual college football fan. Of course, across collegiate athletics, dollar signs were always the straw that stirred the drink. But nowadays, the differences between the business models of college football and say, the NFL or NBA, have...
Big 12 last time at 10 teams; Oklahoma State seeks 2nd titleVideo
Mike Gundy is the only Big 12 head coach still around from the last time the conference was going through so much change. That was a little more than a decade ago, about the time Oklahoma State won its only championship in the league. With new commissioner Brett Yormark already...
Backyard Brawl: Memories of 13-9 in ’07 with Pitt’s Chris McKillop — ‘We played a perfect game’
When it comes to Chris McKillop’s freshman year as a Pitt Panther, there is at least one aspect of coach Walt Harris’ daily practices that the defensive lineman will never forget. “Walt Harris had a ‘West Virginia’ period,” McKillop said during Wednesday’s “Breakfast With Benz” podcast. “In an 18-period practice....
After 10 seasons without a Brawl, Pitt, WVU find natural rival right down the road
The night the Backyard Brawl faded away, Pitt quarterback Tino Sunseri was sacked 10 times in a 21-20 West Virginia victory in Morgantown. Panthers coach Todd Graham said the loss “devastated” him. That was Nov. 25, 2011. The schools separated by 75 miles of Interstate 79 haven’t met since. The...
Backyard Brawl: WVU players ‘recognize their legacy could be authored on Thursday night’
Jed Drenning knows how West Virginia football fans talk about the Backyard Brawl. He was a backup quarterback for the Mountaineers, and he has been part of their game-day broadcast crew for 20 years. Those games are spoken about in snapshots. In individual moments. In specific final scores. “Where were...
Fortunes of WVU offense could ride on health of transfer QB JT Daniels
West Virginia knew what it got in transfer JT Daniels: a quarterback who went undefeated as a starter at Georgia — and has sat out more games than he’s played in throughout his career. Daniels understands the way to helping the Mountaineers become relevant in the Big 12 this season...
Backyard Brawl breakdown: West Virginia’s top 5 wins in series vs. Pitt
With so much talk about the Backyard Brawl resonating up and down Interstate 79, you might wonder: Where did the name Backyard Brawl originate? Most people believe it wasn’t bestowed on what would become one of college football’s most passionate rivalries until the 1960s when the late Pittsburgh Press sports...
New coordinator, QB give West Virginia hope for improvement
Neal Brown took himself out of the equation after West Virginia’s offense struggled last season. The fourth-year coach handed play-calling duties in January to newly hired offensive coordinator Graham Harrell, who was prolific in the same role at Southern Cal and North Texas and as a quarterback under Mike Leach...
Backyard Brawl breakdown: Pitt’s top 5 wins in the series vs. WVU
The football teams of Pitt and West Virginia started playing each other in 1895. The Mountaineers won the first three games by scores of 8-0, 6-0 and 6-5. They decided to keep playing, anyway. In 1904, after scoring a total of 29 points over six games, Pitt won 53-0, starting...
Pat Narduzzi, Neal Brown maintain secrecy over Pitt, WVU quarterback questions
Neal Brown is 14 years younger than Pat Narduzzi, and he has only half as much experience (four seasons) as a head coach in the Power 5. But keeping a secret is something common to both the West Virginia and Pitt coaches. Other than they played college football at New...
‘College GameDay’ set to visit Pittsburgh for Backyard Brawl on Sept. 1
The hype machine for the renewal of the Backyard Brawl hit another gear Thursday when ESPN announced it will bring its popular “College GameDay” show to Acrisure Stadium on Sept. 1 for the West Virginia/Pitt game. The special, one-hour show goes on the air at 6 p.m. and will include...
Pitcher Trey Braithwaite drafted in 16th round, joins WVU teammates Jacob Watters, Victor Scott II chosen in 4th, 5th rounds
Right-handed pitcher Trey Braithwaite, a fifth-year senior at West Virginia, was selected by the Cincinnati Reds in the 16th round of the MLB Draft on Tuesday. Braithwaite, a transfer from Navy, was named to the All-Big 12 first team and was a third-team National Collegiate Baseball Writers Association All-American. He...
Pittsburgh street named after W.Va., Brashear football standout Major HarrisVideo
The irony of having a Pittsburgh street named after a West Virginia Mountaineer football star was not lost on those who showed up for a special ceremony Friday in the Hill District. But everyone seemed to be in agreement that the honor bestowed on former Brashear High School quarterback Major...
Big 12 ponders conference realignment from position of strength with new commissioner
WICHITA, Kan. — At about this time last year, the Pac-12 and its new commissioner made a decision that transformed the Big 12 from prey to hunter in the world of conference realignment. When George Kliavkoff announced that his league had no plans to add schools looking for a life...
Tim Benz: College football conferences may have to die for the sport to rediscover why they were important
I’ve long had a theory about how the shifting landscape of college sports conferences would end. Pretty close to how it started. I consider the constant conference expansion and contraction to be college football nihilism. The existence of conferences as we know them today is unfounded, senseless and useless. Objective...
Roy Williams, Jim Calhoun among coaches headed to college hoops Hall
KANSAS CITY, Mo. — Roy Williams and Jim Calhoun will join John Beilein and Lon Kruger in a star-studded cast of coaches who will be inducted into the National College Basketball Hall of Fame in November. Another longtime coach, Jerry Krause of Eastern Washington, will join the quartet along with...
Big 12 picks Roc Nation’s Brett Yormark as next commissioner
DALLAS — Brett Yormark, an executive with Jay-Z’s Roc Nation and former CEO of the Brooklyn Nets, was named Big 12 commissioner Wednesday, another unconventional hire by a major conference amid the rapidly changing landscape of college athletics. Yormark is taking over for Bob Bowlsby, who came to the league...
SEC/Big 12 Challenge matchups set for January 2023
Kansas will visit Kentucky and Baylor is set to host Arkansas in the SEC/Big 12 Challenge next season. The leagues on Thursday announced the 10 matchups set for Saturday, Jan. 28, 2023. All 10 of the Big 12 members and all but four of the Southeastern Conference teams will participate....
Basketball vs. Kentucky? Football vs. Florida St. and WVU? Why — and how — Duquesne has stepped up its scheduling strategy
Duquesne football coach Jerry Schmitt was at Pittsburgh Steelers practice at the UPMC Rooney facility on the South Side last week. He saw Pitt coach Pat Narduzzi hanging out in front of his team’s side of the building. “I said, ‘Hey, Pat! Guess who opens up the ACC Network schedule...
Johnny Majors Classic, 2 prime-time games kick start Pitt’s 2022 season
After finishing the 2021 season with 11 victories and ranked 13th in the final Associated Press poll, Pitt football will get additional opportunities to prove its national relevancy in the first three games of 2022. Pitt will appear in prime time twice, sandwiched around a cross-sectional game against Tennessee that...
West Virginia snares Rodney Gallagher, but where are the other top area players?
With one complete academic year and his senior football season ahead of him, Laurel Highlands’ Rodney Gallagher — to his credit — did not squeeze every last bit of drama from his high-profile recruitment. The No. 1 recruit in Pennsylvania, per Rivals.com, announced Wednesday he will enroll at West Virginia...
Former Pitt, West Virginia offensive coordinator Calvin Magee dies at age 59
JACKSONVILLE, Ala. — Jacksonville State offensive coordinator Calvin Magee has passed away. He was 59. The school said the longtime college football coach died on Friday but didn’t release the cause of death. New Jacksonville State coach Rich Rodriguez hired Magee in December, the fourth school where they have worked...
Pitt, WVU create logo to highlight Sept. 1 renewal of the Backyard Brawl
Conference realignment killed many of the most storied rivalries in college football, but West Virginia and Pitt are scheduled to meet eight times over the next 11 seasons, starting Sept. 1 at Heinz Field. To commemorate the occasion, the schools put their heads together to create the official Backyard Brawl...
