Rich Rodriguez’s second stint as coach at West Virginia got off to a less-than-stellar start in Week 1, when the Mountaineers stumbled out of the gate against Robert Morris of the Football Championship Subdivision.

The Mountaineers led the Colonials at home only 10-3 at halftime before recovering to post a 45-3 victory at Milan Puskar Stadium.

Granted, West Virginia was far from the only Power Four school to require a bit of time to get in a groove.

However, Rodriguez’s squad losing on the road to Ohio of the Mid-American Conference on Saturday — and scoring only 10 points in the process — was as stunning as it was disappointing for Mountaineers coaches, players and fans.

As West Virginia licks its wounds in advance of the 108th Backyard Brawl set for Saturday in Morgantown, Pitt coach Pat Narduzzi is taking nothing away from his upcoming foe.

“I’d say advantage West Virginia,” Narduzzi said. “We’re feeling good at 2-0, and they had a tough loss. They will be prepared. Rich Rodriguez will get them prepared. They’ll have a great week of practice, and we will get their best game like we always do.

“They will be intense, they’ll be tough, they’ll be physical and play fast. That’s what we expect. Whether they won or lost, I’m expecting the same thing. But I think we’re probably facing an angrier team and an angrier fan base.”

Narduzzi was also adamant that his players will not underestimate West Virginia.

“We won’t have that problem,” Narduzzi said.

This will be Narduzzi’s fourth Backyard Brawl at Pitt. When the dormant rivalry reopened in 2022 at Acrisure Stadium, his Panthers triumphed 38-31 when M.J. Devonshire picked off J.T. Daniels late in the fourth quarter for a decisive pick-6.

The following year, Pitt stumbled at West Virginia as quarterback Phil Jurkovec struggled mightily in a 17-6 defeat.

Then, last season, Pitt notched an impressive come-from-behind win at home, scoring 14 points in the final five minutes to win 38-34.

Ultimately, Narduzzi’s experience in the rivalry represents only a small snapshot of a heated showdown that dates to 1895.

Pitt’s 11th-year coach is undoubtedly appreciative of that history and what the series means to both programs and their respective fan bases.

But when Saturday afternoon arrives, all of those previous matchups — including the Panthers’ most recent visit to Morgantown in 2023 — as well as the dynamic between two rabid fan bases, goes out the window.

“There’s a lot of hatred in the game,” Narduzzi said. “The fans hate each other, and I think it goes way, way back. For whatever reason, there’s lots of scars that people have and haven’t gotten over them yet. For us, as a football game, all the things in the crowd and stands and what happens when you’re driving down on the bus, all that stuff doesn’t really matter.

“It’s what happens on that football field that’s going to matter. The team that stays focused the best on the task at hand is winning the football game. … We’re not going to get all hyped into what fans felt 35 years ago, 40 years ago.”

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