Top 5 biggest crowds in Pittsburgh sports history

Traffic tie-ups well before rush hour, tailgate parties springing up at many parking spots on the North Shore and a record crowd inside Acrisure Stadium made the renewal of the Backyard Brawl special.

More so for victorious Pitt than West Virginia, considering that the Mountaineers led by seven deep into the fourth quarter Thursday night.

It was the largest crowd for a sporting event in Pittsburgh — ever.

Here is a look at five of the heaviest-attended games in the city’s history:

1. Pitt 38, West Virginia 31 — 70,622, Acrisure Stadium, Sept. 1, 2022

In one of the most dramatic finishes in Backyard Brawl history, Pitt scored two touchdowns in the final 3 minutes, 41 seconds, separated by only 43 seconds of game clock time. There were six lead changes before Pitt sealed the victory by stopping WVU on downs at the Panthers’ 22. Reese Smith appeared to make a catch on the 1 with 22 seconds left, but the call was overturned on review.

West Virginia ran for 190 yards, blocked a punt and recorded five sacks of Pitt quarterback Kedon Slovis but lost after cornerback M.J. Devonshire returned an interception 56 yards to break a 31-31 tie.

The game was the first between the Panthers and Mountaineers since 2011.

2. Pitt 42, Penn State 39 — 69,983, Heinz Field, Sept. 10, 2016

The game was the first in 16 years between the longtime rivals, and it appeared to set a tone for the Pitt program that had suffered so many previous disappointments before the arrival of coach Pat Narduzzi in 2015.

“Coach Narduzzi is taking this team in a direction it hasn’t seen in a while,” said tight end Scoff Orndoff, a Seton LaSalle graduate. “We are always going to look back on this game and say that’s how you want to feel after every game, after every season.”

Running back James Conner rushed 22 times for 117 yards and after the game spoke to reporters with six offensive linemen, fullback George Aston and running back Qadree Ollison by his side.

Wide receiver Quadree Henderson carried four times for 58 yards on offensive coordinator Matt Canada’s beloved jet sweeps.

Ryan Lewis sealed the Pitt victory with an interception in the end zone with 75 seconds to play.

3. Pitt 24, Fordham 13 — 68,918, Pitt Stadium, Oct. 29, 1938

On a warm, sun-splashed Saturday, a crowd initially estimated at 75,000 climbed Cardiac Hill to watch Pitt, the No. 1 team in the nation at the time, play Fordham at Pitt Stadium. Pitt officials eventually amended the attendance, but it nonetheless was the largest for a sporting event in Pittsburgh until the 2016 Penn State/Pitt game.

Pitt and Fordham had played back-to-back-to-back scoreless ties in the three previous seasons at the Polo Grounds in New York, and Pitt didn’t record its first touchdown in this one until the fourth quarter. All-American running back Marshall Goldberg scored twice.

The victory stretched Pitt’s unbeaten streak to 22 games, but it was snapped the following week in a 20-10 loss to Carnegie Tech.

The 1938 season was coach Jock Sutherland’s last. He shockingly resigned at the end of the season in a dispute with Chancellor John Bowman over the direction of the football program, according to author Sam Sciullo Jr.’s book, “Pitt Stadium Memories 1925-1999.”

Sutherland remains the winningest coach in Pitt history (111-20-12).

4. Patriots 27, Steelers 24 — 68,574, Heinz Field, Dec. 17, 2017

The game forever will be haunted by the question: “Did he or didn’t he?”

Steelers tight end Jesse James, a product of South Allegheny High School, caught a pass from Ben Roethlisberger with 34 seconds left at the 1. As his knee touched the ground, James held the ball across the goal line, but it dislodged after hitting the ground.

Officials signaled touchdown, but the replay officials took several minutes to review and reverse the call. They ruled the “catch” did not “survive” James impacting the ground. Incomplete.

Roethlisberger’s final pass was intercepted, and the Steelers were forced to settle for their first loss in nine games and fifth in a row to the Patriots.

“I thought we had won the game,” said rookie wide receiver JuJu Smith-Schuster, whose 69-yard catch-and-run set up the final-second dramatics.

5. Penn State 51, Pitt 6 — 68,400, Heinz Field, Sept. 8, 2018

The game was played in a steady rain, and it turned into Pitt’s worst loss to Penn State in 50 years.

In the first half, Pitt freshman punter Kirk Christodolou bobbled a snap as the holder on an extra-point try, had trouble putting down another on a field-goal miss and fumbled a punt snap that set up a Penn State touchdown with 26 seconds left in the first half.

Then the Nittany Lions scored five touchdowns after halftime and running back Miles Sanders, a Woodland Hills graduate, ran for 118 yards on 16 carries.

“We obviously didn’t have them ready to go in any capacity,” Narduzzi said.