For the first time in Morgantown since 2011, and the 106th total meeting of all time, the Pitt Panthers would make their way into hostile territory. For WVU, the navigating around Pennsylvania based teams continued, having lost to Penn St. in Happy Valley, and getting the win against Duquesne in Morgantown last week.
Pitt would be coming off of a loss to Cincinnati. As if the crowd wasn’t amped up enough due to the nostalgia of It’s biggest rivalry coming back to town, the College Gameday Saturday show was on the table as a possibility if It weren’t for Pitt losing to the Bearcats.
In front of over 61,000+ rowdy fans, and a slew of former WVU talent, even Superman himself “Dean Cain” was in attendance. WVU would receive the opening kickoff to try and set the tone early. Pitt would force a 3 and out. On Pitt’s first drive they would use a run heavy offense. The Panthers would eventually make it all the way to the WVU 3 yard line, but would settle for a 21 yard field goal with 7:39 left in the first quarter. A drive that consisted of 11 plays 67 yards, and would eat up 6:41 off of the clock.
On the next drive WVU found themselves a 4th down with 4 yards to go. WVU would go for it but fail to convert, giving Pitt the ball on their own 40 yard line. WVU would force a 4th and 1, and while Pitt looked to be going for it, they were hit with a neutral zone infraction, and be forced to punt.
After a few punts between the 2 teams, Pitt would eventually force a turnover in their own territory, in hopes of swinging the momentum, and quieting the crowd a bit. WVU would then force a turnover themselves with WVU Safety Aubrey Burkes picking off the Pitt QB and taking it all the way to the 7 yard line.
One play later WVU TE Kole Taylor who is 6’7 would provide Nicco Marchiol (WVU QB) a big target for a 7 yard touchdown. WVU would take a 7-3 lead with 4:45 left in the 2nd quarter.
Pitt would then settle for a 36 yard field goal after a 12 play drive that chewed up 4:30. At the half the score would be 7-6 with WVU leading.
After the half WVU would again force a 4th and out, and would start the drive at the 31 yard line. After an impressive drive of 13 plays, 61 yards that would see 7:48 be taken off of the clock, WVU power back CJ Donaldson would find the end zone on a 1 yard TD to make the score 14-6 with 5:05 left in the 3rd quarter.
On the next drive you could feel the game start to slip away a bit, and the wind be taken from Pitt’s sails when the Pitt QB would throw an interception to WVU DB Beanie Bishop. This would set up a successful 42 yard FG for WVU, and make the score 17-6 with 1:57 left in the 3rd. WVU would again lockdown the Pitt offense in the 4th quarter to come away with the win in the “Backyard Brawl.”
Conclusion: WVU must find a way to get the ball to the weapons on the outside. Being a one dimensional team in the BIG 12 will only get you so far. It is also concerning when the leading receiver has 6 catches through 3 games, with 5 of them coming in 1 game alone. SR Devin Carter needs the ball in his hands at least 6-8 times a game.
Nicco Marchiol did a fantastic job coming in and managing a tough game such as a rivalry of this magnitude. He let the game come to him, and didn’t try to do too much when Greene went out with an unknown lower leg injury. Neal Brown was asked about switching the playbook up, or going away from the script to ease him in.
Brown would say “We just picked a few plays that Nicco was comfortable with.” It is unknown who will be under center when WVU opens up conference play Saturday against Texas Tech at 3:30. This will be the final home game of a 3 game homestand before hitting the road and heading to TCU.
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