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The Backyard Brawl: West Virginia vs Pittsburgh’s Historic Rivalry
- Pittsburgh leads the Backyard Brawl series 63-41-3.
- After the 2025 meeting, Pittsburgh and West Virginia won’t play each other until 2029.
- Pittsburgh has won 11 national titles, and its 2007 win has kept West Virginia from playing for the national championship.
There aren’t as many college football rivalries in the East as in other areas of the country. It is one of the series that captured the attention of football fans outside of Pittsburgh and Morgantown.
Along with Penn State, the programs helped grow college football in that part of the country. There have been many memorable West Virginia vs Pittsburgh games.
Pittsburgh was one of four programs that could claim to be the national champions in 1910. In 1915, 1916, and 1918, Glenn “Pop” Warner had the Panthers considered to be the national champions by at least one organization.
The Panthers have won 11 national titles, the last coming in 1981. West Virginia has never won a college football national championship.
The teams will meet on Sept. 13 in Morgantown.
Let’s check in on the Pittsburgh vs West Virginia football rivalry.
The Backyard Brawl Goes Back to the 1890s
A Look At The Rivalry
While the series between Pittsburgh and West Virginia was first played in 1895, the 1921 matchup made history as the first college football game broadcast on the radio. Station KDKA did the honors. That was just one indication that this had become one of the top rivalries in college football.
West Virginia has won four of the first five games in the Backyard Brawl. Pittsburgh went 29-3-1 from 1904 to 1946. It didn’t hurt that 14 of the last 19 games were played at Pitt Stadium during that stretch. Along with the Army-Navy game, those games helped to build the popularity of college football down the Eastern Seaboard.
With Tony Dorsett and then Dan Marino playing for the Panthers, Pittsburgh won seven games in a row from 1976 to 1982, and the Panthers were ranked in the top 10 in 1976, 1981, and 1982.
West Virginia turned things around by winning 14 of 20 games from 1992 to 2011.
With Pittsburgh heading to the ACC and West Virginia joining the Big 12, the teams didn’t play from 2012 to 2021. The teams had met in each of the previous 68 seasons before no West Virginia vs. Pittsburgh game was on the 2012 schedule.
Pittsburgh has won two of the last three meetings, with the home team winning each of the three games since the teams resumed the rivalry in 2022.
Why Do They Call It The Backyard Brawl?
The universities are just about 70 miles apart. It is not unusual for those heading to Morgantown to fly into Pittsburgh and drive the rest of the way. That paved the way for the WVU vs Pitt games to be something special.
The teams often recruited the same players, and the rivalry’s intensity called for some sort of name for the annual Pittsburgh vs. West Virginia matchups.
Given the physical nature of many of these games, the name Backyard Brawl seems to fit. Other games between the schools have also been referred to as the Backyard Brawl.
Panthers Pull Off A Historic Upset
When Pittsburgh and West Virginia met for the 100th time on Dec. 1, 2007, West Virginia was ranked first in the Coaches’ poll and was second in both The Associated Press and Bowl Championship Series polls.
West Virginia struck first on a scoring run by Jarrett Brown. Pat McAfee, a familiar name and face for those who watch ESPN, delivered the extra point.
A pair of Conor Lee field goals and a Pat Bostick TD run gave the Panthers a 13-7 lead in the fourth quarter before a safety made it a 13-9 final.
West Virginia was a 28-point favorite against the visiting and unranked Panthers. That loss kept the Mountaineers from playing in the Bowl Championship Series national title game.
Some of the recruits that West Virginia was hosting would choose to play at Pittsburgh.
West Virginia coach Rich Rodriguez would leave to take the job at Michigan.
What’s Next In The Backyard Brawl?
The Backyard Brawl‘s standing as one of the top rivalries in college football is hurt because there is no guarantee that the teams will continue to play each other. That is much different than the Notre Dame-USC football rivalry.
The universities announced they will play each other in the regular season from 2029 to 2032. However, the teams will have no games from 2026 to 2028.
Have Former West Virginia and Pittsburgh Players Won A Super Bowl?
Success for the players doesn’t always end when their college football days are over.
Former West Virginia star Chuck Howley made history when he became the first member of the losing team to be named the Most Valuable Player in the Super Bowl. That happened in Super Bowl V when the Dallas Cowboys lost to the Baltimore Colts on a late field goal. He would win the Super Bowl with the Cowboys the following season.
Former WVU quarterback Jeff Hostetler filled in for an injured Phil Simms to help the New York Giants win the Super Bowl. He was on the roster but played a reserve role the next time the Giants won the Super Bowl.
Tony Dorsett, Aaron Donald, Russ Grimm, Mike Ditka, Mark Stepnoski, and Jimbo Covert are among the former Pittsburgh Panthers stars to win a Super Bowl. Ditka accomplished the feat both as a player and as a head coach.
