West Virginia @ Pittsburgh preview
Heinz Field
Last Meeting ( Nov 27, 2009 ) Pittsburgh 16, West Virginia 19
The 103rd edition of the Backyard Brawl is a fight for the right to stay on top of the Big East Conference.
West Virginia travels to Heinz Field to take on Pittsburgh on Friday in a matchup that will go a long way in determining the conference champion or turning the standings into a muddled mess.
If the Mountaineers (7-3, 3-2 Big East) win, they would at the very least be tied with the Panthers (6-4, 4-1) for first place in the conference.
But then you have to throw in Connecticut, which is sitting there with just two conference losses and has won three straight, including victories over both the Mountaineers and Panthers.
Pitt can clinch the Big East and a BCS bowl berth with a win over West Virginia and a victory in its season finale at Cincinnati on Dec. 4.
However, before West Virginia can start worrying about being involved in any conference title talk, it has to knock off Pittsburgh for a second year in a row in a rivalry that has had its fair share of surprises.
In 2007, West Virginia was a three-touchdown favorite and playing for a spot in the national title game when it was upset by Pitt.
Last season there was a dust-up between the teams at midfield before the game, and the game itself was a knock-down, drag-out affair that ended on a last-second field goal by Tyler Bitancurt that gave the Mountaineers a 19-16 victory.
While rivalry games can be unpredictable, if recent history has shown anything, expect Friday’s grudge match to be a pretty low-scoring affair.
Neither team has scored more than 19 points in the last three meetings and those three games have been decided by a total of 11 points. Throw in the fact that West Virginia has a pretty dominant defense and points figure to be at a premium.
West Virginia ranks fourth in the country in total defense and scoring defense at 245.1 yards and 12.9 points, respectively. The Mountaineers are also fourth in the country in rushing defense (88 yards) and fifth in sacks (3.2) and lead the Big East in all four categories.
Pittsburgh leads the series with West Virginia, 61-38-3. Pitt and West Virginia have split the last 10 games in the series, with each school winning five times since 2000.
The Panthers have won two of the past three games and the visiting team has won 13 of the last 23 matchups.