Pittsburgh @ West Virginia preview

Last Meeting ( Nov 26, 2010 ) West Virginia 35, Pittsburgh 10

THE STORY: The 104th installment of the Backyard Brawl comes amid speculation over how much longer this rivalry game will continue. While the Panthers aren't ACC-bound for another two seasons, the Mountaineers are in litigation to leave the Big East as early as next year for the Big 12, which could make scheduling it a challenge. WVU athletic director Oliver Luck said last week he and Pitt AD Steve Pederson “both have a strong desire to maintain the rivalry,” which again has BCS implications. The visiting Panthers and No. 23 Mountaineers are both 3-2 in Big East play, behind 4-2 leaders Louisville and Rutgers, and are coming off bye weeks.

TV: ESPN, ESPN3. LINE: West Virginia -6.5.

ABOUT PITTSBURGH (5-5, 3-2 Big East): The Panthers will counter the league's top passing attack (362.1 yards) with a defense that's yielded just 176.4 passing yards over its last five games. Pitt delivered one of its best defensive performances last time out in a 21-14 win at Louisville, in which it held the Cardinals to just 165 passing yards and 115 on the ground. The Panthers didn't allow the second touchdown until just 12 seconds remained, and limited the Cardinals to 3-for-11 on third-down conversions. Remarkably, they also didn't incur any penalty yards in rebounding from a 26-23 home loss to Cincinnati in which the Panthers blew a 10-point second-half lead.

ABOUT WEST VIRGINIA (7-3, 3-2 Big East): After stumbling at home in a mistake-plagued loss to Louisville on Nov. 5, the Mountaineers earned a hard-fought road triumph at Cincinnati, 24-21 on Nov. 12. Junior quarterback Geno Smith continued his torrid season with 372 yards against the Bearcats, the sixth time he's topped 370. He's put up the school's two highest single-game efforts (463 vs. LSU, 450 vs. Connecticut) already, and needs just 111 yards to surpass Marc Bulger's season mark of 3,607. One of Smith's top targets has been sophomore Stedman Bailey, whose 10 touchdown catches are two behind the school's season record held by Chris Henry and Darius Reynaud.

EXTRA POINTS

1. The Mountaineers have won two straight in the series, following back-to-back Pitt triumphs that included the 13-9 stunner at Morgantown in 2007.

2. Pittsburgh's Todd Graham and WVU's Dana Holgorsen will make their Backyard Brawl head coaching debuts, though Graham was an assistant under the Mountaineers' Rich Rodriguez for the 2001-02 games.

3. The victor will know how Louisville stands by kickoff, as the Cardinals play South Florida earlier Friday, but Rutgers doesn't take the field until Saturday at Connecticut.

PREDICTION: West Virginia 33, Pittsburgh 23 – Pitt leads 61-39-3 all-time, but the Mountaineers will feed off some extra emotion with the uncertainty of perhaps never hosting a “Brawl” again.