Collapse to Pitt Triggers Another Dip for WVU on ESPN FPI

As the dust settles from West Virginia’s 38-34 loss to Pitt in the Backyard Brawl, the perception of the 2024 Mountaineers has dipped even further nationally. WVU has dropped four more spots on ESPN’s FPI (Football Power Index).

West Virginia has fallen from No. 47, the spot they held entering the week, to No. 51. WVU started the season at No. 35, marking a decline of 16 spots since the start of the season.

The loss in the Backyard Brawl has West Virginia trending in the wrong direction.#CountryRoads pic.twitter.com/bM3aLJfNQa

— West Virginia Sports Now (@WVSportsNow) September 15, 2024

The Mountaineers now sit at 1-2 with losses to Penn State and Pitt and a win over Albany. They open Big 12 play at home against Kansas with kickoff on Saturday, Sept. 21 scheduled for noon.

Not that it will alleviate any of the pain for WVU fans, head coach Neal Brown didn’t make any excuses after his team blew a 10-point lead to the Panthers.

West Virginia led 34-24 towards the end of the fourth quarter, but then ended up walking off the field a loser nonetheless. “You should never lose a game when you’re up 10 late,” said Brown during his postgame press conference.

And since Pitt’s comeback win was largely due to the struggles of WVU’s secondary, Brown added a “let’s just say what it is, we haven’t defended the pass really good” as well. Pitt quarterback Eli Holstein completed 21-of-30 passes for 301 yards and threw three touchdowns in the game.

Quarterback Garrett Greene echoed what Brown said, too. “We were up with 5 minutes to go. We shouldn’t lose games like that.”

Running back CJ Donaldson even admitted that this loss stings more than when he was also on the losing side of Pitt’s 38-31 win over West Virginia on the same Acrisure Stadium field to kickoff the 2022 season.

However, taking accountability isn’t going to change the outcome. At the end of the day, the Mountaineers lost and are now 1-2 with a tough Big 12 slate coming up.

For a related story, WVU head coach Neal Brown didn’t hold back when responding to what Pitt head coach Pat Narduzzi said after the game.