College Football
Pitt HC Pat Narduzzi Offers Appreciation to WVU as Willing Rival

In the midst of taking another shot at Penn State, Pitt head coach Pat Narduzzi also offered WVU a compliment.
When asked about the importance of rivalries during the ACC Kickoff event on Tuesday, Narduzzi made it clear he wants to play the Backyard Brawl as much as possible. He even offered appreciation for the Mountaineers for being a willing participant, a stark contrast to what Pitt deals with when it comes to trying to schedule Penn State.
“Great to have that rivalry back,โ said Narduzzi while referring to the Backyard Brawl. “We embrace rivalries. We embrace rivalries. Weโd love to play Penn State if they would play us. If they wonโt play us, weโd love to play West Virginia as many times as we could play them. Theyโre coming back to Pittsburgh.
“Our kids couldnโt be more excited. They have an idea after two years what a real rivalry game is. I think you need to lose a rivalry game to understand what it means to you. These guys might be able to talk about that a little bit.”
Narduzzi’s comments aren’t surprising on any front. First, he knows he can say whatever he wants about the Nittany Lions since there’s no sign of the Pitt-Penn State rivalry being reignited any time soon. But in addition to Narduzzi taking every chance he gets to throw a jab at James Franklin and Penn State, he’s also well aware of the public comments made by his counterpart in Morgantown about a desire to keep the Brawl alive.
“We should play the Pitt game every year. Iโm all in on the Backyard Brawl,” said WVU head coach Neal Brown leading up to the 2023 contest – a game West Virginia won 17-6 in Morgantown.
However, neither Narduzzi nor Brown make their team’s schedules. Fortunately for Narduzzi, WVU director of athletics Wren Baker is also all in on the Backyard Brawl.
“Iโve told her (Pitt AD Heather Lyke) we want to play, we want to play as much and as long as they want to play,” said Baker about what he has conveyed to his counterpart Heather Lyke at Pitt.ย
WVU AD Wren Baker Wants to Play Pitt as Much as Possible in Every Sport
While candidly expressing their thoughts on the difficulty in continuing to play other non Big 12 rivals, both Brown and Baker have repeatedly emphasized an interest in playing Pitt as much as possible.
After Brown leads his Mountaineers back to Pittsburgh to face Narduzzi and his Pitt Panthers on Sept. 14 and they play again in 2025, the rivalry will go on a break for a few years before making another return.
WVU won the 2023 Backyard Brawl as a form of revenge for the 2022 defeat. West Virginia managed to win an ugly game despite losing star quarterback Garrett Greene to an injury early in the game.
Eventual consensus All-American Beanie Bishop and the WVU defense picked off former Pitt quarterback Phil Jurkovec three times en route to a 17-6 victory, setting up a rubber match this fall. Pitt leads the all-time series that dates back to the 19th century 62-41-3, granted a majority of the games took place in Pittsburgh during the early days of the rivalry.
For a related story, WV Sports Now broke down West Virginia’s full 2024 schedule.