Inside The Panthers

Backyard Brawl's Return Could Happen Sooner Than Later

Moves from West Virginia University could indicate promising things about future matchups against the Pitt Panthers.
Owen Lenson|
David Green (2) of the Pittsburgh Panthers reacts after sacking quarterback JT Daniels (18) of the West Virginia Mountaineers during the second half of the Backyard Brawl at Acrisure Stadium in Pittsburgh, PA on September 1, 2022. Pitt Vs West Virginia Backyard Brawl
David Green (2) of the Pittsburgh Panthers reacts after sacking quarterback JT Daniels (18) of the West Virginia Mountaineers during the second half of the Backyard Brawl at Acrisure Stadium in Pittsburgh, PA on September 1, 2022. Pitt Vs West Virginia Backyard Brawl | Michael Longo/For USA Today Network / USA TODAY NETWORK

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West Virginia has announced the mutual cancellation of a home-and-home series against Alabama that was to take place during the 2026 and 2027 college football seasons.

In their press release, West Virginia says this change "enables West Virginia to modify its nonconference football slate. The schedule change will result in an additional home game for WVU in 2027."

The cancelation of these games is most likely due to the SEC, Alabama's conference, changing the scheduling rules so that all the teams in the conference must play nine conference opponents in a season, previously only having to play eight. This leaves West Virginia, a Big 12 school, off the list.

These games being canceled don't come as a complete surprise. Wren Baker, athletic director of West Virginia, held a press conference recently where he was asked about this rule change and how it affects West Virginia's schedule.

Baker was also asked about the future of the Backyard Brawl, in which he revealed that he reached out to Pitt's athletic director to discuss extend the series.

In Baker's press conference and being quoted in the press release, he highlights the importance of having an exciting home game in 2027 to bring more people and tourism into Morgantown.

West Virginia replaced the Alabama games with a matchup against Coastal Carolina in 2026 and one against Southern Miss in 2027.

Currently, after this season's Backyard Brawl, the classic matchup will not be played until 2029. Now, with West Virginia having two less exciting nonconference opponents, an early return for the Backyard Brawl may seem a little more reasonable.

Backyard Brawl
Bryce Ford-Wheaton (0) of the West Virginia Mountaineers hauls in a pass for a touchdown during the second half of the Backyard Brawl against the Pittsburgh Panthers at Acrisure Stadium in Pittsburgh, PA on September 1, 2022. Pitt Vs West Virginia Backyard Brawl | Michael Longo/For USA Today Network / USA TODAY NETWORK

At ACC Media Days, Pitt head coach Pat Narduzzi talked about wanting the matchup to continue. He said its good to have a rivalry game the players look forward to participate in and that the team would be willing to shift around their schedule just to play West Virginia.

In that same conference, Narduzzi also spoke about the importance of playing teams in close proximity as the ACC continues to expand across the country.

While West Virginia may have already found replacements for the canceled Alabama games, one of the best rivarly games in college football sees a little bit of hope to come back earlier than currently scheduled.

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Owen Lenson
OWEN LENSON

Owen Lenson is a junior at the University of Pittsburgh majoring in media and professional communications and minoring in political science. He has a passion for making stories out of journalism and reporting.

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