Pitt HC Weighs in On Backyard Brawl Tradition

The Pitt Panthers and West Virginia Mountaineers have played each other in each of the last three seasons, and will do so once again this season, but after Saturday's clash, the Backyard Brawl will go on hiatus.

The Backyard Brawl went over a decade without being played before being revived in 2022, kicking off the season with College GameDay in attendance on a Thursday night at Acrisure Stadium.

Pitt won a thriller in 2022, West Virginia evened the score in a brutal showing at Milan Puskar Stadium in 2023 and the Panthers won another thriller last season.

The Brawl is set for Saturday, Sept. 13, and after that, the series isn't set to resume until 2029.

Pitt head coach Pat Narduzzi has been vocal in his desire to continue the series annually, and he doubled down when asked about it on Monday at his weekly press conference.

"Yeah, we'd like to see obviously the game be played," Narduzzi said. "I think it's going to pick up in '28 or '29. I thought it was '29. It's going to be a while since we play them again. I think there's nothing I can do about it. I'd like this game to be played. I'd like to play Penn State. I'd like to play any rivalry game. Just having that on our schedule is a lot of fun as a coach and a player. It's great for the fans."

Pittsburgh Panthers head coach Pat Narduzzi — Sep 6, 2025; Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, USA; Pittsburgh Panthers running back Desmond Reid (0), head coach Pat Narduzzi, defensive back Javon McIntyre (7) and offensive lineman Lyndon Cooper (56) lead the Panthers onto the field to play the Central Michigan Chippewas at Acrisure Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Charles LeClaire-Imagn Images | Charles LeClaire-Imagn Images

Pitt currently has spots open in its non-conference schedule, but with Matt Zenitz of CBS Sports reporting that Pitt and Ole Miss are in the process of finalizing a home-and-home series starting in 2026, it's quickly filling up.

Pitt has Miami (Oh.), UCF and Wisconsin on the schedule, and if Ole Miss is finalized, it seems likely that one of the Power Four matchups will be dropped.

West Virginia recently canceled a series against Alabama due to the SEC moving to a nine-game league schedule, and it opened the door for a potential resumption of the series in 2026 and 2027, but Narduzzi didn't seem to think WVU would be added to the schedule in the next couple of seasons.

"Yeah, again, I don't want to speak for Allen (Greene), but I think our athletic director has reached out to them and they already got it filled up, which means maybe they didn't want to play us," Narduzzi said. "I don't know. They filled it up. I know if we knew that was going to happen, that would be our first call. Whatever. Can't do anything about it. Stay in my lane."

Pitt and West Virginia play on Saturday, and after that, the series resumes from 2029-32. There is the potential for the series resuming before then, but with Pitt likely adding Ole Miss to the schedule, a game in 2026 seems to be out of the question now.

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