Beer Cans and Batteries? Pitt QB Holstein Explains What He Was Told About WVU Crowd

The Backyard Brawl is always intense. The hatred between the two programs and fan bases is unlike any other, and even in today's era of college athletics, where players transfer in and out every year, the disdain for one another is still very much there.

For West Virginia, this will be the first time that many of its players have played in this rivalry. 81 of them to be exact. That number is much smaller for the Pitt side, but it will be many players' first trip to Morgantown, including starting quarterback Eli Holstein.

Tuesday afternoon, Holstein was asked about what his teammates and coaches who did make the trip south in 2023 have told him about it.

“It’s a hectic environment. It’s going to be a lot of fun. They said it’s crazy. There’s going to be little kids flipping me off, I’m going to get batteries and beer thrown at me on the sidelines, all types of stuff like that. But I’m really excited. I’m looking forward to feeding off that energy. I think our team has that mindset to feed off that energy, feed off the hate and the pure venom and poison from them. Really looking forward to it and can’t wait to do it.”

This likely stems from things he's heard from his head coach, Pat Narduzzi, who talked nonsense on 93.7 The Fan earlier this summer, talking about things being thrown, which, of course, never happened.

“They’ll probably be less liquored up," he said about the 3:30 p.m. kick time. "Probably less likely to throw a full beer can at you on the field. Hopefully, they’ll still be interested in drinking it first and can maybe empty one.”

Clearly, Narduzzi is unaware of how much this game means to the people of West Virginia. It doesn't matter if the game kicked off at noon or 7:30 in the morning; folks will be there bright and early, tailgating, ready to make an impact when the Mountaineers are on defense.

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