By Almost Every Major Metric, WVU Has Outperformed Pitt This Century

The Backyard Brawl may be dormant until 2029, but that doesn't stop the West Virginia and Pitt fanbases from going at it constantly on social media.

Game Day hasn’t been to #wvu in a long long time maybe 2014

They haven’t been ranked in ages #westvirginia hasn’t even made a #big12 title game nevermind win one #pitt won the #acc and been ranked multiple times with 4 Game Day Hostings

11 NFL Hall of Famers. More relevant https://t.co/Bx1QtcOhjS
— DreamBackfield.com (@IntoPitt) July 24, 2026

Y’all ever see a piece of bait that’s so stupid you can’t help but take a bite? This is that for me. pic.twitter.com/t7isx2RH1B
— TexasSt/Pitt fan (@HtownPitttxst2) July 23, 2026

These are just a couple of examples from the last few days as both sides try to vouch for why their program is the more relevant/successful of the two. Also, the series history was brought up during our most recent episode of In the Gun, where we had special guest Adam Crowley on, who is a big WVU fan/alum and the host of the Pittsburgh morning show on 93.7 The Fan.

Before we dive into the numbers, I have to call out the College GameDay appearances. Is that really the mark of a good team? Uh, no. The best record Pitt had in the years it had a College GameDay appearance was 9-4.

But let's dive into the actual numbers, and we'll let you, the fan, decide.

Pitt may own a 63-42-3 edge in the all-time series, but much of that occurred back in the leather helmet era of football. You have to go all the way back to 1945 to find a starting point where Pitt leads the series to the present day. So if you're not at least 81 years old, you have seen West Virginia win the Brawl more often.

Series edge, broken down by decade

Since 2000: West Virginia leads 9-7
Since 1990: West Virginia leads 17-9
Since 1980: West Virginia leads 20-14-2
Since 1970: West Virginia leads 23-21-2
Since 1960: West Virginia leads 29-25-2
Since 1950: West Virginia leads 33-31-2

Comparison of achievements

Conference championships

West Virginia (15): 1953, 1954, 1955, 1956, 1958, 1964, 1965, 1967 | 1993, 2003, 2004, 2005, 2007, 2010, 2011

Pitt (3): 2004, 2010, 2021

Because Pitt was an independent until 1991, West Virginia had more opportunities to win a conference title. Even if we move the mark to when they joined the Big East in '91, West Virginia still has four more conference titles to its name.

BCS/New Year's Six Bowl Games

West Virginia: 3-0, won Sugar Bowl, Fiesta Bowl, Orange Bowl

Pitt: 0-2, lost Fiesta Bowl, Peach Bowl

Although West Virginia is in one of the worst seven-year stretches in program history, they have still had more success, nearly across the board, than Pitt has this century.

21st century numbers

10-win seasons: West Virginia (5), Pitt (2)

Record: West Virginia (197-128 .606 W%) | Pitt (187-142 .568 W%)

Losing seasons: West Virginia (7), Pitt (7)

Top 25 finishes: West Virginia (9), Pitt (5)

Top 10 finishes: West Virginia (3), Pitt (0)

Consensus All-Americans: Pitt (8), West Virginia (5)

Draft picks: Pitt (71), West Virginia (53)

Add us as a preferred source on Google