Luke Combs Just Gave the Backyard Brawl the Respect It Deserves

Earlier this offseason, Scott Dochterman of The Athletic omitted the Backyard Brawl from his top 25 rivalries in college football. Instead, he had Kansas and Missouri, Harvard/Yale, Iowa/Wisconsin, Texas/Texas A&M, and Auburn/Georgia as some odd games listed ahead of the Brawl.

The Brawl doesn't get the recognition it deserves, and country music star Luke Combs sees that. In a video Barstool Sports posted on X, they were going around asking everyone which rivalry is the most underrated in college football.

Luke Combs and the Barstool Office choose the most underrated rivalries in College Football pic.twitter.com/X9FYZHWLiZ
— Barstool Gambling (@stoolgambling) July 28, 2025

“To me, it’s the Backyard Brawl. West Virginia-Pitt. I know that people that are in the West Virginia-Pitt rivalry are going to be like, ‘How is that underrated?’ I think as an entirety in the country, super underrated rivalry.”

I have to admit, anytime I hear underrated mentioned in the same sentence as Pitt, the video of Rasheed Marshall on the scoreboard pops into my head where he says, "Underrated fanbase? I don't think so. And fanbase is something Pitt will never understand."

That was played during the team's entrance video before the Brawl in 2023 and clearly got everyone juiced up for the run out.

That's what makes this rivalry one of the best in college sports — there's pure hatred. The teams, the fans, and everyone involved absolutely can't stand each other or the thought of losing this game. If you don't know the history of the rivalry or have never watched a Brawl, you need to. Your outlook on the rivalry will change.

This September will be the last meeting between the two on the gridiron until 2029.

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