Pitt QB Eli Holstein Leans Into Villain Role Ahead of Backyard Brawl

After this Saturday, the Pitt Panthers won't pay their next visit to Milan Puskar Stadium for another 1,820 days. The Backyard Brawl will resume in 2029 up north, with the next matchup in Morgantown taking place on September 7th, 2030.

Obviously, the pause is something nobody in this rivalry wants, and when the game is about to enter a four-year-long break, you can expect the energy and intensity level to be kicked up an extra notch. The crowd is always loud and lets Pitt know what they think of them, but this Saturday will be incredibly loud.

Pitt QB Eli Holstein is embracing the role of the villain and talked about playing in a hostile environment.

"There’s certain times where you got to shut it out and just focus on the task at hand, but there’s also times you want to embrace it and realize these guys are hating me for a reason. I mean, if I wasn’t any good, they wouldn’t be hating me. Just play with confidence and play with the attitude that I’m the reason these guys are mad and go out there and give them something to be mad about.”

I get it. He's speaking confidently about his abilities, but what he doesn't realize is that WVU fans would feel the same way about him if he were a bottom-of-the-barrel quarterback in the ACC. Mountaineer fans are blind to those kinds of things. If they see a Pitt logo, they immediately dislike the person wearing it, regardless of ability.

Holstein also said that offensive coordinator Kade Bell has talked to them a bunch this week about the environment that they're about to walk into, and the message has been to feed off of it.

“It’s going to be loud. It’s going to be hectic. We talk about the pure hatred in this rivalry, and he told us to embrace it. It’s going to be a lot of fun. Told us to feed off of it and drive us, get us amped up and motivated to go out there and dominate.”

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