Rich Rodriguez Reveals Honest Opinion of the 2007 West Virginia Team

The 2007 loss to Pitt completely changed the future of WVU football.

Dec 1, 2007, Morgantown, WV, USA; West Virginia Mountaineer quarterback (3) Markell Harrison defensive back (3) Larry Williams and quarterback Pat White after the Mountaineers 13-9 loss to the Pittsburgh Panthers at Mylan Puskar Stadium. Duhart recovered the fumble. Mandatory Credit: Bob Donnan-Imagn Images | Bob Donnan-Imagn Images

It's been a long time since West Virginia was in the conversation as a national championship contender on the gridiron. To be exact, 17 years have gone by and the 13-9 loss to a horrendous Pitt team in the Backyard Brawl still stings Mountaineer fans and the coach who was a part of it, Rich Rodriguez.

So many things could have changed the future of WVU's football program had that result gone in their favor. Perhaps Rodriguez stays and doesn't bolt for Michigan. The years of the Air Raid under Dana Holgorsen would have never existed, but Rodriguez could have built a dynasty in Morgantown with Terrelle Pryor possibly following in White's footsteps.

Unfortunately, it didn't happen and that loss in the Brawl is just a nightmare that won't go away.

Rodriguez was asked about that dreadful night during a recent interview on The Athletic's podcast, "Until Saturday" with David Ubben and Chris Vannini.

“It was the worst night of my professional career, by far. Nothing comes close to it," Rodriguez stated. "And I know we had a couple guys hurt. Pat (White) got hurt, and some other guys got hurt, but I was too conservative in our play-calling. Our defense was playing great. Our offense, we were stumbling around a little bit, so I thought we just got to keep it close to the vest and not blow it. It was just way too conservative of an attack. I think we had a great team. I think we could have won it all

Ubben then asked if White didn't get hurt if he believes West Virginia would have won the national championship that season.

“Yeah, probably. He was such a dynamic player and such a difference-maker. But I don’t know. You got to give them (Pitt) credit for how they played. Again, there was other opportunities in that game.”

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