The Backyard Brawl is an American college football rivalry between the West Virginia University Mountaineers and the University of Pittsburgh Panthers. The “Backyard Brawl” name also refers to college basketball games between the schools. There have been 105 editions of the game, dating back to 1895. This year's game will be on September 16th, 2023, at Milan Puskar Stadium.

Backyard Brawl origin

The series was first played in 1985 and refers to the proximity of the schools to each other. West Virginia's Morgantown campus is about 70 miles south of Pittsburgh, meaning the schools often compete for the same recruits. From 1895 to 2011, the teams met almost every year. But following the dissolution of the Big East in 2011, the Backyard Brawl took a hiatus. In September 2015, both schools agreed to a four-game series from 2022 to 2025. In April 2022, they announced that to keep the tradition running, there would be another four-game series from 2029 to 2032.

The University of Pittsburgh leads the all-time series with a record of 62-40-3. In the first game since 2011, Pittsburgh won 38-31 last season at Acrisure Stadium. West Virginia leads the basketball edition with a record of 101-88.

Backyard Brawl's biggest games

1985 – The inaugural meeting of the two teams was played in Wheeling, West Virginia. West Virginia beat the then-named Western University of Pennsylvania, 8-0. The score was unofficial, as the West Virginia newspaper marked it as 10-0, and the Pittsburgh newspaper marked it as 6-0. The schools agreed to put it in the record books as 8-0.

1921 – This game marked the first college football game broadcast on radio. Radio announcer Harold W. Arlin did the play-by-play on KDKA. The game was played at Forbes Field, home to the Steelers and Pirates. Pittsburgh won the game 21-13.

1970 – West Virginia led the game 35-8 at halftime, coached by Hall-of-Famer Bobby Bowden. Pittsburgh rallied in the second half to score four consecutive touchdowns and win 36-35. Bowden described it as “(his) darkest day in coaching.”

1976 – Pittsburgh's only Heisman Trophy winner in history, Tony Dorsett, ran for 199 yards and three touchdowns to lead Pitt to a 24-16 win. There were multiple ejections at the end of the game when a literal “brawl” broke out on the field. Pittsburgh went on to win the 1976 National Championship.

2007 – The biggest game in the history of the series. West Virginia came into the game ranked No.2 in the nation, led by Rich Rodriguez's potent offense. Pittsburgh running back and future NFL star Lesean Mccoy rushed for 148 yards to spark a 13-9 upset win.

2009 – West Virginia returned the favor in 2009 when No.8 ranked Pittsburgh came into the game as favorites. The Mountaineers won 19-16 on the back of kicker Tyler Bitancurt going 4 for 4. The game was an instant classic and one of the most viewed games in ESPN2 history.

The future of the Backyard Brawl

The return of the Backyard Brawl is music to the ears of fans who love to be involved in the rivalry. Rivalries are what make football great, and to have it taken away by realignment was difficult for fans to accept. As realignment comes to the forefront in the NCAA, it is good to see that schools can keep rivalries alive by scheduling non-conference games.

Pittsburgh and West Virginia fans can enjoy having six more games on the schedule and hope that the universities can find a way to plan more in the future. Rivalries like the Backyard Brawl are the lifeblood of college football, and the fans lose when they are taken away.