Backyard Brawl back in prime time; Pitt, Penn State, West Virginia football start times, networks announced

Jerry DiPaola
Wednesday, May 31, 2023 3:09 p.m. | Wednesday, May 31, 2023 3:09 p.m.

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Chaz Palla | Tribune-Review

Security holds back the Pitt team as they wave good by to West Virginia after beating them 38-31 in the Backyard Brawl at Acrisure Stadium.

Chaz Palla | Tribune-Review

Pitt head coach Pat Narduzzi on the sideline against West Virginia Thursday, Sept. 1, 2022. at Acrisure Stadium.

The calendar says summer is still three weeks away, but the college football fall schedule is coming into focus.

Start times and networks for some Pitt, Penn State and West Virginia games were announced Wednesday by the schools and their respective conferences.

ABC will put Pitt’s Sept. 16 game at West Virginia’s Milan Puskar Stadium — the Panthers’ first game in Morgantown, W. Va., since 2011 — into a prime-time national spotlight, with a 7:30 p.m. kickoff (WTAE-TV in Pittsburgh). It will be the 106th edition of the Backyard Brawl.

Pitt’s opener Sept. 2 at Acrisure Stadium against Wofford, coached by former Pitt offensive coordinator Shawn Watson, will start at 3:30 p.m. on the ACC Network.

The Panthers’ final home game will be an ESPN Thursday Night telecast at 7 p.m. Nov. 16 against Boston College and head coach Jeff Hafley, a former Pitt assistant.

Previously, it was announced that Pitt’s game at Notre Dame on Oct. 28 will be televised by NBC, with a 3:30 p.m. kickoff. Game times and networks for the remaining eight regular-season games, including the Syracuse game Nov. 11 at Yankee Stadium in the Bronx, N.Y., will be announced at a later date.

Penn State and the Big Ten announced four kickoff times and three network designations:

• The Nittany Lions’ home game against Delaware on Sept. 9 will begin at 3:30 p.m. on Peacock.

• Penn State’s Big Ten opener at Illinois will have a noon kickoff Sept. 16 on FOX.

• Homecoming against UMass on Oct. 14 is scheduled for a 3:30 p.m. kickoff (network to be determined).

• Start time for the Whiteout Game against Iowa on Sept. 23 has been updated to a 7:30 p.m. kickoff on CBS. It was previously scheduled for 8 p.m.

West Virginia’s home opener against Duquesne at 6 p.m. Sept. 9 will be televised by Big 12 Now on ESPN+.

The Mountaineers’ Thursday game at Houston on Oct. 12 will begin at 7 p.m. on FS1. The Cougars are coached by former West Virginia coach Dana Holgorsen.

Also, NBC announced on May 6 that West Virginia’s opener against the Nittany Lions will kick off at 7:30 p.m. Sept. 2 at Penn State’s Beaver Stadium.