WVU coach Neal Brown recalls salute from Pitt fans last year at Acrisure Stadium
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Neal Brown gets it.
He knows all too well — from personal experience — that the passion triggered by the Backyard Brawl is real.
It was a year ago at Acrisure Stadium when Brown, the West Virginia coach, walked onto the field before the game against Pitt. His son, Dax, 7 at the time, was by his side. Brown was there to shoot a video honoring his high school coach, who was being inducted into the school’s Hall of Fame the next day.
“I had no idea the (Pitt) students were already there,” Brown said, relating the story to reporters Monday during his weekly news conference. “I come out of the tunnel with Dax, and he learned some new words. He wanted to know why they were giving us the No. 1 signal with the middle finger.
“From that point on, I got a good understanding for what it’s about. This is the biggest rivalry, from a football standpoint, I’ve been a part of.”
The scene shifts to Milan Puskar Stadium in Morgantown, W.Va., on Saturday night for the 106th game in a series that dates to an 8-0 WVU victory in 1895. Pitt holds a 62-40-3 edge, but this will be the first Brawl at WVU since the Mountaineers’ 21-20 victory in 2011. The game is a sellout, with a crowd of more than 60,000 expected.
Brown understands the hatred among the fans goes both ways.
“Our fans are given a bad reputation,” he said. “I’m sure that was probably earned at some point, as far as opposing teams coming in, but I don’t think that’s necessarily the case anymore.
“I think it’s fun. Rivalries make college football. A lot of the rivalries have gone to the wayside, which is disappointing.
“I’m in favor of playing this game. This makes a lot of sense for this to be our nonconference Power 5 opponent every year. It’s a game that our fans, their fans like to see. Lot of people coming into town for this. This is heated, and we understand that, and our players look forward to getting back into that.”
Pitt coach Pat Narduzzi agrees with Brown that the Backyard Brawl should continue. The teams will meet again in Pittsburgh next year and in Morgantown in 2025. There also is a four-game home-and-home series from 2029-32. Until conference realignment interrupted the series, the teams played every year from 1943-2011.
If West Virginia fans are a bit hostile toward Narduzzi and his players, so be it. It’s what makes college football unique, he said.
“Every player and coach (likes to coach in hostile environments),” Narduzzi said. “I like coaching, period. I like playing wherever you get to play. I think that’s all part of the pageantry of college football. Everybody embraces that.”
The crowd at Acrisure Stadium last year was mixed between the two fan bases — the exact percentage is up for debate — but Mountaineers fans will be loud and proud Saturday night. It’s West Virginia’s first true Saturday night home game — a 7:30 p.m. kickoff or later — since 2016.
“The kids will really learn what the rivalry is on the road, how hostile it is,” Narduzzi said.
But it’s nothing he hasn’t experienced in his career. Miami (Ohio) against Cincinnati, Notre Dame and Michigan against Michigan State presented the same type of passion, he said.
“There are a bunch of them out there,” he said. “Rivalry’s a rivalry. It’s nothing more than any other game for me. It’s a football game that means a lot to a lot of people. Our Pitt fans are passionate. West Virginia fans are passionate. It comes down to passion. People want to see you play well in those games.”
Pitt safety Donovan McMillon, a Peters Township graduate, said he watched last year’s game in his dorm room at the University of Florida. When Pitt cornerback M.J. Devonshire’s decisive pick-6 showed up on McMillon’s social media timeline this week, he showed it to his teammate and they relived the moment together.
“Now that I’m actually able to play this game, it’s an awesome experience,” McMillon said. “It’s going to be a brawl. Obviously, that’s why the name is like that. It’s going to be all four quarters.”
Narduzzi got into the spirit of the rivalry Tuesday morning when he ordered the West Virginia fight song, “Hail, West Virginia,” and John Denver’s “Country Roads” played over the outdoor loud speakers during practice.
“We’re playing all the West Virginia music every day at all times,” McMillon said, “making sure it’s annoying.”