Revived Rivalry Lived Up to Expectations
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PITTSBURGH -- It had everything that the more than 70,000 fans inside Acrisure Stadium expected Thursday evening.
Who would have expected anything else? After all, it was the rekindling of the "Backyard Brawl."
However, for the droves of Mountaineer fans who made the trip, the outcome wasn't quite what they wanted as Pitt scored two touchdowns in a 21-second span to pull out a 38-31 victory.
"It was a great atmosphere and our guys played their tails off," WVU head coach Neal Brown said. "We played really well, and I thought (Pitt) played really well. We made a bunch of mistakes for a first game, but we capitalized on some mistakes, too."
All accurate points.
While the loss certainly stings, the Mountaineers seemingly have a lot to build on as they prepare for their home opener a week from Saturday against Kansas.
Quarterback J.T. Daniels was solid with 214 yards and two touchdowns passing. Freshman tight-end-turned-running-back C.J. Donaldson was very impressive with 125 yards and a touchdown on just seven carries.
Unfortunately, it was an interception that went right off the hands of WVU's Bryce Ford-Wheaton and landed into the waiting arms of M.J. Devonshire, who raced it back 56 yards for the game-winning touchdown, that will stick in the memories of the Mountaineers.
"I thought J.T. played really well," Brown said. "He gave our guys a chance. I thought we'd make a few more plays down the field. For him playing for the first time in a long time, I thought he played well. C.J. Donaldson is a guy you've heard me talk about all camp. He's a football player."
Brown defended Ford-Wheaton, who had caught two touchdowns earlier in the game.
"(Ford-Wheaton) fought and played his (butt) off," Brown said. "He caught two touchdowns and made a heck of a play on punt."
Prior to Pitt's game-winning touchdown, the Mountaineers faced a fourth-and-short from near midfield with just over six minutes to play. Brown didn't hesitate once a hard count didn't draw the Panthers offsides. He sent out the punting unit.
"We're up by seven and they have to go 98 yards," Brown said. "If I had to do it again, it would have been the same decision. I felt good about it because we had played really well defensively on back-to-back drives."
Brown was noticeably frustrated with the officiating, targeting calls and the final play of the game, which WVU thought was a first-and-goal at the 1, but was ruled an incompletion after what seemed like the 15th review of the game.
"Don't ask me what a catch is and don't ask me what targeting is because I don't know," Brown said. "I probably know less about those (calls) than I did before the game."