Sep 1, 2022; Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, USA; West Virginia Mountaineers quarterback JT Daniels (18) passes against pressure from Pittsburgh Panthers linebacker SirVocea Dennis (7) during the first quarter at Acrisure Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Charles LeClaire-USA TODAY Sports

No. 17 Pitt pulls out wild Backyard Brawl win over WVU

M.J. Devonshire returned an interception 56 yards for a tiebreaking touchdown with 2:58 to play as No. 17 Pitt pulled out a 38-31 victory over West Virginia on Thursday in Pittsburgh.

In a back-and-forth battle, the Panthers (1-0) wound up outlasting the Mountaineers (0-1), snapping a three-game losing streak in the Backyard Brawl, which hadn’t been played since 2011.

Down 24-17 late in the third quarter, West Virginia put together two lengthy touchdown drives to go up 31-24 with 10:37 to play.

JT Daniels’ 16-yard scoring pass to Bryce Ford-Wheaton leveled the score, and then Daniels’ 1-yard run gave the Mountaineers a seven-point lead.

After the teams exchanged punts, Pitt took over on its own 8-yard line with just over six minutes to go.

Southern California transfer Kedon Slovis led a seven-play, 92-yard drive, connecting on all five of his passes, including a 24-yard touchdown toss to Israel Abanikanda with 3:41 left.

Following the kickoff, on the Mountaineers’ second play from scrimmage, Daniels threw a pass that bounced off Ford-Wheaton’s hands, popped up in the air and was picked off by Devonshire. The cornerback weaved his way through traffic to give Pitt the lead.

West Virginia turned the ball over on downs at the Pitt 28-yard line on a fourth-down incomplete pass in the final minute to seal the outcome.

Slovis finished 16 of 24 for 308 yards and a touchdown. Panthers running back Rodney Hammond scored two TDs while amassing 74 yards on 16 carries. Jared Wayne had three receptions for 89 yards.

Daniels connected on 23 of 39 passes for 214 yards and two scores plus the one costly interception. Ford-Wheaton made nine catches for 97 yards and two scores, and CJ Donaldson ran for 125 yards and a touchdown on seven carries.

The game was tied 10-10 at halftime after West Virginia’s Casey Legg booted a 24-yard field goal as time expired in the second quarter, capping a 74-yard drive.

West Virginia opens its Big 12 schedule in its next contest, a home game against Kansas on Sept. 10. The same day, Pitt will play host to Tennessee.

–Field Level Media

Former Colts punter Pat McAfee takes a selfie with fans after making the team's pick during the second day of the NFL Draft Friday, April 26, 2019, in Nashville, Tenn.

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Pat McAfee contemplated suicide after 2007 loss

Broadcasting star and former Indianapolis Colts punter Pat McAfee says he contemplated suicide after missing two short field goals in an important college game between West Virginia and Pitt in 2007.

McAfee, the Mountaineers’ kicker and punter, missed kicks of 20 and 32 yards in what ended up a 13-9 victory for Pitt in the “Backyard Brawl” rivalry. West Virginia had entered the game 10-1 with legitimate aspirations for a national championship.

McAfee said he received death threats and messages encouraging his suicide over social media. Further, he was known for mingling with fans and hosting an annual barbecue with his roommate and teammate, meaning many fans in Morgantown knew where he lived.

“My life changed immediately that day. It was a terrible (expletive) night, to be honest with you,” McAfee told Sports Illustrated. “It was like something out of a movie. I just drove. I got all the way to Virginia through Maryland. I was gone for a couple days. I drove, parked, slept and kept driving. I didn’t know where I was. I didn’t know where I was headed. I didn’t know what was coming next. And I didn’t know if I wanted to live anymore.”

The 2022 season marks the 15th anniversary of that West Virginia team, and the teams will open their season in Pittsburgh on Thursday night, renewing a rivalry that hasn’t been played in football since 2011.

McAfee went on to spend an eight-year NFL career entirely with the Colts, after which he launched a digital media career that includes hosting “The Pat McAfee Show” and working with WWE.

He told Sports Illustrated that he has only returned to West Virginia’s campus once since he departed.

“It’s tough. I let down a lot of people. Do you want to pop back in and go to a place where you literally made every human there miserable and upset? That’s not my vibes,” he says. “I let down basically everybody I care about — my family, myself, my teammates, my coaches, everybody who’s invested time in me at West Virginia.”

–Field Level Media

Nov 10, 2018; Morgantown, WV, USA; West Virginia Mountaineers cornerback Derrek Pitts Jr. (1) celebrates after a turnover during the fourth quarter against the TCU Horned Frogs at Mountaineer Field at Milan Puskar Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Ben Queen-USA TODAY Sports

Brawling in the front: West Virginia, Pitt open with critical rivalry game

West Virginia and No. 17 Pittsburgh kick off the 2022 season by renewing the Backyard Brawl series on Thursday.

“It’s been a great carrot for our guys as we’ve gone through winter, through spring ball, now through summer workouts to know that,” said West Virginia coach Neal Brown, whose Mountaineers have won three consecutive meetings with Pitt. “Man, we’ve got not only a game to look forward to but it’s a rivalry game that’s going to be in prime time. We’re not playing on so-called Week 0, but we are the premier Power Five game versus a Power Five opponent on Thursday night, and our guys are excited.”

The rivalry renewal is also a potential reunion for a pair of former USC Trojans quarterbacks.

Brown enters a pivotal season with the Mountaineers, who are coming off a 6-7 campaign in 2021. Brown is just 17-18 in three seasons in Morgantown, and while the program has made back-to-back bowl games, the Mountaineers are just 11-15 in Big 12 play.

Defense has been WVU’s calling card the last couple of seasons.

But WVU suffered some key personnel losses on that side of the ball and just three projected starters returning. There are depth issues in the secondary, but lineman Dante Stills should help this unit be one of the strongest in the league up front for coordinator Jordan Lesley.

Brown was able to woo JT Daniels through the transfer portal to run new coordinator Graham Harrell’s offense, which features five returning starters up front. Harrell was the play-caller at USC when Daniels was the starting quarterback for the Trojans in 2019.

Pitt won the ACC and went 11-3 last season and the program is doing its best to push players into thinking bigger.

“We would like to win a national championship,” Narduzzi said. “We want to be in the playoffs. We were one game last year away from being in that talk. … If you go to a 12-team playoff, we’re in it. That’s where we want to be.”

But Narduzzi has the difficult chore of replacing star quarterback Kenny Pickett and playmaking wide receiver Jordan Addison. However, former USC signal caller Kedon Slovis — who took over for an injured Daniels at USC in 2019 — has a chance to keep the offense humming under new coordinator Frank Cignetti Jr., who inherited all five starting linemen from last season and a deep backfield.

At any rate, Pitt is ready for a test. Any test.

“I feel like we’ve been in camp forever,” Narduzzi said.

Defensively, the Panthers return seven starters, including Calijah Kancey up front. The unit led the ACC in rush defense and limited teams to below 24 points per game last year, but replacing cornerback Damarri Mathis is a tough task, especially because the pass defense allowed a ton of big plays last season.

ESPN’s “College GameDay” will be on campus for this tilt, marking the crew’s first visit to Pittsburgh since 2005.

This game will mark the 105th edition of the Backyard Brawl, with Pitt owning a 61-40-3 record in the rivalry, though West Virginia won each of the last three matchups between the two programs from 2009-11, when both were members of the Big East.

–Field Level Media