Rich Rodriguez shares what Backyard Brawl means to him, West Virginia players

West Virginia and Pitt are set to renew the Backyard Brawl this week. It’s a special edition of the game too, with Mountaineers head coach Rich Rodriguez returning to the game as he takes over the West Virginia program once again.

A West Virginia native who played for the Mountaineers before becoming a coach in Morgantown, this rivalry is special to Rodriguez. Beyond that, it’s special to the community and one that he believes should be better known nationally than it currently is.

“I think it’s one of the greatest rivalries in sports,” Rich Rodriguez said. “In all of our sports against Pitt. Obviously, the location between the two are close. There’s a lot of intensity with it. There never seems to be any love lost between the fanbases. It’s always, to me, the biggest game on your schedule when you’re at West Virginia. I don’t know if Pitt would tell you that, but I know from our standpoint and our fans’ standpoint, Pitt’s the biggest game we play.”

The Backyard Brawl was first played in 1895, making it one of the oldest rivalries in all of college football. West Virginia and Pitt’s campuses are only about 70 miles apart, and the two have battled over recruits and local interest over the years. They’ve also often shared a conference and been at the top of their respective conferences. Along the way, the Panthers took the series lead at 63-41-3.

With Rich Rodriguez came a complete roster turnover at West Virginia. That has forced the Mountaineers to try and teach their players about the value of this game to the community.

“Yeah, you got to talk to them. Hope they feel it. I think not just this week but since they’ve been here. Everybody will talk about the Pitt game. So, I’m sure they’ve heard it. I’m going to, obviously, mention it,” Rodriguez said. “But we’re going to do our process and practice the same as everything we always do. That doesn’t change, but I think they will probably see an added intensity if that’s the case. I don’t know. We’re pretty intense anyway, but they’ll understand the importance of it and they’ll see it on Saturday.”

In many respects, the Backyard Brawl is a unique rivalry from other ones that Rodriguez has been a part of over the years. That is something that Rodriguez attributed to the intensity behind it.

“It’s funny because every place has a rivalry. At Arizona, it was the in-state thing. Michigan–Ohio State, obviously, that one, but I’ve told people everywhere I’ve been that I’ve been in a bunch of rivalries. There’s none that’s more intense than this. I don’t know if it’s because the location is close or because there’s been so many heated games in all sports against each other. You can look at West Virginia. We’re smaller towns. Smaller cities. Pittsburgh’s the big city kind of thing,” Rodriguez said.

“So, there’s a lot of parallels that… I think what happens is it’s not as known nationally as a rivalry as, probably, what it should be. As I would tell folks, even at Michigan, ‘I know the Michigan-Ohio State rivalry is big, but it’s hard to get more intense than West Virginia-Pitt.’ You know? Every school probably has that one school that they can say they consider that kind of rivalry with. Pitt’s always been ours.”

For his part, Rich Rodriguez coached in one of, if not the, most iconic Backyard Brawls. In 2007, the 100th edition of the game, Rodriguez led a No. 2 ranked West Virginia team into the game against a 4-7 Pitt team. A win would send the Mountaineers to the BCS National Championship Game. However, the Panthers upset the Mountaineers 13-9, with kicker Pat McAfee missing two field goals in the game. That would be Rodriguez’s final game during his first stint at West Virginia.

When West Virginia and Pitt left the Big East for the Big 12 and ACC, respectively, it made it so the Backyard Brawl is not an annual game. This year’s edition will be the fourth in a row as non-conference opponents. After that, the two sides will take another three-season hiatus before beginning the series again in 2029.