‘West Virginia who?’: Students, players share expectations for the 2024 Backyard Brawl

On Saturday, Sept. 14, Pitt football will take on longtime foe West Virginia in the much anticipated Backyard Brawl at Acrisure Stadium. Fans have engaged in much discourse online on the predicted outcome of the game, but the real question is, what do Pitt students think will happen? 

The Pitt News Sports Desk set out to interview students, as well as current and former football players, to find out what the Pitt community is expecting this weekend. 

All interviewed students told The Pitt News that they expect the Panthers to take home the win. Ava Maxwell, a Pitt sophomore, shared profound optimism when asked for her score prediction. 

“I’m predicting that Pitt wins 21 to nothing,” Maxwell said. “Hail to Pitt!”

When asked the same question, sophomore Sean McQuillan, who works for the ACC Network, discussed a more realistic outcome. 

“Pitt 28, Mountaineers 24,” McQuillan said.

Charles “Chas” Bonasorte, owner of The Pittsburgh Stop on the corner of Forbes Avenue and Bigelow Boulevard, was a member of the Pitt football team during his time as a student, which beat West Virginia at the 1976 Backyard Brawl and went on to win the Sugar Bowl. Bonasorte also predicted a Pitt win. 

“27 [to] 20 Pitt,” Bonasorte said. 

The interviewed Pitt students were also asked to say one nice thing about West Virginia students. A portion of the responses echoed crude stereotypes about West Virginia natives. But there were also positive comments made about the student body. 

“[The] culture there is good,” McQuillan said. “They’re really committed to their team.” 

Pitt first-year defensive line Sincere Edwards said he is excited to take the field for his first Backyard Brawl.

“I’m pretty excited,” Edwards said. “It’s my first year. I’m ready to see what’s to come.”

He also expressed confidence entering the game, claiming to not know the team he will face off against on Saturday.

“West Virginia who?” Edwards said..

Ryan Carretta, redshirt freshman offensive line, was also asked if he is excited for the upcoming game. 

“Of course,” Carretta said. “Best weekend of the year.”

Students were asked about their previous experiences attending the Backyard Brawl. A portion of the responses reflected positive experiences after Pitt’s 2022 win of 38-31. 

Junior Sadie Schrader noted that she had a good experience attending when she went to the Backyard Brawl. 

“It was the best game I’ve ever been to,” Schrader said. 

Senior Michele Spiller, who works for the ACC Network and Pitt To The Point, has attended two Backyard Brawls. 

“I’ve been to two because I’m old,” Spiller said. “The first one [in 2022] was fun because we won, the second one [in 2023] sucked because we lost, and we were in West Virginia.” 

McQuillan added in reference to his experience with the other teams’ supporters.

“We’ll say Mountaineers fans are a little scary,” McQuillan said. 

The 2022 Backyard Brawl was the first meeting of the schools since 2011 and featured a record 70,622 fans inside Acrisure Stadium. On the flip side, Pitt fell to West Virginia in their 2023 meeting in Morgantown.

With the long-standing tradition of two schools, separated by only 75 miles with plenty of smack talk to go around, the only certainty is that it will be an eventful meeting.