Across the Monongahela: WVU student paper talks Backyard Brawl

The people who know a football team best are often the people who cover said team. For the upcoming Backyard Brawl, The Pitt News thought it would be worthwhile to talk to our “friends” at The Daily Athenaeum, the West Virginia student newspaper, to find out more intel about the West Virginia University football team for Saturday’s Backyard Brawl.

Game prediction

According to managing sports editor Luke Blain, West Virginia fans believe the Mountaineers will win this season’s edition of the rivalry despite the Mountaineers’ deflating week one loss to Penn State.

“I think fans are still really confident, and I think they should be,” Blain said. “I don’t think that first loss [to Penn State] should be a testament to how the season will go. WVU fans are always confident going into matchups like this. So they’re confident. And I think they probably should be.”

Blain believes if senior quarterback Garrett Greene performs against Pitt like he did against Albany and some role players make that next step, the Mountaineers are in a good position to win. 

“There are some things that need to be corrected before they get on the field. A lot of people were worried about Garrett Greene’s play, especially at Penn State, but he went out and played a really good game against Albany — FCS school, take it with a grain of salt,” Blain said. “But there’s some good role players that are stepping up, and there’s some good opportunities here for this team to go out there and play better than they did in week one.”

Mountaineer offense

Greene is the biggest difference-maker for West Virginia in this matchup. It’s his first full Backyard Brawl after not playing in 2022 due to an injury early into the game last season in Morgantown, causing him to sit behind JT Daniels.

Blain thinks that if Greene plays a commendable game, the Mountaineer offense will have a solid game.

“I think it’ll be a good experience for him,” Blain said. “As long as he can keep it together and play a good game, I think that the offense will be fine.”

But it’s not just the quarterback who will win a game, especially in a heated rivalry. Greene has to dish it out to his playmakers out wide or in the backfield. West Virginia currently has no solidified No. 1 wide receiver, but Blain likes the idea of redshirt junior Jaden Bray having a breakout performance on Saturday.

“There’s no true wide receiver one,” Blain said. “I think Jaden Bray has been waiting to make a breakout … he’s a really good go-up-and-get-it guy, but he also has really good speed. I was very high on Jaden Bray coming [into the season], and I think he’ll get those opportunities.”  

WVU defense and stopping Desmond Reid 

Redshirt first-year linebacker Josiah Trotter is the Mountaineers’ key defensive player for the Backyard Brawl. His name gets mentioned a lot in press conferences, and according to Blain, it isn’t just smoke and mirrors.

“Josiah Trotter has been a name that they say a lot in WVU press conferences, and he plays really well,” Blain said. “He flies around the field. He’s always making tackles … he’s involved in just about every play.” 

Blain isn’t just intrigued by what Trotter will do defensively — how the Mountaineers’ defensive line will stop Pitt’s redshirt junior running back Desmond Reid is at the forefront of his mind.

“I’m really curious to see what happens with Reid,” Blain said. “I don’t think [the West Virginia defense] has played one of those guys who’s like, a pure speed guy that [has a] really quick burst and that acceleration, so it’ll be really interesting to see. I think that the run defense versus Reid is going to be really fun to watch, and it’s going to be a challenge for WVU.”

Game scheduling

The biggest gripe that both The Pitt News and Blain have with the Backyard Brawl is the fact that this game is played on the third week of the year rather than rivalry week — the last week of the regular season.

“Rivalry week would be so much fun,” Blain said. “And you know, WVU doesn’t really have a true Big 12 rival. It would definitely bring a lot more energy to the matchup. “Not that the fans aren’t bringing energy now.”

Blain is right that the fans are ready for Saturday. As Blain and his team look to take over Acrisure, the Backyard Brawl is set to be a fun one.