The Backyard Brawl celebrates its 100th birthday on Saturday, with a nice twist as a… The Backyard Brawl celebrates its 100th birthday on Saturday, with a nice twist as a present.

Although Pitt has dropped its last two games to fall to 4-7, West Virginia stands one win away from advancing to the national championship game.

After losing to South Florida back in September, the Mountaineers’ high hopes for a title seemed to be dashed. But since then, all West Virginia has done is continue to win, while most of the other contenders have faltered.

Ranked No. 1 in the USA Today poll and No. 2 in the AP poll and the BCS standings, West Virginia controls its destiny, and can slide into the unanimous top spot with a win and a Missouri loss to Oklahoma in the Big 12 title game.

But first, the Mountaineers need that win.

As if Pitt didn’t need enough motivation to get pumped up for their biggest rival, the chance to ruin the hated Mountaineers’ title hopes should only fuel the fire.

“There are plenty of reasons to be motivated about playing this game,” coach Dave Wannstedt said at his weekly press conference.

“I’m sure everybody might look at it a little differently