Pitt seeks revenge on backyard foe

After suffering two stinging defeats to South Florida and Connecticut along with a loss to… After suffering two stinging defeats to South Florida and Connecticut along with a loss to seventh-ranked Rutgers, the big question magnifies for Pitt football.

Can it stop West Virginia’s sizzling running attack for Thursday’s 99th annual Backyard Brawl?

This question lingers after three straight losses in which the Panthers gave up an average of 258 yards rushing in those games.

Last week against Cincinnati, West Virginia gained 313 yards on the ground, 148 of those by sophomore Heisman Trophy contender Steve Slaton alone. Amazingly, Slaton did this on only 12 carries, but only two of them mattered. Slaton had runs of 63 and 65 yards, the latter of which went for one of his two scores.

For the season, Slaton has rushed for 1,363 yards and 12 touchdowns. Quarterback Pat White went for 93 yards himself against the Bearcats and has 837 rushing yards and seven touchdowns this season.

As a team, Pitt will have its hands full against WVU head coach Rich Rodriguez’s 8-1 Mountaineers, who are ranked No. 8 and No. 9 in the two major polls.

Pitt is averaging 140 rushing yards per game, and sophomore LaRod Stephens-Howling had 154 yards and two scores in last week’s 46-45 double-overtime loss to UConn.

West Virginia has allowed a meager average of 88.4 yards per game entering Thursday’s match. There is also the motivation factor. Contrary to the experts’ predictions, Dave Wannstedt feels his team has it.

“We’re worried about ourselves and getting win number seven. As far as being motivated, I think there’s plenty of (motivation). We’re playing West Virginia, they’re a top 10 team in the country, the rivalry, we’re playing at home and we’ve got great seniors,” said Wannstedt.

“These kids (the seniors), you wish you had this group for another three years. They are some great guys and they know the importance of trying to win this football game, and getting ready to win.

“So that will not be a problem, we just have to go out there and play good enough.”

The Panthers will still be trying to settle the score from the season finale last year, when they were trounced out of Morgantown by the No. 12 Mountaineers, 45-13. Pitt’s defense gave up 31 unanswered points after cutting the score to 14-13. White and Slaton rushed for 220 and 179 yards against the Pitt defense in that game.

Despite the fact that many people feel the outcome of this Backyard Brawl is inevitable, West Virginia will enter Pittsburgh still smarting from its last trip to Heinz Field in 2004.

In that game, Tyler Palko led a furious comeback against the then No. 21 Mountaineers. Palko ran for a touchdown in the fourth quarter to give the Panthers a 16-13 victory that propelled them to the Big East Title and a trip to the Fiesta Bowl.

Palko is having a stellar season so far, with 2223 yards and 22 touchdowns against only six picks. Stephens-Howling has 801 yards and 8 touchdowns for the season, while Derek Kinder paces the Panthers with 40 receptions for 681 yards and six scores.

Defensively, Butkus Award candidate H.B. Blades looks to build upon his 126 tackles, which ranks third in the nation. As his college career nears its conclusion, Blades wants to finish strong, even if WVU’s running attack is too much for the Panther defense.

“The key is to try and contain them,” Blades said. “You aren’t going to stop them — I mean, who has? They are a great offense, Pat White is a great player — you can’t stop what they do for a whole game, so you have to try and contain them, to minimize the big plays they make and, when you have a chance to make a play, make it.”

Pitt holds the upper hand in Backyard Brawl history, with a 59-36-3 all-time edge vs. WVU, the most matchups for Pitt against any rival. The teams, however, have split the last six meetings. Still, Wannstedt knows that his team will be playing this game at the Mountaineers’ pace.

“We’re going to have to score points. No question about that. They’re averaging 35-40 points. There are a lot of things that go into that. Turnovers, field position, but, yes, we’re going to have to score some points. With this offense (West Virginia’s) I don’t see this being a 10-7 game by any means,” he said.

The game will be televised on ESPN with Chris Fowler and Kirk Herbstreit calling the action. Game time is set for 7:30 p.m.