Pitt prepares for Backyard Brawl

It has come down to this: one game for all the bragging rights. This year’s Backyard Brawl… It has come down to this: one game for all the bragging rights. This year’s Backyard Brawl between Pitt and West Virginia has a lot at stake. Both teams enter the game Saturday 8-3 overall and 5-1 in the Big East Conference. The winner gets a better bowl bid and at least second place in the conference.

In his second season as head coach, Rich Rodriguez has turned around the Mountaineers, who went 3-8 one season ago. Pitt head coach Walt Harris believes West Virginia is one of the elite in the Big East this season.

“Other than Miami, West Virginia is playing better then any other team in the league,” Harris said. “It will take a supreme effort of execution to get it done.”

Mountaineer quarterback Rasheed Marshall has thrown for 1,278 yards and eight touchdowns this season. He has also rushed for 588 yards and 11 touchdowns, all as a sophomore.

“Marshall is coming of age,” Harris said. “However, the key to the [WVU] resurgence is their defense. They’ve done an outstanding job stopping the run.”

The Mountaineer defense has given up only 1,194 rushing yards in 11 games this season. The key to the defense is Angel Estrada and Grant Wiley. Estrada leads the team with five sacks, while Wiley has a team leading 122 tackles.

On offense, running back and Big East all-time rushing leader Avon Cobourne leads West Virginia. Cobourne has 4,943 rushing yards in his career at West Virginia and he has 14 rushing touchdowns this season.

“He’s a sturdy player and we couldn’t find him last year behind the lineman,” Harris said. “He would just pop up out of nowhere.”

As for Pitt, Saturday marks an opportunity to get nine wins in one season for the first time since 1982. Also, Roosevelt Bynes, who was injured against Miami, is expected to play Saturday.

“Rosey [Bynes] is ready to play,” Harris said. “I think he had a headache after the hit, which is understandable.”

Harris also took a minute Monday to remind fans of the Backyard Brawl, and that while this rivalry is intense, behavior should be stellar. Recent fights have broken out at Ohio State after the rivalry game with Michigan, and also at West Virginia after the upset of Virginia Tech. Harris wants this rivalry to be classy and that all the action should take place on the field.

This will be the 95th meeting between Pitt and West Virginia. Pitt will be looking for its third consecutive victory in the series, which Pitt leads all-time 58-33-3. Last year Pitt won 23-17 for its fourth of eventual six straight victories.

The game Saturday begins at 1 p.m. and will be televised on ABC.