MORGANTOWN -- West Virginia University football fans enter Week 3 doing their best impressions of Charlie Brown, with the scribble mark above …

After a 1-1 start, West Virginia football fans are still on the fence about this 2024 version of their beloved Mountaineers.

J.T. Daniels’ passing numbers against Pitt may not have been awesome (23-39, 214 yards, 2 TDs, 1 INT) but little of that was his fault.

In addition to the game-deciding interception that should have been a completed pass, West Virginia’s quarterback was mostly on target despite an aggressive Pitt pass rush that produced three sacks and so many big hits that he wouldn’t have been blamed had he become a bit gun-shy.

That didn’t happen, though.

Daniels continued to stand in the pocket, stepping into throws when he could and keeping his eyes downfield even as Panther rushers prowled the pocket.

The question now becomes, how much of this was due to Pitt’s excellence on the defensive front, or to continued issues with West Virginia’s offensive line play?

There’s no question that WVU has some problems to address. The Mountaineers moved guard Doug Nester out to right tackle to start the Pitt game, an indication that neither Brandon Yates nor Ja’Quay Hubbard had seized the spot. West Virginia head coach Neal Brown noted after the game that Jordan White had earned the opportunity to start at guard, and that’s a fair point for inclusion, but it’s telling that Nester, with just a week’s worth of full practice at tackle, was adjudged to be better than Yates or Hubbard, at a position they had been working at since the spring. There’s no way that White, no matter how well he played, would have precipitated that shift on his own. WVU’s goal to “get the best five on the field� was also used as an explanation for the move, and again, that shouldn’t be argued with. But just as clearly, it demonstrates the ongoing concerns at right tackle.

Matters were made worse when White went down with an ankle injury, forcing him out of the game. Nester slid back to guard, and Hubbard came in at tackle, but there were still protection issues, including two critical fourth quarter sacks. Not all of those can be blamed on one position, but WVU is clearly back to where it left off on the offensive line last year. Yates, other than on special teams, did not play in the game.

What can the Mountaineers do to address these issues? In game planning, it might use some limited rollouts and waggles, which Daniels appears comfortable with. He’s not an all-out runner or scrambler, but he showed good accuracy when throwing on the move. It also has to improve its pick-ups from running backs and tight ends, even if those have the negative effect of taking a potential passcatcher or two out of the pattern.

On the opposite side, WVU showed more four-man defensive fronts than might have been expected, but that was largely in response to Pitt’s use of six and sometimes even seven linemen in its offensive sets. Add in a tight end, and the Panthers occasionally had just one wideout in the formation, and often no more than two.

Give credit to West Virginia’s defensive staff for being prepared for this, and for moving to a 4-3 look that included Jasir Cox walking down from spear (which is largely a linebacker) and Edward Vesterinen getting a number of snaps as the fourth defensive lineman. Despite Pitt head coach Pat Narduzzi’s desire to pound the ball on the ground, WVU held Panther running backs – not counting QB or WR numbers – to a combined 93 yards on 27 carries, which is an average of just 3.4 yards per attempt.

The four-man front isn’t expected to become a staple of WVU’s defensive repertoire this year, but it is great to have it for situational use, and for facing teams that might be as committed in establishing the running game like Pitt. Sean Martin and Mike Lockhart were other defensive linemen earning time and representing themselves well on the Mountaineer defensive front.

Rules for uniforms have evolved over the years, with emphasis on protection for players at the forefront. However, enforcement of some of those rules continues to slide, most notably in the area of knee coverings.

According to the rule book, knees must be covered and padded, and thigh pads, at least of a minimal variety, are also required. However, a look at many players in early season games shows that not only are knee pads missing, but knees are completely exposed, especially on skill position players and speed defenders who prize mobility and quickness over everything else. Linemen, many of who wear protective knee braces, do employ more padding and wrapping, but this is a rule that is totally ignored by every officiating crew.

If it’s not going to be enforced, it should be removed from the book.

Narduzzi also waded into waters usually left undisturbed when he said that he would have gone for a first down were he in Neal Brown’s position in the fourth quarter, when WVU faced a fourth-and-one and elected to punt. Why then, did the opinionated coach not do the same when the Panthers had a fourth-and-two at the WVU 49 in the third quarter? Trailing 17-10, Pitt wasn’t in control of the contest, but he elected to boot the ball away.

That mirrored a decision he made three years ago, when he elected to try a field goal from 19 yards out instead of going for a potential tying touchdown with fewer than five minutes to play against Penn State. That fourth-and-one decision at the PSU goal line proved fateful, as the field goal was missed, and Pitt lost 17-10.

Sorry, Pat, but your own history contradicts your statement – apparently a not-uncommon occurrence in your career.

More likely than not, Narduzzi was just using the question to beat his own chest and get in a dig at WVU.

MORGANTOWN, W.Va – First it was years, then months, weeks and days.

Now the countdown to the 105th edition of the Backyard Brawl, dormant since 2011, is mere hours away.

The excitement on both sides of the rivalry between Pitt and West Virginia has ramped up and will be sure to reach a fevered pitch, both inside and outside of Acrisure Stadium, Thursday night.

ESPN’s College GameDay will broadcast from inside the stadium starting at 6 p.m. with the game to follow beginning at 7 p.m.

Even though none of the players on either side have ever participated in a Backyard Brawl before, there is an excitement level that few are trying to hide.

The season opener combined with the first Brawl in over a decade means neither coach will need to make an impassioned pregame oration.

“The good thing about this one is they don’t need a whole lot of speeches,� said WVU’s fourth-year head coach Neal Brown. “The ones where you put some thought into your speeches are the ones you worry about your emotional level going into it. That won’t be the case in this one.�

In fact, Brown’s concern is his Mountaineers will be too fired up.

“It’s going to be making sure we play the game with emotion but not emotional,� he stated.

For Pat Narduzzi, who is beginning his eighth year as the head coach at Pitt, his thoughts about the 2022 season-opening Backyard Brawl are basically the same.

“Obviously, it’s a big game, not just because it’s the Backyard Brawl, but also because it’s the first game of the season. This would be a big game no matter who it was. A rivalry game adds more to it,� said Narduzzi, who grew up in Youngstown, Ohio, where his father was the head football coach at YSU from 1975-85. “We know they’ll come up, there’s a lot of hatred on their end, but there’s got to be a lot of hate on our end. That’s what it comes down to in rivalry games.�

Both teams are using transfers to help reload this year. West Virginia has added 33 scholarship newcomers since the end of last season (6-7), including 10 transfers from four-year colleges.

Most of WVU’s transfers figure to be major contributors in Thursday’s Backyard Brawl, including as many as six who could start. While they are new to West Virginia and in most cases new to the Power 5 level, they are far from new to college football.

“We have a bunch of guys who have played football. Maybe not all at WVU, but we guys who have played in the offensive line, wide out, quarterback, tight end, across the board,� explained Brown. “We’ve got guys who have played, outside of a couple on defense. Your expectation as a coach is if a guy has played, his maturity level will allow him to not to get too high going into a contest.�

Having played in bright lights helps, but opening-game jitters – and mistakes – are often deciding factors, whether newcomers or veterans make them.

“I do think teams lose games more than they win them,� noted Brown.

“The first week of college football in games that were close in terms of a talent standpoint, it wasn’t the teams who made the big plays that won but the teams that didn’t make the big mistakes – rather it was penalties, turnovers or whatever.�

A newcomer who won’t make a play for the Mountaineers on the field – but will call them – is first-year offensive coordinator Graham Harrell.

After three seasons as the O.C. at North Texas (2016-18) and three more at USC (2019-21), Harrell will be handling the play calling for West Virginia this year. Brown had been involved in the play calling in his previous three seasons at WVU, but he’s turning those duties over to Harrell this year.

Brown obviously won’t be relaxing in a recliner on game day, but he’s now going to concentrate more on game management, though he’ll be available if Harrell needs him.

“I’ll be a resource for him,� explained WVU’s head coach. “That’s what I’ve been working on all spring and fall camp. He’ll call it, and if I feel really strong about something, I’ll give him some ideas. I want to get a resource for him.�

Not calling plays will be an adjustment for Brown, who has made those decisions for his teams for 14 years, whether it was as a head coach (2015-18 at Troy and 2019-present at WVU) or as an offensive coordinator (2013-14 at Kentucky, 2010-12 at Texas Tech and 2008-09 at Troy).

Brown, Harrell and first-year wide receiver coach Tony Washington all have to get used to new roles with the Mountaineers.

“Chemistry on game day, when you have new staff members, you have to practice that,� said Brown. “We were intentional about doing that in the spring and all during fall camp.

“As a head coach, you have to train yourself as well,� added Brown. “You watch some games and you sit there and think how you have to use your timeouts and what you want to do here or there. It’s been nine months since we played, and if you go nine months without doing something, you’re going to get rusty. There is some preparation there for the coaches, the head coach included.�

All the new pieces for the Mountaineers – coaches and players alike – will try to fit together seamlessly in Thursday’s season-opening Backyard Brawl.

MORGANTOWN, W.Va. (WV News) — Any opener to a football season is different and difficult.

It is a journey into the unknown for both sides, and that is especially true for West Virginia and Pitt as they stoke up the Backyard Brawl after an 11-year hiatus, this the 105th renewal of one of college football's most hotly contested rivalries.

While Pitt holds a wide all-time advantage in the series, since 1963 it has been a toss-up with WVU winning 25 and Pitt 22 with two ties. The points difference in those 49 games is just three in favor of the Mountaineers.

The Mountaineers come into the 7 p.m. game at what once was Heinz Field as a 7.5- to 8-point underdog to the Panthers, who last season were Atlantic Coast Conference champions for the first time but who lost not only quarterback Kenny Pickett, a first-round selection of the Pittsburgh Steelers, but All-American wide receiver Jordan Addison, the Biletnikoff Award winner.

WVU, coming off a 6-7 season in the Big 12 that ended with an impotent 18-6 bowl defeat to Minnesota, not only has a new quarterback in Georgia transfer JT Daniels, once a 5-star recruit of USC but snake-bitten with injuries throughout his career, but a new offensive coordinator in Graham Harrell, a prolific quarterback at Texas Tech who coached Daniels briefly at USC.

In an era of uncertainty brought about through the opening of college football's one-time transfer rule and encouraged by competing NIL money, opening day has become a perilous journey onto a field lined with unmarked landmines.

According to coaches on both sides of the Backyard Brawl, it no longer is a case of the best team winning but, instead, the steadiest team.

"It's not the great plays that win the game, but making sure the bad plays don't lose it," said WVU's fourth year coach Neal Brown.

While any football game must be approached with emotion, the coaches are warning their players that they can't blindly fly off into the rages that rivalry games ignite from within.

"That's a staple of openers," Brown said. "Last week, in the games that were evenly contested from a talent standpoint, it wasn't necessarily the big plays that won, but it was the teams that made the big mistakes that lost. Whether it's penalties, turnovers. I do think teams lose games rather than win them early."

The man standing across the field from Brown agrees on that point.

"You want to have extra juice, but you have to have your composure, too," said Pitt head coach Pat Narduzzi, who like Brown is experiencing his first Backyard Brawl. "It's a brawl, a fight. You have to have composure.

"Haven't had that with our team, but maybe they'll read it," Narduzzi went on, only half-jokingly. "We have to have great composure. We didn't have great composure against Miami last year, personal fouls which drove me nuts. I don't want to get them too hyped because they have to play smart and not get out of control."

This is especially true with both offenses due to the change in leadership at the quarterback spot and the idea that both teams can't have the precision that will come after a couple of games under their belt.

"In a first game, especially when that first game is a rivalry game coming back for the first time in more than a decade, there will be a lot of emotion, but the key will be to not beat yourself by letting emotions get the best of you," Harrell said.

"Any first game, you try to do too much as a player. That's natural. You're excited to be out there. You want to make magic happen instead of just doing your job.

"I think that's going to be important in a game like this. Put an opener and a rivalry game together, you assume emotions will be high, and it's very important to control your emotions.

"If there's some magic pill out there or some extra stuff we need them to do, we coach them to do it. That's the message ... do your job. That's enough. That's how great things happen."

Interestingly, Harrell has coached both quarterbacks in the game. He took over as OC after Daniels' freshman year USC, coaching him in camp and for the first half of the opener before Daniels went down with a knee injury.

He wound up replacing him with then-true freshman Kedon Slovis.

That sets up an intriguing sideshow to the main event as these two go head to head against other.

As a freshman at USC, Daniels threw for 2,672 yards with 14 touchdowns after skipping his final high school season.

In 2019, after Daniels' injury, the freshman Slovis inherited the job and threw for 3,502 yards and 30 touchdowns in earning Pac-12 Freshman of the Year honors.

When Daniels was to come back, Slovis owned the job, which led to Daniels transferring to Georgia. This year, when Lincoln Riley jumped from Oklahoma to coach at USC and brought quarterback Caleb Williams with him, Slovis transferred to Pitt.

Narducci has been impressed with what he's seen of Daniels.

"I'll tell you a quick a story about it," he said. "I was watching all his throws. I think it was on Play 128 as I'm going through it, I'm like, 'Is this guy ever going to throw an incomplete pass,'" Narducci said. "I'm not leaving here until he throws an incomplete pass. Holy Cow!"

The tape he was watching was of Daniels' completions ... but you get the point.

"He's just very accurate. He's smart. He can throw a really good deep ball. Our corner has to be really good in coverage."

WVU, of course, has promised to have a potent, high-powered offense with a strong deep passing game built behind a veteran offensive line that will be challenged by a Pitt defensive front that is one of the best in college football.

But it may not come down to making big plays if the coaches are right. Instead, the team that plays the cleanest football may be your winner.

MORGANTOWN, W.Va. -- The first game of the season allows for much more time to evaluate the teams involved, so when game week actually arrives, many angles of coverage have already been executed.

As always, though, we can find a few more, and when the contest is the Backyard Brawl, that task becomes even easier.

Each week, we'll look at some of the hidden, and not-so-hidden, confrontations and keys to WVU's game, and also provide some of the more interesting informational nuggets around the contest.

* * * * * *

Other than getting a transfer QB in the form of Kedon Slovis to replace departed starter Kenny Pickett, one of the biggest stories of the Panther off-season was the replacement of offensive coordinator Mark Whipple with Frank Cignetti, Jr. Back for his third stint on the Pitt staff, Cignetti is expected to execute head coach Pat Narduzzi's wishes for more running and less passing in the Pitt attack.

It's hard to figure, on one level, why Narduzzi was so exercised about Whipple's play selection. Pitt's passing game produced 4,723 yards and 44 TDs against eight interceptions, and was nearly perfectly balanced with 544 passes against 525 runs. Granted, 97 of those rushes came from Pickett, with many the result of scrambles, but they produce 241 net yards, so it wasn't like that part of the attack was a disaster either.

With that detailed, just how much more will Pitt run the ball in 2022? Its backfield stable is similar to that of WVU's – a group of solid backs that aren't the flashiest around, but look to be dependable. Is that their best method of moving the ball in 2022, or is Narduzzi trying to bend the offense to his will rather than taking advantage of his best players? Keep an eye on Pitt's playcalling early. If the run game doesn't get cranked up, will Narduzzi allow more passing?

West Virginia (0-0) vs. Pitt (0-0)Thu Sept 7:00 PM ETAcrisure StadiumPittsburgh, PATV: ESPNRank: WVU: NR UP: 16Series: UP 61-40-3Last Game: WVU 21-20Twitter: @BlueGoldNewsFacebook: BlueGoldNewsWeb: BlueGoldNews.com

So indications are that Pitt wants to run the ball, but it's not going to ignore the passing game either. WVU wants to improve its ability to throw the rock downfield. Both of those items bring us to pass protection, which has been overlooked in the discussion about each team returning all five of its offensive line starters, and the automatic assumption that both will be good.

Last year, WVU gave up 38 sacks, which tied for 110th out of 130 teams nationally. That, along with attendant pressure and hurries, was yet another reason contributing to the struggles of the Mountaineer passing game. Pitt wasn't much better, yielding 34 sacks, albeit on almost 100 more passing attempts than West Virginia had. That ratio might put last year's sack rate of Panther QBs in the acceptable loss category.

What does that mean for this year? With the caveat that it's a new season, with new offensive system and points of emphasis for each team, the fact remains that pass rush is one of the more difficult things to evaluate in the preseason. Viewings of full scale 11-on-11 sessions are pretty much non-existent, and QBs usually aren't live in them in any event. Which team will be able to provide a clean pocket and throwing lanes?

Some of this also is on the other side of the line, and there the Panthers hold a big advantage. Pitt produced 54 sacks last year (third nationally), while the Mountaineers had barely half that total (27 according to the NCAA, 28 by WVU's numbers). Are there candidates on the Mountaineer front to help Dante Stills (seven sacks) and Taijh Alston (five) put more pressure on Panther QB Kedon Slovis?

* * * * * *

WVU is 5-1 in games played on Sept. 1. The Mountaineers have opened the season eight times previously against the Panthers, taking wins of 6-5 in 1900, 17-7 in 1953 and 24-6 in 1903 while absorbing losses of 12-0 in 1901, 14-9 in 1917, 26-13 in 1944, 14-13 in 1956 and 34-3 in 1991.

WVU is more successful when looking at Thursday night action. It is 10-4 in its last 14 Thursday night ESPN contests.

Admittedly, none of that will have any impact on this game. But they are some fun numbers to bat around.

* * * * * *

A fair percentage of WVU fans seem to think that they will be taking over Acrisure Stadium as they did in previous visits to the structure, then known as Heinz Field. That's probably not going to happen.

While WVU fans have bought all of their available tickets to the game, and likely snapped up more through third-party resale sites or via stealth buying practices like shelling out for a cheap season ticket and then flipping the rest back onto the market, this isn't the mid-2000s, when Pitt support was at low ebb and WVU fans could pretty much snag any seat they liked.

Coming off an ACC title, and with expectations for another run at a top-tier finish in the league, Pitt supporters have been doing their part in purchasing tickets. That's not to say WVU fans won't be visible, or heard, but the idea that there will be more Mountaineer than Panther fans in the stadium, as many believe, is likely well off the mark.

* * * * * *

WVU will put four assistant coaches in the press box this year, including offensive coordinator Graham Harrell, defensive line coach Andrew Jackson, tight ends coach Sean Reagan and safeties coach Dontae Wright.

* * * * * *

The vagaries of scheduling a strong non-conference slate aren't working in WVU's favor. Not only is West Virginia is one of only three Power 5 schools to open the 2021 and 2022 seasons on the road at a Power 5 opponent (Penn State and Notre Dame are the others), WVU also opens the 2023 season on the road at Penn State. That makes it the only school to open three straight years at a Power 5 opponent.

Given the difficulty of trying to build this program back to more than an average level, such tasks probably aren't advisable. And unfortunately, fans won't acknowledge that scheduling is more than a small part of achieving success.

This is only the 35th time the Mountaineers will open their season on the road.

MORGANTOWN, W.Va. (WV News) — Can't think of anything that more typifies the difference between West Virginia and Pittsburgh as the renewal of the Backyard Brawl rivalry between the two schools draws nearer and nearer than the fact that the Panthers' coach, Pat Narduzzi, showed up at the Atlantic Coast Conference football media days wearing a white dress shirt with the cuffs emblazoned with his name embroidered on the cuffs.

"P Narduzzi" it read, according to national college football writer Brett McMurphy.

One suspects Pitt grad Mike Ditka did not pick out his ensemble for the day, as the Panthers like to put forth a tougher image than embroidered cuffs on their dress shirt.

But the game has changed. Remember when Miami was in its heyday and showed up at the Fiesta Bowl in 1986 to play Penn State for the national championship and deplaned with the team dressed in brown-and-green army fatigue outfits?

While Penn State had arrived in blue blazers and ties, looking like a debate team, the Hurricanes came dressed for battle.

"We want everyone to know that this is going to be a war, and we are ready for it," quarterback and Heisman Trophy winner Vinny Testaverde told the media that day.

The outfits had been purchased at an Army-Navy surplus store in Miami, according to fullback Alonzo Highsmith.

There was no word where Narduzzi had picked up his attire or who had coordinated his outfit, but McMurphy's Thursday tweet did say that Narduzzi replied when asked about the autographed cuffs, if you want some, "go see the suit man."

Now no one knows why Narduzzi opted to dress to kill, but there are any number of possible reasons.

Could be he was going to use it for his "off the cuff" remarks during his preview of the season.

Or was his name there simply so if he got lost, someone would be able to return him from Charlotte to the Pitt campus.

Narduzzi has been at Pitt for seven years now and is coming off a season in which his Panthers went 11-3 and won the ACC championship, although one suggests you might deduct power points for having to defeat Wake Forest rather than traditional football powers FSU, Miami or Virginia Tech in the championship game.

But with the championship trophy now in the case, Narduzzi now has an audience that listens to them and what he is saying is that the ACC title was just the first step.

The ultimate goal at Pitt is the national championship.

"We haven't done anything yet," Narduzzi said. "We would like to win a national championship. We want to be in the playoffs. We're one game last year away from being that. If you go to a 12-team playoff, we're in it.

"That's where we want to be. We're not happy with where we were last year, and we would like to win every football game."

To do that, of course, you have to win the first one, and that is the Backyard Brawl. Let's see, it was 15 years ago when Pitt burst WVU's bubble, so you know that will be mentioned once or twice in the upcoming five weeks.

Narduzzi, though, does not see national championship talk as out of place at all.

"History is a great predictor," he said. "We won nine national championships in Pittsburgh. You talk about Tony Dorsett in 1976, winning the national championship. That's the last one. That's something we're striving for.

"I think things go in circles. You look back years and years and years ago. Alabama wasn't very good. Look where they are today. Pittsburgh is the same thing. We're going to finish the circle there and get around to that. We just have to continue to build and work on that championship season."

Who knows, if they win it, maybe Narduzzi will turn down the ring and ask if they can't present him with a pair of National Champion cufflinks instead.