MORGANTOWN -- The romantic comedy movie genre often provides those memorable scenes in which the guy throw rocks at his would-be lover's window to get her attention.
Saturday afternoon’s Backyard Brawl won’t be close to a romantic comedy.
It figures to involve a rock fight between West Virginia and Pitt's football teams, and it won't end in happily ever after.
The Mountaineers are coming off a 17-10 loss to the Ohio Bobcats in Athens, Ohio, last Saturday.
WVU faced a mobile quarterback in Ohio's Parker Navarro last week and will have its hands full again this weekend going against Pitt's Eli Holstein.
Holstein has completed 36 of 51 passes for 519 yards and eight touchdowns, while rushing the ball 11 times for 77 yards. The Pitt quarterback isn't as mobile as Navarro, but WVU coach Rich Rodriguez knows what Holstein presents.
"He's a great player. He's an NFL guy," Rodriguez said. "He can make all the throws. He's one of the top quarterback prospects in the country. He's off to a great start, but last week was different because Parker Navarro was such a unique guy. The plan for [Holstein] and everybody else is a little bit different.
"[Last week], we missed a few opportunities to let them get some first downs and key plays.
"This week, we can't let that happen. Eli can move around a little bit. He's not just a stationary target. They're going to throw it all over the place if we don't get pressure, if we don't cover."
West Virginia's offense was vibrant during its season-opening 45-3 victory over Robert Morris, recording 26 first downs and 625 total yards of offense.
The Ohio game was a completely different story, as the Mountaineers struggled to move the ball, especially off turnovers.
WVU only gained 13 first downs and 250 yards of offense.
West Virginia's defense picked off Navarro three times, but in their subsequent nine plays, the Mountaineers netted minus-7 yards.
"We just gotta get more first downs," Rodriguez said. "If you don't want them to score, throw the ball over the place and Desmond [Reid, Pitt running back] go off, you gotta keep possession of the ball and get first downs. That's gonna be the key for us. We gotta get first downs and keep possession of the ball."
WVU saw two quarterbacks take snaps last Saturday in the seven-point loss to the Bobcats.
Nicco Marchiol got his second consecutive nod as the starter for the Mountaineers. Backup quarterback Jaylen Henderson took over for two second-half series.
Marchiol completed 15 of 26 passes for 178 yards and threw one interception. He was sacked three times.
Though Marchiol is a redshirt junior, he's in his first season in a new system, and looked it at times against the Bobcats.
"He's still learning," Rodriguez said. "Nicco's a great competitor. I love the way he competes. It's important to him, but, like everybody else, he's [essentially] a freshman in the system. It's still gonna be a little bit of a process. The way he's bought in and competing, he's doing everything. Nicco wants to be great. We gotta help him in certain spots as well."
Henderson has only posted 4 rushing yards on three carries, with his longest run coming for 6 yards. He was also sacked once.
"Jaylen was looking for a little spark," Rodriguez said. "The best play he had got called back because of a penalty. It was probably a good call. He got a couple of series there. He's still in the mix."
Pitt's defense held both of its first two opponents, Duquesne and Central Michigan, to less than 20 points.
The Panthers are in the top 40 in Division I FBS in scoring defense, allowing 13 points per game.
One of the big sparks for Pitt's defense comes from linebacker Kyle Louis, who is tied for second on the Panthers in tackles with 11. He also has a team-high 3.5 tackles for loss and two sacks.
"They're extremely athletic," Rodriguez said. "Their guys up front can all run. Their linebackers can run. They got big, tall corners that press you and try to take away the easy stuff. I knew they felt good coming into the season with the experience they had coming back. They've showed it in the first two games they've played. We know how hard they're gonna play."
Rodriguez and Pitt coach Pat Narduzzi are well aware of each other, dating back to when Narduzzi was the defensive coordinator at Cincinnati during Rodriguez's first tenure with WVU. Narduzzi also coordinated Michigan State's defense when Rodriguez was at Michigan from 2008-10.
"I'm sure all the terminology has changed. He's very similar," Narduzzi said. "Not that we know any of the terminology. He's been a couple places since he got this. Just what they do is very similar to what we faced for three years at Michigan State when we faced him. ... Very similar. Different personnel, different things that they had strengths at.
"They had Denard Robinson back in the day, Tate Forcier. Obviously [we've] gone back and watched all those games during the summer and last night. They had really good talent. They were really good up there. We'll be ready to roll."
West Virginia is 23rd nationally in scoring defense, having allowed an average of 10 points through its first two games.
Pitt has averaged 27 points per game in the three games against the Mountaineers since the rivalry returned in 2022.
The Panthers' lowest point total against WVU during that stretch came in 2023, when they scored six points.
Mountaineer defensive coordinator Zac Alley's defenses have been nationally prominent before coming to WVU this year.
Narduzzi said WVU's defense stands out and present multiple challenges against Pitt's offense, which is averaging 55 points per game.
"When you look at where they are defensively in the country, red zone defense I know is really good," Narduzzi said. "Red zone, they're darn good there. Pass efficiency, they're 38th in the country, better than we are. They're going to mix it up. That's what they do well. They're going to try to trick you and put themselves in a good position.
"They do a great job just changing things up and giving you different looks, try to confuse your offensive linemen and running backs and everybody else."
Pitt is 19-18-3 all-time in Morgantown against West Virginia, but the Mountaineers have won the last three meetings in the Mountain State.
The Panthers lead the all-time series 63-41-3. However, the Mountaineers are 8-7 since 2000 and have won four of the last six meetings.
Saturday's contest between WVU and Pitt will be the last meeting until 2029. That game will be played at Acrisure Stadium in Pittsburgh.
