GAME PREVIEW: WVU vs. Pitt – ‘Cue Country Roads’
By Zippy Zimmerman, RealWV
The WVU Mountaineers will face off against an old rival on Saturday, when they take on the Pittsburgh Panthers in front of a sold-out crowd at Milan Puskar Stadium.
Last year, the game was played in Pittsburgh where 70,622 onlookers watched as the Panthers defeated the Mountaineers by a final score of 31-38. Pitt currently holds the advantage in the “Backyard Brawl” with a record of 60 wins, 42 losses, 3 ties against West Virginia. The Mountaineers however, will look to narrow the gap by one game Saturday night.
Efficiency will be the name of the game for West Virginia and its offense. Last year, they averaged 30.6 points per game under quarterback J.T. Daniels despite the Mountaineer’s defense being one of the worst in the country—giving up 32.9 points a game and placing them 116th out of 131 teams. In West Virginia’s 2023 season opener against Penn State, the Mountaineers were only able to produce 15 points of offense. The defense surprised many, generating five 3rd down stops, which forced the Nittany Lions to punt back to West Virginia; but WVU’s inability to produce any further offensive rendered the defense’s efforts moot.
Collectively, Garrett Greene led the offense to 162 passing yards. The running game added another 146 for a combined total offensive output of 308 yards—ranking them 119th out of 132 in total yards per game in week two against Duquesne. The victory demonstrated that the Mountaineers are capable of getting things moving on offense, and showed that they have major talent on that side of the ball. However, the question that fans wants answered is clear: can those players still shine against another Power Five conference school like Pitt?
Pittsburgh has had a rocky start to their season after an unexpected loss last week at the hands of an unranked Cincinnati. The Panthers demonstrated many of the same struggles in week two that the Mountaineers had in their week one outing against Penn State. The panthers were only able to produce 262 yards of total offense, but their defense forced Cincinnati to punt five times.
The Mountaineers will have to capitalize on each and every possession if they hope to win. With a new emerging star in Hudson Clement at wide receiver, Greene will have an abundance of reliable personnel downfield to make plays, preventing the Mountaineers from having to lean on the run game as a crutch. Alleviating pressure off running back CJ Donaldson should allow him and West Virginia’s offensive line to conserve energy in order to rip off big chunk-yardage plays like the ones we saw last year against Pitt. Donaldson could also prove to be valuable in the passing attack.
The Mountaineers are expected to be wearing their yellow renditions of the white “Cue Country Roads” jerseys they wore last year in Pittsburgh for the big game; and, if all goes well, they could be doing just that by the end of the night.
Kickoff time is set for 7:30pm in Morgantown. Those who won’t be attending the game can watch live on ABC or through streaming services on the ABC App.
