Pitt vs. West Virginia matchup history: Backyard Brawl records and more

2023-09-17 06:27

The Backyard Brawl rivalry between Pitt and West Virginia is one of the best in college football. Here's how both teams have fared in the iconic matchup historically.

In the 2022 college football season, one of the best rivalries in the sport was renewed with the first Backyard Brawl in more than a decade being played. The Backyard Brawl, of course, refers to the rivalry between the West Virginia Mountaineers and Pittsburgh Panthers.

The name "Backyard Brawl" has been fitting of the Pitt-West Virginia rivalry with the two football teams often delivering a physical and heated battle. However, the term itself is derived from the close proximity of the two schools, sitting just about 75 miles apart across the Pennsylvania-West Virginia border.

It's one of the best -- and perhaps most underrated -- college football rivalries out there. And we're lucky to have it. However, fans are wondering after Pitt's win in the renewal last year when the last time West Virginia won was, and more about the Backyard Brawl rivalry.

When was the last time West Virginia beat Pitt in Backyard Brawl?

On the calendar, it's been a long time since West Virgina last beat Pitt in this rivalry, but it was only the next-to-last time the two teeams met prior to the 2023 meeting that the Mountaineers last won. West Virginia last won the Backyard Brawl on Nov. 25, 2011in Morgantown when they captured a narrow 21-20 win over the Panthers.

That win actually marked a three-game winning streak for the Mountaineers in the rivalry, one that was snapped when the two teams met for the first time in more than a decade in 2022. Pitt won that game 38-31.

Backyard Brawl records: Pitt vs. West Virginia matchup history, streaks, more

Since the first meeting in 1895 (an 8-0 West Virginia win), the two rivals have played 105 times leading into the 2023 matchup. Pitt holds the advantage in the series with a 62-40-3 record overall against the Mountaineers.

Pitt also holds the longest win streak in the rivalry, winning 15 straight from 1929-46. West Virginia's longest win streak in the Backyard Brawl came in the early-to-mid 90s, winning five consecutive meetings from 1992-96. In the last 10 meetings between the bitter rivals, though, West Virginia has the edge, going 6-4 over that span.