For the third time since 2011, and the 107th meeting of all time, the West Virginia Mountaineers will travel to Pittsburgh to take on the Pitt Panthers in the "Backyard Brawl" at the Pittsburgh Steelers home stadium. Enemy territory can have Its fair share of ups and downs, making the game hard enough due to the bitter rivalry. But a couple of questions for the Mountaineers will have to be answered for this season to hold everything that is still in WVU's grasp goal-wise.
WVU's QB Garrett Greene comes into this game with 397 passing yards on the season. Which in turn would put him right on pace to match his numbers from last season where he threw for 2,406 yards. This number should by all accounts increase a bit, but the ball distribution must increase as well. Traylon Ray leads the team with 7 catches, while Hudson Clement is right behind him with 6 catches. Each with just over 70 receiving yards on the season thus far. The season is still early, and there is a silver lining to be had sitting at 1-1 on the year.
The "Thunder and Lightning" esque running styles of CJ Donaldson and Jaheim White are WVU's bread and butter, and the Pitt defense only forcing one fumble on the year proves that the running game can exceed expectations in an environment on the road such as this one to set the tone early.
With WVU looking to run the ball early, this should open up the passing game for Garrett Greene, and the aforementioned ball distribution should accompany as well. Pitt comes into the game with eight sacks on the season; and only one interception, which should be a cat-and-mouse game of using the Tight Ends to your advantage as security blankets.
Garrett Greene has yet to throw an interception this season; and had only four all of last season. His completion percentage sits at 62.7% on the year, with a 55% collegiate career percentage. In turn, this could be one of those "Statement" wins for Greene, but we could also see some packages put in for Nicco Marchiol as well to give Pitt's defense a different look.
The game will be televised at 3:30 EST on ESPN 2, and if you're a firm believer in percentages, Pitt sits at the odds of 52.9% for the bragging rights of 365 days for the Backyard Brawl Trophy to stay in Pittsburgh.