It seemed as if the Pitt Panthers' players were a bit more injury prone than WVU football fans – and head coach Rich Rodriguez – were willing to believe on Saturday.
The West Virginia Mountaineers pulled off a 31-24 win against their archrival in the 108th edition of The Backyard Brawl as they erased a ten-point deficit with just seven minutes remaining in the fourth quarter to force overtime and scoring a game-winning touchdown. The Panthers seemed to struggle throughout the game with injuries, with players constantly dropping after plays and staying down for a few minutes before walking off to the sideline.
It was an issue that seemed to get worse as the game wore on, and there were multiple occurrences on the final few WVU drives alone where Pitt defenders would be brought to the ground with an injury each time WVU seemed to be gaining momentum and pushing the ball downfield as the Mountaineers mounted their comeback. WVU fans didn't seem to be buying the injuries, and began to boo each time a Pitt player dropped to the turf.
In the post-game press conference, where Rodriguez was mostly feeling good, a reporter seemed to nod at the injury struggles Pitt had by asking Rodriguez about his opponents' 'tactics' and the legendary head coach wasted no time launching into a rant where he seemed to show heavy concerns about the well-being of his rival's players – though he definitely seemed as if he was being just a bit facetious about the matter.
WVU HC Rich Rodriguez on the large amount of Pitt injuries: "You mean when they were laying down and getting hurt? It was amazing how many guys got hurt...I mean I'm concerned. Do they have enough guys to play with next week...have you ever seen this much bad luck?"
— RedditCFB (@RedditCFB) September 14, 2025
“You mean when they were laying down and getting hurt? It was amazing how many guys got hurt. I mean, I’m really concerned. Do they have anyone left to play next week," Rodriguez posited to roaring laughter from those gathered.
"There was like two or three guys on every single snap, like bad hurt. I don’t know if they went back in the game or if they’re in the medical tent right now, but it was like – you talk about bad luck, have you ever seen so much bad luck that they had so many guys get hurt that often. It's remarkable. So I’m just showing a level of concern for their health and well-being.”
When pressed further if he thought the Pitt players seeming to wear down late in the game helped his team, he took an opposite approach to the situation and gave his thoughts on a method he thinks might see fewer players suffer from similar injuries at crucial moments late in the game.
"Helped us? No, it pissed me off," Rodriguez said. "They’ve got a rule that, you know, if he falls down hurt after they’re ready to play, but you’re not going to wait for after the play, you’re going to do it immediately. I think for their health and safety they should have to sit out the rest of the series or the rest of the half…you probably wouldn’t have as many guys get hurt. But that’s just my opinion.”
Now, to be fair to Pitt, it was a hotter evening – around 80 degrees – than it has been recently in the greater Pittsburgh-Morgantown region over the past couple weeks, and Rich Rodriguez's high-tempo offense got off 93 snaps during the game. Those conditions can make for a long game and leave players prone to cramping. But don't tell that to Rodriguez or WVU's fans – it's a little more fun to see them fired up.