In a somewhat really surprising upset, Pitt was able to knock off the Florida State Seminoles in Tallahassee in Week 7. That upset makes WVU’s win over Pitt look better and worse, and here is why.
Following Saturday’s upset win over Florida State, Pitt moved their record to 4-2 overall and 2-1 in conference play. Picking up a win against then-25th-ranked Florida State, Pitt is now a major question mark in the ACC after recently being considered dead in the lague race by many fans.
The Good News For WVU
Pitt's performance in recent weeks does show that WVU, at their best, can beat a competitive power conference team. Pitt is back in the ACC race, and with one of the best defenses in the ACC, there is a lot of hope for them right now. Allowing a total of 313.7 yards per game, Pitt has the third-lowest opponents' total yards per game in the ACC, trailing Louisville and Miami, respectively. Pitt is only giving up 83.5 rushing yards per game, which places them first in the ACC. With the win over Florida State, Pitt has proven they are a serious contender in the ACC, and with its new quarterback, true freshman Mason Heintschel.
So WVU defeated Pitt, who then later on in the season defeated Florida State, who started their season by knocking Alabama by a score of 31-17 in the first week of the season. I am not saying that WVU needs to hang a banner, but getting a win over a qualified ACC team that beat the team that beat Alabama is something to keep in mind when evaluating the success of the 2025 football season. It could also bode well that WVU can be a competitive team.
The Bad News For WVU
When the Panthers came to Morgantown and lost in overtime, WVU’s only win over a Power 4 school to this point, Pitt’s starting quarterback was Alabama transfer Eli Holstein. Holstein did not have a great game, going 22-of-37 (59% completion percentage) with 303 passing yards, one touchdown, and one interception. The former four-star high school recruit also took six sacks that really gave WVU a chance to hang around and climb back from a 24-10 deficit to Pitt.
Now, with the emergence of Heintschel, it seems Pitt really could have used him during the Backyard Brawl. One could argue that if Pitt had put Heintschel under center instead of Holstein, there is a chance that the game would have gone very differently. In the first half of the Backyard Brawl, Pitt had five punts, one missed field goal, one made field goal, and one interception. If Heintschel had been the starter, there is a legitimate chance that Pitt would have more chances to put points on the board against this WVU defense which has since struggled significantly in conference play.
Heintschel in the 2025 season has gone 54-of-74 (73% completion percentage), 680 passing yards, six touchdowns, two interceptions, and has a ESPN QBR Rating of 171.5 in three total games.
WVU’s only win over a Power 4 team now comes with a bit of an asterisk next to it. Not only did Pitt not have their star running back Desmond Reid for the entire game, but now it seems like Pitt had the wrong guy under center.
Pitt’s upset win over Florida State has conflicting feelings about the validity of WVU’s win over Pitt. Should WVU fans feel a little worse about the win over Pitt? No, absolutely not. Maybe you should even feel better about it. But there is some good reason for Pitt fans to claim that they could have won the Backyard Brawl if Heintschel was the starting quarterback.