Kenny Pickett Should be Right About Pitt vs. West Virginia Matchup

The Backyard Brawl is fun, but not an even matchup for the Pitt Panthers.

PITTSBURGH -- Former Pitt Panthers star Kenny Pickett believes the Backyard Brawl is going to be a blowout. After his final Pittsburgh Steelers preseason game, Pickett predicted the final score of the Pitt-West Virginia matchup to be 31-10. 

And he should be right. 

The Panthers walk into the season ranked 17th in the nation, with a returning offensive line, secondary, big names replacing outside linebackers and expected first-round NFL Draft picks playing on the defensive line. 

Meanwhile, Pat Narduzzi had to name West Virginia's starting quarterback for them. 

Pat Narduzzi is confident enough to announce that J.T. Daniels will be the starting quarterback for #WVU... if WVU hasn't already

Narduzzi said he's watched every Daniels throw out there

— Karl Ludwig (@LudwigKarl8) August 29, 2022

All jokes aside, there's nothing that comes at a higher standard in this brawl than emotion - and Pitt has preached that all week.

"You want to have extra juice, but you have to have your composure, too," head coach Pat Narduzzi said. "It's a brawl, a fight. But you have to have composure. We didn't have great composure against Miami last year, personal fouls which drove me nuts. I don't want to get them too hyped because they have to play smart and not get out of control."

All spring and summer, no player has had any expectation other than "we want to win a National Championship." This is a team chasing perfection, and West Virginia, while maybe a great rivalry, isn't on the same level as the Panthers this season. 

Acrisure Stadium is going to be packed, the North Shore is going to be rowdy and there might not be a better way to kickoff college football season in Pittsburgh than a Thursday night return of the Backyard Brawl. But at the end of the day, Pickett's 31-10 score prediction should be dead on. 

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