Mountaineers Now

Pitt's Season Has Spiraled Out of Control Since Pat Narduzzi's Trolling of Neal Brown

All of a sudden, the Pitt Panthers are having a hard time finding wins.

Schuyler Callihan

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Things have not been going well for the West Virginia Mountaineers this season, entering the final week of the year with a disappointing 6-5 record.

The season has been filled with disappointments, including blowing a 10-point lead on the road at Pitt with a little over three minutes left to play. About a month after the Backyard Brawl, WVU head coach Neal Brown was the center of college football for a week after making an odd statement the Monday after losing to Iowa State.

“I get that they want to win. But what I would say is, did they have a good time? Did they enjoy it? It was a pretty good atmosphere," Brown said. "I’m assuming they had a pretty good time tailgating, so if they’re in the deal for enjoyment then I would come back. I looked at the weather and it’s going to be nice again. It’s a night game. And we need them to provide a home-field advantage.

Was the comment taken out of context? Eh, maybe, but it's not the best-worded message to an already salty fanbase. Regardless of how you took Brown's weather/tailgating comment, the matter worsened when Pitt head coach Pat Narduzzi trolled the WVU head coach on X, formerly known as Twitter.

Since posting this tweet, Pitt's season has snowballed out of control. They did win the very next game after the post, beating Syracuse 41-13, but have since dropped four straight games and have blown out in two of those matchups, losing by 23 to SMU and 28 to Louisville.

The Panthers' final game of the regular season will be on the road against Boston College, and according to the ESPN FPI, Pitt has a 43.8% chance to win. If Boston College can get the job done, Narduzzi's squad will have gone 1-5 since his post mocking Neal Brown.

The post has not only spelled bad luck for the Panthers but even brought some good fortune for the Mountaineers, who have won three of the last five.

No matter what side of the rivalry you're on, stuff like this is what makes the game so fun to have back every year (for now). The Brawl is scheduled to take a three-year pause beginning in 2026, but WVU AD Wren Baker is hopeful to find a solution to eliminate that gap.

One way could be if the SEC officially moves to a nine-game conference schedule. Alabama may be open to dropping the home-and-home with West Virginia, which would create an opportunity for the Brawl to be played in 2026 and 2027

For that to happen, though, Pitt would likely need to adjust its schedule as they currently have two Power Four non-conference opponents in UCF and Wisconsin. I don't know how they get it done, but the two athletic directors have to do everything they can to keep the Brawl going.

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Schuyler Callihan
SCHUYLER CALLIHAN

Publisher of Mountaineers Now on FanNation/Sports Illustrated. Lead recruiting expert and co-host of Between the Eers, Walk Thru GameDay Show, Mountaineers Now Postgame Show, and In the Gun Podcast.

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