Welcome to the 100th edition of the Backyard Brawl. Not too far from kickoff, which can be seen on ESPN. The current line is somewhere around 28 — here’s to hoping things don’t get too ugly. Lou Holtz gave his fictional pep talk to Pitt this week on ESPN’s College Football Live — said something about the Panthers winning to gain some “respecth” — so hopefully Wannstedt proclaims a similar message.

7:32: Post by Chas over at the FanHouse about WVU’s couch burning problems, plus a newspaper ad asking for fans to be responsible. Waiting for this Oklahoma State vs. Washington hoops game to finish up…

7:40: Lou Holtz reminds us teams play tougher in a rivalry. Rece Davis points out that teams ranked #2 ranked have lost plenty of games this season. Many reasons to get hopes up, only to have them quickly crushed. Ugh…

7:50: Kickoff. Go Pitt.

7:53: Bostick already throws a poor pass, which is picked and returned to the Pitt 30. Crap.

8:00: Holy crap, The Paul Rhoads Bend-But-Don’t-Break Defenseâ„¢ didn’t look too bad. Add a Pat McAfee field goal miss and we get the ball at the 20.

8:11: Bostick gets eaten alive by 7 defenders for a 3rd down sack. Punting…

8:19: Greg Romeus fails to keep containment on White and he gets the huge run. On 3rd and 1 they give it to Owen Schmitt for the short run — measurement confirms the first down. Defense looks good except for White’s huge run.

8:22: McAfee misses another chip shot! Hah, gotta love it!

8:27: We can’t get a first down. LaRod was just body slammed, and the WVU defensive line is getting all sorts of penetration. Time for the Wildcat?

End of 1st quarter, tied at 0-0.

8:31: Fumble!!! Pitt ball!!!

8:34: Blah. Two more bad throws by Bostick and a bad punt through the end zone.

8:47: Bostick is 4 of 4 passing. Four throws and four horrible passes, that is. Screen play to Shady equals 1st down and first decent Bostick throw.

Nevermind, he throws another pick on his 5th bad throw of the night.

8:49: Does Wannstedt use the old-school wood crutches so they easily snap when he hits people with them? I suppose the newer metal ones would hurt a bit more.

8:55: Pat White looks like he’s in a ton of pain from a thumb injury — dislocation? Ew.

8:59: The goddamn backup is as good as White! Pitt takes a timeout.

Text message from a WVU fan/friend: “Dude Bostick is pretty fast and while I’m still lying I’ll say he’s good too.”

9:05: Wrapping White’s finger with a huge bag of ice. Things don’t look great for him. We make a 3rd down stop and Duhart makes a stupid move and gives them a first. WTF?!?

Even though the o-lineman flopped you still don’t push him.

Touchdown West Virginia, with the backup QB running in for the TD.

WVU 7, Pitt 0 — 1:43 left, 2nd quarter

9:19: Conor Lee! From 48, his new career long. He drilled the kick, showing Pat McAfee how to do it.

Only down 4 at halftime, not bad at all. Maybe Lou Holtz’s “respecth” speech worked? Anyways, I got the sense from watching McCoy those last few plays that he’s starting to physically feel those hits he’s taken from all these carries. Defense has tackled well, hopefully carrying through to the 2nd half. Offense is one-dimensional, with absolutely no passing threat.

Pat White will return if/when he “regains feeling in his thumb” according to Rich Rodriguez.

We’ve been close to WVU the last two years going into halftime, only to get destroyed in the second half. Time to break that streak.

WVU 7, Pitt 3 — Halftime

9:35: Fumble on the kickoff and Pitt got it!!!

9:39: Fake punt formation, Shane Murray takes the snap for the first!

9:46: Bostick to OD, who barely hangs on…Collins then Shady each take a carry…McCoy again to the 10 inch line…Bostick pushes into the end zone!

Pitt 10, WVU 7 — 9:48 left, 3rd quarter

9:55: 3 & out by the WV offense. As long as we can hold onto the ball and keep taking time off the clock I’ll feel good. I get nervous every time McCoy carries though after some of those fumble problems in the past — and now I probably just jinxed him. Super.

9:58: Shovel pass to LSH. Did Cavanaugh actually call a smart play for once? Shady breaks a nice run followed by 5 more from LSH. WVU fans, we can’t hear you.

10:00: Conredge Collins gets high for the first on 4th and short. Driving…

10:05: Turner called for questionable holding added with a Conor Lee miss gives all of the momentum back to West Virginia.

10:10: Big East refs seem to be continuing their year of excellence. Brown lost the ball but recovers anyways. Pitt defenders are friggin’ pumped up. Final quarter of the season; let’s hope they leave it all on the field. (Hooray for clichés!)

10:21: Nice boot by Brytus to pin WVU inside the 5, but Brown gets a nice run for the first.

10:24: Tommie Duhart makes up for it with a fumble recovery. Pitt ball inside the 20!!

10:33: McCoy with a beautiful move for a 1st inside the 5. Smelling the end zone — timeout Pitt (2 remaining). Pat White looking to return…tossing a ball around on the sidelines but still doesn’t look great.

Had 3 tries to power it in but couldn’t. Would have been huge to get in, but whatever — we’re Pitt, it’s expected. Lee FG is good.

Pitt 13, WVU 7 — 6:17 left, 4th quarter

10:38: Pat White back in game, Slaton can’t get what he needs on 4th down. Pitt ball, under 4:00 to go.

10:45: Holding call of Turner then not called on the pass. Talk about getting jobbed. Conspiracy theory? Confirmed.

10:53: Refs still trying to screw us, even when we do something right. Pitt ball attempting to run out the clock.

11:03: Oh my god we just won. We really just won. Unbelievable. More coming soon.

Holy crap!!!!!

Pitt 13, WVU 9 — FINAL