Pitt rallies again, survives Backyard Brawl vs. West Virginia
Share this post:
Pitt’s second improbable rally in eight days leading to its 38-34 victory in the 107th Backyard Brawl morphed into reality Saturday night for many reasons.
• Of course, there was the freshman quarterback, Eli Holstein, looking like a senior, shedding his thoughts of what had been a decidedly unremarkable day and throwing for 91 yards and a score and running for 67 more in the last five minutes of a two-touchdown rally. Holstein finished the day with 21 completions on 30 attempts for 301 yards and three touchdowns, the first two to running back Desmond Reid that led to a 17-17 tie at halftime.
• There was the almost-forgotten wide receiver Daejon Reynolds, making his first catch of the season — on his first target — and turning it into a 40-yard touchdown that began ripping away at the 34-24 lead West Virginia held with 4 minutes, 55 seconds to play.
• There was defensive end Jimmy Scott’s sack of WVU quarterback Garrett Greene and linebacker Kyle Louis’ interception that sealed the deal with 4 seconds left. Those are the physical things that anybody among the 66,087 at Acrisure Stadium or those watching on TV could see.
Yet there was much more in the form of seniors Branson Taylor, Konata Mumpfield and Brandon George looking their teammates in the eye and building the belief that the Mountaineers’ lead was not insurmountable.
George, who scored a touchdown after Maverick Graco’s blocked punt in the third quarter, gave the players in his defensive huddle orders.
“I don’t care what the score is,” he said of his conversations when the outcome was up for grabs. “Don’t even look up there (at the scoreboard). Get that offense the football back, and we’re going to be great.”
Holstein said Taylor, the offensive left tackle, and Mumpfield, who caught two big passes leading to the two decisive touchdowns, got their teammates together on the sideline.
Their message, according to Holstein: “Trust everybody, and we’re going to be all right.”
In the end, Pitt was all right, remaining undefeated (3-0) while West Virginia fell to 1-2 after losses to neighboring rivals Penn State and Pitt.
“You should never lose a game when you’re up by 10 with five to go,” WVU coach Neal Brown said.
The comeback was Pitt’s second in the late stages of a game since Sept. 7, following the historic rally at Cincinnati from a 27-6 deficit to a 28-27 victory.
“I’m so darn proud of our football team,” George said. “The way we show fight for all four quarters, never wavering, never showing any doubt, always cheering each other on. That’s what a Pitt football team is supposed to look like.”
What was almost ignored during the final touchdown drive was this little tidbit: Reid, who is Pitt’s most explosive playmaker and was leading the ACC in rushing and the nation in all-purpose yards, was on the sideline.
“He’s banged up a little bit, I guess,” coach Pat Narduzzi said. “He’ll be fine.”
Pitt didn’t need Reid in that moment, but he was well enough to climb a ladder after the game and happily conduct the student section while it sang the fight song.
This is how they do it @Pitt_FB @937theFan @accnetwork @KDKARadio @HamlinIsland @pittbostick @scorindorin pic.twitter.com/YN52kBsNmB
— Larry Richert (@KDKALarry) September 15, 2024
Derrick Davis Jr., a Gateway graduate who arrived from LSU last year, replaced Reid and bulled into the end zone from the 1 to score the final touchdown with 32 seconds left.
It was the second time in Pitt’s two Backyard Brawl victories the past three seasons that a transfer player who played at a WPIAL school scored the winning touchdown. Two years ago, it was Aliquippa graduate and Kentucky transfer M.J. Devonshire’s pick-6 that decided the outcome.
Despite all his heroics leading up to Davis’ touchdown, Holstein was not on the field for the final punctuation mark. He lost his helmet on the previous play and, by rule, was forced to sit out one snap. Nate Yarnell entered long enough to hand off to Davis.
Before the late drama, however, Pitt struggled in many areas.
The Panthers’ hurry-up offense produced no semblance of a running game, managing only 16 yards while the Mountaineers were building a 10-point lead in the fourth quarter. Pitt finished with 78 on the ground — Reid was held to 26 — and West Virginia countered with 188.
Holstein was sacked five times. There were some protection problems, and Narduzzi replaced left guard Ryan Jacoby, who didn’t play last week, with Jason Collier in the second half. “I think Ryan Jacoby tried his tail off to go out there and still play banged up a lot,” Narduzzi said.
Holstein threw for 201 yards in the first half, none in the third quarter. In fact, Pitt totaled negative-2 yards in the third quarter, scoring its only touchdown when Maverick Gracio blocked a punt and George picked up the bouncing ball and returned it 24 yards toward the Pitt student section.
“Something you’ll never forget,” he said. “It’s one heck of a feeling.”
You can couple those bullet points with wide receiver Poppi Williams failing to get his feet inbounds on a catch in the end zone and a failed gamble by Narduzzi on fourth down that gifted the Mountaineers three points at the end of the first half.
It all added up to a tie score entering the fourth quarter, but West Virginia seized a 27-24 lead with 11:19 left. The 23-yard field goal by Michael Hayes II was preceded by a fourth-and-5 conversion when Greene threw 7 yards to Traylon Ray.
Later in the fourth quarter, Greene found Ray for another 5-yard gain, keeping the football from Pitt. Three plays later, Greene hit Justin Robinson for a 28-yard touchdown, boosting WVU’s lead to 34-24 with 4:55 to play.
Greene completed 16 of 30 passes for 210 yards, two touchdowns and two interceptions. He was effective through most of the game until the Pitt defense stiffened and forced a three-and-out and picked off a pass in the fourth quarter.
George said it didn’t happen by accident.
“We’re a brotherhood. We’re a family,” he said. “We don’t get down on one another. If someone gets down, we pick them up and start fighting, keep fighting … keep clawing.
“It’s an attitude. We knew if we got Eli the ball, we’re in good hands. We’re ready to roll.”