The Backyard Brawl returns for the 107th time as West Virginia heads up north to face Pitt on Saturday.
The Panthers are off to a 2-0 start, beating Cincinnati, 28-27 on the road last week after beating Kent State at home in week one.
Head Coach
Pitt is coached by Pat Narduzzi who is 1-1 all-time against WVU. He is 67-50 overall and is in his 10th season as head coach.
Narduzzi is 2-0 for the first time since 2021, the year his team won the ACC Championship. The Panthers are looking to get to 3-0 for the first time since 2020 and the fifth time since 2000.
Offense
Pitt is led at quarterback by redshirt freshman Eli Holstein. Holstein is a transfer from Alabama, who will be making his third career start this week.
In week one, Holstein completed 30 of his 40 pass attempts for 336 yards and three touchdowns, throwing an interception while being sacked once. Against Cincinnati, he went 20-for-35 passing, throwing for 302 yards and three touchdowns.
Outside of Holstein, two main playmakers have played well through the first two weeks of the season.
The first is Desmond Reid, another transfer on the Pitt offense who is on a tear to start the season. Against Cincinnati Reid surpassed the 100-yard mark on the ground and through the air, becoming the first player in Pitt history to accomplish that feat. He leads the nation in all-purpose yards and is fifth nationally in rushing.
On the outside is Konata Mumpfield, who had 10 catches for 179 yards and three touchdowns this year. Against WVU last season he had one catch for six yards.
Pitt runs a high tempo and fast offense, as they only held the ball for 23:35 against Cincinnati and 32:26 in their week one game against Kent State.
Defense
On the defensive side of the ball, Pitt is still the same schematically unlike the way they are different now on offense.
The Panthers want to apply pressure and get after the quarterback, as they have eight sacks through two games. They also have two fumble receptions and an interception through two games this year.
Some names that stick out include Donovan McMillon who has 19 total tackles and an interception. Kyle Louis has 14 total tackles, 2.0 TFLs, and a sack. Rasheem Biles had 13 total tackles, 3.5 TFLs, and two sacks. Brandon George has 11 total tackles, a pair of TFLs and a sack.
Opponents are only converting 31 percent of their third downs against Pitt as last year against the Panthers WVU converted 4 of 12 third downs.
Special Teams
Kicker Ben Sauls is a perfect 5-for-5 on field goals to start the season. He has a long of 53 yards and is 2-for-2 from beyond 50 yards so far this season. He also had 13 touchbacks on 16 kickoff attempts.
Punter Caleb Junko has five punts, averaging 37 yards on his punts, with a long of 47 yards.
----------
• Talk about it with West Virginia fans on The Blue Lot.
• SUBSCRIBE today to stay up on the latest on Mountaineer sports and recruiting.
• Get all of our WVU videos on YouTube by subscribing to the WVSports.com Channel
• Follow us on Twitter: @WVSportsDotCom, @rivalskeenan, @wesleyshoe
