It's no secret to anyone around West Virginia or the sport of college football that the Backyard Brawl will be even bigger than the stage it usually takes between WVU and Pitt this year.
The return of Rich Rodriguez as well as the game being played on Sept. 13 (9-13) and the symbolic nature of that number with Rodriguez's exit the first time around with the Mountaineers.
Due to the magnitude of the rivalry as well as the storylines surrounding the game, there is a possibility of ESPN's College GameDay show coming to Morgantown. Rodriguez wants it to happen, and certain fixtures on the show aren't against the idea either.
"It's a great rivalry. I say way too many four-letter words, but Pitt's the worst one. It'll be maybe the most electric atmosphere on that weekend. I'm hoping we'll have GameDay down there; that would be nice. They'll put on a show, you'll see the blue lot cranking like you've never seen it before," Rodriguez said on the College GameDay Podcast.
While the time is unknown, the atmosphere at Milan Puskar Stadium is predictable — chaotic, loud, and a frenzy on the third Saturday of the college football calendar.
"I don't know who else is playing that weekend, but there will not be one that's more intense. It'll be quite a show," Rodriguez said.
ESPN's Pete Thamel and Rece Davis, two prominent fixtures on the show, agree with Rodriguez about bringing the show to Morgantown.
"I don't think I've been to West Virginia since I've hosted the show, going into my 11th year. I've been there for basketball a couple of times. I've called Thursday night games there, and we were at Pitt for West Virginia-Pitt on the Thursday night a couple years ago when the season opened. I don't think I've been to West Virginia for gameday as a host, but I'm ready to go," Davis said.
There are other storylines surrounding West Virginia ties to the College GameDay cast as former Mountaineer Pat McAfee, who also played under Rodriguez, is on the show, while West Virginia native Nick Saban is also on the show.
"What a powerful homecoming that would be, Nick's actual home, and Pat's collegiate and adopted home at West Virginia. I think there would be some juice on the set that morning," Thamel said.
"That would be such a scene. We already saw what the scene was when he took his show to Morgantown, let him take his show to Morgantown, and then bring GameDay to Morgantown on the heels of that," Davis said of McAfee.
Davis would recount a story of when he visited WVU for basketball's version of GameDay, and they played Country Roads as the intro to the show, and it's a moment he will never forget, and one that he hopes he can recreate for football.
"When our director dissolved from the tape to the live shot, it was as if you never missed a beat in the music. And the entire crowd, which was a huge crowd for basketball, they were singing Country Roads, top of their lungs, it was awesome. I think it shows you the passion and the love that West Virginia fans have for their program and I think they are really excited about having Rich back.
"It would be just fantastic if we could take the show back there. Might even get the boys to sing because McAfee and Saban have zero problem singing Country Roads before the show starts... they love singing that song, so maybe we can recreate it for football," Davis said.
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