West Virginia fell apart late to fall to Pittsburgh 38-34 in the 107th edition of the Backyard Brawl Saturday inside Acrisure Stadium.
Quarterback Garrett Greene completed 16-30 passes for 210 yards with two touchdowns and two interceptions to go along with 49 rushing yards. Both CJ Donaldson and Jahiem White also would score a rushing touchdown for the Mountaineers.
The Mountaineers led 34-24 with 4:55 remaining but allowed the Panthers to score 14 consecutive points to stun West Virginia.
West Virginia won the coin toss and elected to take the football to open the game but after moving the ball to the 45-yard line would be forced to punt. The Panthers would take over at their own 14-yard line and the defense would force a three and out to get the football right back at their own 47 yard line.
The offense would then hit on a 33-yard pass play to Rodney Gallagher to set the offense up inside the red zone and Greene would connect with a wide open Donaldson on a ten-yard toss to put the Mountaineers ahead 7-0.
The Panthers would respond on the ensuing drive with a 42-yard pass to Kenny Johnson to set the offense up inside the Mountaineers red zone. However, the defense would hold and the score would move to 7-3.
The West Virginia offense would record their first three and out on the next possession giving the football back to the Panthers at their own 28 yard line. Pitt would use a 21-yard tipped pass to spark a drive that was capped on a nine-yard touchdown pass to Reid to five the Panthers their first lead of the game 10-7.
The Mountaineers would respond on the next drive moving the ball down the field aided by a horse collar tackle by Pittsburgh and White would cap off the 75-yard drive with a five yard scamper to put the visitors back out front 14-10.
West Virginia would appear to be getting off the field on the next drive, but a defensive holding penalty extended the drive on a failed 3rd and 15 which allowed Pitt to move the ball down the field and then another defensive holding penalty on the same drive again allowed the Panthers to pick up a first down. From there, the Panthers would score on a touchdown toss to Reid to give them a 17-14 lead.
West Virginia would move the ball to midfield, but Greene's pass would bounce off the hands of his wide receiver into the arms of Cruce Brookins for an interception. However, that mistake wouldn't end up hurting the Mountaineers as the Panthers would move the ball to midfield and go for it on fourth down but were stopped.
The Mountaineers would move the ball down to the Pittsburgh 26-yard line and the 44-yard field goal by Hayes would split the uprights to make it 17-17 heading into the half.
Pittsburgh would open the second half with the ball, but it was a quick three and out. West Virginia would fake a punt and pick up a first down but after apparently scoring on a 50-yard touchdown toss to Hudson Clement it was called back on a holding penalty.
On the ensuing punt, Straw had his punt blocked and it was returned for a touchdown to give the Panthers a 24-17 with 8:27 left in the third quarter.
The offense would respond by moving the ball down the field capped off by a Donaldson four-yard touchdown run to make it 24-24. The drive spanned 81 yards and was a total of seven plays that included a 44-yard pass on free play to Jaden Bray.
The defense would respond again with a pair of sacks to force another punt and a 13-yard return by Preston Fox put the ball at the 47-yard line. The Mountaineers offense would again move the ball deep into Pittsburgh territory but the drive would stall and Hayes would tack on a field goal to take a 27-24 lead.
The defense would the force a three and out including a third and 1 stop to give the offense the football back with the lead with 9:49 remaining in the game. The Mountaineers would covert on another fourth down and then a 28-yard touchdown catch by Justin Robinson gave the visitors a 34-24 lead with 4:55 left.
The Panthers would drive the ball down the field quickly and scored on a 40-yard touchdown pass to Daejon Reynolds to cut the score to 34-31 with 3:06 left. The Mountaineers would then go three and out to give the football back to the Panthers at their own 23 yard line with 1:59 left.
The Panthers would quickly move the ball to the West Virginia 13-yard line with 51 ticks left on the clock. From there, the Panthers would punch the ball into the end zone to take a 38-34 lead with just 32 seconds left. West Virginia would then turn the ball over.
The Mountaineers will now play host to Kansas in the Big 12 opener next weekend in Morgantown. Kickoff for that contest is set for 12 p.m.
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