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Pittsburgh-West Virginia agree to restart Backyard Brawl in 2022

By Patrick Schmidt

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The Backyard Brawl is back after Pittsburgh and West Virginia agreed to schedule the game between the two former rivals in 2022.

One of the bigger casualties of conference realignment in recent years was the loss of some of college football’s greatest rivalries.

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After West Virginia left for the Big 12 for the 2012 season, the Backyard Brawl rivalry game between the Mountaineers and Pittsburgh went by the wayside to the dismay of fans of both programs.

But there’s good news to report after the two programs agreed to start a series again, but fans will have to be patient as the first game won’t be until Sept. 17, 2022, when Pitt will host West Virginia. They’ll also host the Mountaineers on Sept. 14, 2024. The Backyard Brawl returns to Morgantown on Sept. 16, 2023 and again on Sept. 13, 2025.

“Pitt and West Virginia have a long and storied rivalry that dates back to the 19th century,” Lyons’ counterpart, Pitt’s Scott Barnes, said in a statement, via NBC Sports. “I’ve learned there is a lot of passion surrounding this game and we’re pleased to be able to rekindle that history.

“An unfortunate byproduct of conference realignment has been the interruption of numerous traditional rivalries across the country. Everyone wins when two great series like Pitt-Penn State and Pitt-West Virginia are renewed, especially the student-athletes and fans of college football.”

The two programs first met in 1895 and have played 104 times in total with Pitt holding the series lead at Pitt at 61-40-3.

Now if only Texas-Texas A&M, Nebraska-Oklahoma and Kansas-Missouri can rekindle their old rivalries, that would be a welcome sight for college football fans everywhere.

Next: 50 Greatest College Football Rivalries of All-Time

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