The best college football game for each week in September
By Austin Lloyd
Week 3: Pittsburgh at West Virginia (Sep. 16)
We can see a hefty drop in the stakes here, as last year saw the Panthers win a decent-yet-not-great nine games and the Mountaineers miss the postseason. With that said, what puts this game above all the others in Week 3 is the rivalry factor.
Despite finishing their seasons on such contrasting notes, the former Big East powers were giving each other an abundance of scares last September en route to a tight 38-31 final closed out by the Panthers—and that was in Pittsburgh. The Mountaineers being the welcoming party for round two should make things much dicier.
Only the most fascinating college football rivalries can be talked about in that manner despite gaps in their participants’ capabilities, and 2022 reminded us that this one checks that box for even the most picky of football fans.
It may miss the title of “September’s Best Game” by a country mile, but with Week 3 being in the running for slowest of the month, this hate-filled encounter should easily stand out as a diamond in the rough.