MORGANTOWN, WV (93.7 The Fan) – Rich Rodriguez has seen a lot. The last time he played Pitt, WVU lost a shot at the national title in a stunned stadium. Saturday, there was applause when the Mountaineers head coach took the podium during postgame.
“Just so happy for our players,” Rodriguez said. “Happy for our fans who hung in there. Never quit. I’ve always felt the longer the game goes, the more it goes to our advantage cause the way our guys work.”
Rodriguez said they made enough mistakes for five games, but their defense kept them in the game and eventually a 31-24 overtime win over the Panthers.
“I’m proud of our players, to come back after a tough week and to focus and to beat your rival. And when it looked like you weren’t gonna beat them, just really, really proud of them.”
“I’m blessed to be here and blessed to be their coach.”
It’s for West Virginia
Rodriguez said the sold-out crowd said played a part in the Mountaineers win and he was thrilled to get the fan base a win in the Backyard Brawl.
“This state is full of hard-working, gritty, tough people who support this university, support this football program and winning is important to them,” Rodriguez said. “I know beating Pitt is really important to them. If you ask anybody in our state that is a West Virginia fan and say ‘okay, pick a team you want to beat or who you hate, they say Pitt.”
Rodriguez said he saw the fans starting to tailgate on Tuesday and the win is for everybody and probably counts a little bit more than one. He said they are ‘going to enjoy the hell out of this one’.
Questioning injuries
Rodriguez didn’t hold any thoughts when discussing the number of Pitt players who he questioned whether there really were injuries.
“You mean when they laid down and were getting hurt,” Rodriguez said. “It’s amazing how many guys got hurt. I’m really concerned. Do they have anybody left to play next week?”
He didn’t stop there.
“You talk about bad luck, after you ever seen so much bad luck that they had so many guys get hurt that often,” Rodriguez said. “It’s remarkable, I’m just showing a level of concern for their health and well-being.”
The WVU head coach admitted it ticked him off. He said the rule should be if you leave the game you should have to sit out the rest of the series or the rest of the quarter or maybe even the rest of the half.
“Probably wouldn’t be as many guys get hurt,” Rodriguez said. “Just my opinion, but what do I know.”