There aren’t too many people that understand the Backyard Brawl more than former Pitt head coach Dave Wannstedt.
The Baldwin native was the Panthers’ coach between 2005-2010 and was there on the sidelines, crutches and all, in 2007 for the famous 13-9 game, that kept West Virginia from advancing to the National Championship.
The former Panthers coach was on crutches because of a torn Achilles tendon
To make sure his players know what the Backyard Brawl mean, current coach Pat Narduzzi picked Wannstedt to be his honorary captain for Thursday night’s game at Acrisure Stadium.
“It comes down to educating them,” Narduzzi said last week. “It doesn’t matter how you are educating them. We are going to teach them what a rivalry game is.”
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So, what will Wannstedt tell this current crop of Panthers?
He tells The Fan Morning Show that he’s going to touch on some key points but isn’t going to point to specific moments.
”I’ve got to tie in the tradition of this game and how it reinforces the great tradition of Pitt Football,” said Wannstedt. “Whether you were back in the Mike Ditka era or you’re in the current era, this West Virginia game unites the Pitt Football family and I think that is important about this game to these players, even if they haven’t played in it.”
While he believes the Panthers are the better team, he believes its going to be a “damn game that goes 60 minutes” and that they need to be prepared to “kick a field goal with no time left.”
While he hopes Pitt can coast, he is preparing for a “dog fight” and he expects one.
Wannstedt also talked about the famous 13-9 game.
“I busted two sets of crutches so I was probably out of crutches by the time I walked to the locker room, I really can’t remember,” said Wannstedt.
What he does remember though is how the program was going to move forward after the win.
He says there were around eight recruits on the sidelines for Pitt and he was thinking about them and his players and what the future would hold, even though he said the win was “great.”