2007 Pittsburgh vs. West Virginia football game

NCAAFootballSingleGameHeader
Name=2007 Pittsburgh vs. West Virginia football game
Date=December 1, 2007
Year=2007
Visitor School=University of Pittsburgh
Visitor Name Short=Pittsburgh
Visitor Nickname=Panthers
Visitor Record=4-7
Visitor

Visitor Coaches=NR
Visitor BCS=
Visitor Coach=Dave Wannstedt
Visitor1=0
Visitor2=3
Visitor3=7
Visitor4=3
Visitor Total=13
Home School=West Virginia University
Home Name Short=WVU
Home Nickname=Mountaineers
Home Record=10-1
Home

Home Coaches=1
Home BCS=
Home Coach=Rich Rodriguez
Home1=0
Home2=7
Home3=0
Home4=2
Home Total=9
Type=Big East Conference Game
Stadium=Mountaineer Field
City=Morgantown, West Virginia
Attendance=60,180
Anthem=Hail West Virginia
Halftime=The Pride of West Virginia, Hail West Virginia
US Network=FSN Pittsburgh
US Announcers=
Odds=WVU by 28
MVP=
Referee=The 2007 Pittsburgh vs. West Virginia football game was a college football game held on December 1, 2007, at Mountaineer Field in Morgantown, West Virginia. In an unlikely upset, the visiting Pittsburgh Panthers won. West Virginia was favored by 4 touchdowns over Pittsburgh, making the game appear to be a chip shot for the Mountaineers, who needed a win to advance to the BCS National Championship game. West Virginia entered the game with a 2-game winning streak against Pittsburgh including winning four of the last five games against the Panthers. By contrast, the Pitt Panthers had compiled a lackluster 15-19 three-year record which included two losses to WVU. The most profound storyline was that this game, the one WVU needed to win for a BCS National Championship berth, was the 100th Backyard Brawl anniversary game during a low point of Pittsburgh's program.

Game summary

The weather was cold with a slight West wind. The game began at 7:45pm Eastern Standard Time.

coring

First quarter

no score

econd quarter

*WVU - Jarrett Brown 6 Yd Run (Pat Mcafee Kick) WVU 7-0
*PITT - Conor Lee 48 Yd field goal WVU 7-3

Third quarter

*PITT - Pat Bostick 1 Yd Run (Conor Lee Kick) PITT 10-7

Fourth quarter

*PITT - Conor Lee 18 Yd field goal PITT 13-7
*WVU - Ball Through End Zone PITT 13-9

Aftermath

The outcome of the game was met with stunned silence from Mountaineer fans while a small number of Pittsburgh fans were cheering in similar shock. At Pitt's campus in Pittsburgh, large numbers of students began forming in different locations of the Oakland neighborhood. In addition to the crowds a sofa chair was burned in front of the university's Cathedral of Learning, mocking the WVU couch burning tradition.

At the end of the regular season, the University of Pittsburgh's athletic site chose the upset of West Virginia as one of the most important games not only in the 100-year-old Backyard Brawl rivalry but in the football program's entire history.

It was also the first time the Pittsburgh Panthers defeated a no. 2 ranked opponent since their 24-20 win over Georgia in the 1982 Sugar Bowl.

References

ee also

*2007 NCAA Division I FBS football season
*2007 West Virginia Mountaineers football team
*2007 Appalachian State vs. Michigan football game

External links

* [http://pittsburghpanthers.cstv.com/sports/m-footbl/spec-rel/120607aab.html] . December 6, 2007 University of Pittsburgh Official Athletic Site
* [http://www.post-gazette.com/pg/07336/838564-233.stm] . December 2, 2007 Pittsburgh Post Gazette official site
* [http://sports.espn.go.com/ncf/recap?gameId=273350277] . December 1, 2007 ESPN