This past Saturday the younger members of Mountaineer Nation were privileged to witness first hand the magic that the old guard speak of in reference to Head Coach Rich Rodriguez. Rod did not pull a rabbit out of a hat at the end of the overtime period at Mylan Puskar Stadium, but he managed to snatch victory from the jaws of defeat from the most hated rival in school history.
Until this miracle win over Pitt, all the newer fans had to go on were stories of improbable triumphs and come from behind victories. Now they can say they experienced first hand what Mountaineer fans from long ago fell in love with, and still love to this day.
It was not pretty and the best part is that it didn’t need to be. The outcome was all that mattered.
Sure it would have been great to jump out to a large lead and cruise to an easy win, but very few battles or Backyard Brawls are going to play out that way. Most of them are roller coaster rides that provide thrills throughout. The sellout crowd of 62,018 (mostly Mountaineer fans) made their way to Morgantown with low expectations following last week’s outing.
WVU had lost to the Ohio Bobcats and in the process lost two of their top players, running back Jahiem White and wide receiver Jaden Bray, to season-ending injuries. The Mountaineers were over a touchdown underdog to the Panthers, a team that was undefeated going into the Brawl. The first half was a defensive struggle that left WVU with a seven to three lead and fans with hope of an upset. The optimism grew when Tye Edwards scored on a one yard run to extend the lead to 14 to three with 8:27 left in the third period.
Starting quarterback Nicco Marichol was replaced at halftime. A combination of a Pitt run and a pair of WVU interceptions helped the Panthers to a 24 to 14 lead with just over nine minutes left in regulation.
This is traditionally where the roller coaster would stop and former head coaches Dana Holgerson and Neal Brown would get off the ride, leaving the Mountaineers to roll on to a loss.
Rich Rod wasn’t done this Saturday and he inserted Marichol back into the contest. He went nine of 11 passing down the stretch for 109 yards, including the game tying touchdown with 11 seconds remaining.
In overtime, Edwards scored his third and most important touchdown of the affair, putting the home team on top. The defense, which played lights-out all game, had a chance to seal the deal. After a tackle for a loss on first down and an incomplete pass on second, a sack sent fans into a frenzy. It was Edward Vesterinen’s second of the game and the sixth for the West Virginia defense on the day. A fourth down incompletion sealed the comeback win in a game where not one Mountaineer would let go of the rope.
That’s a phrase from the old days and it was so important in this modern day miracle for these players.
Rich Rod was a master motivator back in the day and it’s safe to say that nothing has changed. Let’s hope that the previous success will continue to follow that this time around.
That will do it for now. Until next week . . . take care and God Bless!!!
