Pittsburgh head coach Pat Narduzzi is taking a subtle swipe at West Virginia over the Mountaineers’ recent cancellation of their football series with Alabama. Speaking ahead of Saturday’s Backyard Brawl, Narduzzi questioned why his program was not considered to fill the vacated spot.
“I think our Athletic Director has reached out to them,” Narduzzi said. “They already got it filled up, which means maybe they didn’t want to play us. I don’t know. They filled it up. I know if we knew that was going to happen, that would be our first call. Whatever. Can’t do anything about it. Stay in my lane.”
West Virginia opted to cancel its home-and-home series with Alabama in 2026 and 2027 after the SEC announced an expansion to a nine-game conference schedule, prompting both schools to adjust nonconference scheduling. The Mountaineers booked Coastal Carolina for 2026 and Southern Miss for 2027 instead.
At the same time, Pitt is actively reconfiguring its own future schedule. The Panthers already have Miami (Ohio), UCF, and Wisconsin lined up. Sources say that a home-and-home series with Ole Miss is in the works for 2026, further limiting Pitt’s availability for nonconference matchups.
Narduzzi’s remarks underscore a growing frustration with how interconference scheduling is handled in the modern era. Pittsburgh sees itself as a natural rival in the region and argues that it should have been West Virginia’s first option once the Alabama series was scrapped.
It is not the first time scheduling has stirred tension. West Virginia Athletic Director Wren Baker signaled his intent to move toward a more balanced nonconference lineup in keeping with College Football Playoff aspirations, favoring one power-conference matchup, a Group-of-Five opponent, and an FCS team each season. That philosophy set the stage for the Alabama cancellation.
Despite the friction, both programs remain committed to preserving the Backyard Brawl. The game is scheduled to pick back up in 2029. Fans can expect heightened emotions when the rivalry resumes, with both sides aware of what is at stake, beyond simple wins and losses.
