AD Steve Pederson talking to West Virginia about renewing Backyard Brawl

For the most part, Pitt's administration hasn't seemed all that interested in reviving the Backyard Brawl. But with an extra non-conference game now available after the ACC has determined they're going with eight games instead of nine, athletic director Steve Pederson admits he's at least been talking with West Virginia officials about renewing the rivalry.

According to Jerry DiPaola at the Trib last week:

“(West Virginia athletic director Oliver Luck) and I kind of talked about it, but it was hard to do without any definitive planning on our part,”

That's nothing definitive, obviously, but at least Pitt seems open to playing the game.

Regardless of what happens with it, I'm a big fan of only eight conference games as opposed to nine. There's greater flexibility in keeping some rivalry games and still allowing teams to get a couple of cupcakes in. And with Notre Dame joining the ACC for football, Pitt really has a good opportunity to keep playing the Irish, Penn State, and West Virginia if they want.

Be sure to join Cardiac Hill's Facebook page and follow us on Twitter @PittPantherBlog for our regular updates on Pitt athletics.