Country Roads, Take Them Home: WVU To Leave For Big 12
by oaklandzoo12 on Feb 10, 2026 9:51 AM EST
in Pitt Athletics
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PrintWell, they said they were leaving for next season. I guess West Virginia got something right after all.
The Big East and West Virginia have reportedly reached a settlement that will allow the Mountaineers to depart for the Big 12 for the 2012-2013 season. In total, the Big East will receive $20 million, $11 million from WVU and $9 million from the Big 12. So, right now, if Pitt is in the Big East for next season, we're in trouble with our schedule. Pitt only has 4 scheduled non-conference games (of a now required 6).
But wait, Boise State may jump early? Raise your hand if you think that means Pitt and Syracuse are heading to Idaho next season (hint: it should be all of you).
Meanwhile, Boise State has had talks with the WAC, a source said, about placing the rest of the teams in the league a year early if it were to leave for the Big East in football a year early to replace WVU.
The source said the move is up to Boise State and that the WAC would accept the Broncos a year early if they were to ask.
It's possible that BSU fills in for WVU's or TCU's schedule (both of which had the Mountaineers and the Horned Frogs coming to Heinz Field), but don't bet on John Marinatto allowing that.
Should Boise State come in the Big East for 2012, Pitt is still out a non-conference game. According to Steve Pederson, Pitt is close to finalizing one more non-conference game. So theoretically, our schedule would be set and at that point it's simply waiting for the Big East to release the full schedule. Last season, it didn't happen until the end of February. Expect something similar this year.
So what does this mean for the Backyard Brawl? Unfortunately, this rivalry may be coming to an end.
When Pitt moves to the ACC, it will play a nine-game conference schedule in football, leaving room for three other games. Pitt has a contract to play Notre Dame through 2015 and will welcome Penn State back onto its schedule for games in 2016 and '17. Pederson said he hopes to continue both series beyond those dates.
"I would love to play Penn State every year," he said.
He is not as interested in continuing the West Virginia series.
"We have to evaluate what our options are with teams and who else we want to continue to play," he said.
Hope you get your West Virginia hate in next Thursday when the Mountaineers come to the Pete. It might be the last time for a while.
Ultimately though, this sets a very favorable precedent for the Panthers and the Orange. Now, there's a dollar amount that can be paid to leave the Big East early. Likely what will happen is that Pitt and Syracuse negotiate their way for an exit in 2013 for much lower amount than what WVU paid. The Big East will have their new members in, Pitt and Syracuse will be in the ACC, and everyone can just move on.
Is it still possible that Pitt tries to jump to the ACC for next season? Sure, especially if the Broncos don't come in for next season.
But all reports are showing that the WAC will accept BSU's non-football sports for next season. Part of the money the Big East received from WVU will likely go towards paying off the MWC early fees (around $7-9 million). Expect Pitt and Boise to be in the same conference next season.
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Pitt vs PSU
Well Heinz Field is certainly a much nicer venue than the old Pitt Stadium, so I wouldn’t mind watching the Nittany Lions crush the Panthers on the last Saturday in November again every year.
It was a good rivalry.
Just the same, Beaver Stadium holds almost 40K more people than Heinz Field, so the series will have to be 2 home games for PSU for every 1 at Pitt to make it worthwhile.
by Willie Green on Feb 10, 2026 10:42 AM EST reply actions
Not in a million years
Would Pitt allow that. I don’t personally care if Pitt plays PSU every season, but if they do, it’ll be home and home, none of this 2 for 1 crap.
I honestly think Pitt’s better off maintaining the Backyard Brawl because they know that WVU will agree to it. ND I could honestly care less about. The Irish are consistently overrated nationally and beating them is no longer that big of a deal
Cardiac Hill contributor
by oaklandzoo12 on Feb 10, 2026 10:46 AM EST up reply actions
Fine...
An annual series with Penn State will never elevate Pitt to a top tier program anyway.
by Willie Green on Feb 10, 2026 11:56 AM EST up reply actions
I refuse to
talk trash anymore on these SB blogs and just ignore them. I just won’t go down to your level.
by PittGuy on Feb 10, 2026 12:57 PM EST up reply actions
Party pooper
What kind of fun is a football “rivalry” if you don’t engage in a little friendly trash talk?
by Willie Green on Feb 10, 2026 1:57 PM EST up reply actions
You DO realize why Pitt's program went into the dumpster
after the the Pop Warner and Jock Sutherland “glory days”, don’t you?
The 1939 freshman panthers went “on strike” because their salaries were less than the previous class. Pop and Jocko weren’t exactly playing with student “amateurs” you know. LOL!
by Willie Green on Feb 11, 2026 12:02 PM EST up reply actions
The Irish are consistently overrated nationally and beating them is no longer that big of a deal
They’re also consistently televised nationally, which appears to be a big deal to the athletic department and recruiters.
by matskralc on Feb 10, 2026 5:33 PM EST up reply actions
Crushing the Panthers
I wouldn’t mind watching the Nittany Lions crush the Panthers on the last Saturday in November again every year
Right because losing 12-0 and winning 20-17 and 20-13 in the last three games against bad Pitt teams are some massive beatdowns. You got us there …
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by CardiacHill on Feb 10, 2026 12:31 PM EST up reply actions 1 recs
Actually Penn State's record against bad Pitt teams is
23-8-1 over the 45 some years that I’ve been watching the games.
I gotta admit, yinz guys pull one outta your dupa every now and then.
But in my lifetime, it’s usually been pretty lopsided,
by Willie Green on Feb 10, 2026 1:25 PM EST up reply actions
45 years?
Seriously, if you want to look at the entire series, it’s extremely close - 50-42, Penn State. But that’s beyond the point…
Pitt has done very well against Penn State in those past three years. I’d also contend that games in the 2000s would be closer than you might think. Those Pitt teams weren’t as good as Penn State for the most part, but in a one-game situation, there would have been some competitive games.
Think I’m wrong? Take a look at those last three games.
2000 - Pitt wins
1999 - #2 ranked Penn State beat a bad 5-6 Pitt team in Happy Valley by three
1998 - Penn State beat a dismal 2-9 Pitt team by seven points
If you could take off your Blue and White glasses for even five seconds, you might realize Pitt could give Penn State some trouble in a single game.
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by CardiacHill on Feb 10, 2026 6:34 PM EST up reply actions
Hey... It was Pitt's Athletic Director Pederson who said...
That he’d “love” to play Penn State every year…
So I started talking about the games I remember when they actually DID play every year, not just a couple random non-conference games after PSU joined the Big Ten.
If you want to talk the entire series, then yes, Pop Warner and Jock Sutherland produced some good teams back in the Roaring ‘20s and Great Depression, but I sure as heck never saw those teams play. I may be old, but I just vaguely remember Johnny Michelosen. Carl DePasqua didn’t do much for you guys, but Johnny Majors and Jackie Sherrill gave you some respectable teams back in the ‘70s. But after that, yinz pretty much fell apart again. Oh maybe there’s been a couple good years, but it’s spotty and inconsistant.
Believe it or not, I hope Paul Chryst works out well for yinz guys.
I may bleed Blue and White on Saturdays, but it turns to Black and Gold on Sundays.
I grew up in the Burgh, so I can’t really hate Pitt THAT much…. I have a lot of friends and family who went there. LOL!
by Willie Green on Feb 10, 2026 8:44 PM EST up reply actions
Fair enough
But as young as I am, that was kind of my point with the 45 years thing. I’m only in my early 30s, so my point was going back 45 years was a bit much. Even if you look back at the last ten, Pitt hasn’t won that much, but many of the games were pretty close.
I don’t think any reasonable Pitt fan would say the program is on the level of Penn State’s right now, but my only point is that Pitt can certainly hang with Penn State in a one-game scenario.
Your original point was that if the two teams played, Penn State would ‘crush’ Pitt. And I really don’t think that’d be the case more often than not.
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by CardiacHill on Feb 10, 2026 10:28 PM EST up reply actions
Yes, that's the fun of the Pitt-Penn State rivalry
It really never mattered which team was rated higher in any given season — all bets were off because nobody knew who was really going to win the bloodbath.
Even PSU/OSU or PSU/Michigan is emotionally bland in comparison.
The annual matchup with Pitt was like the Steelers/Browns game, good old-fashioned smash-mouth rivalry. Nobody knew who was going to come out on top.
by Willie Green on Feb 11, 2026 12:11 PM EST up reply actions
Foolish little boy!
Take away State Penns cupcake noncon schedule, they are a very mediocre program, Pitt can hold it’s own versus State Penn.
by midwestbias86 on Feb 10, 2026 4:29 PM EST up reply actions
Well, Penn State might be relevant again by the time we play them in '16
Cant wait to watch U. Meyer beat their arse, every year, for the next 5-6 years
by H.LandPitt on Feb 10, 2026 11:22 AM EST reply actions
Meyer grabbed a few good freshman this year, but..
He still inherited a lot of baggage from Tressel.
In addition to not being eligible for a bowl game, he’s being penalized 3 scholarship offers each year for the next three years.
Unlike Ohio State, Penn State’s difficulties don’t involve current players. Other than graduation losses, O’brien gets JoePa’s talent intact for next season. And despite a couple defections, we picked up some good talent this year.
O’Brien and the new staff will bring much needed change to the offense, while Larry Johnson & Ron Vanderlinden maintain continuity on defense. And the new staff also brings some new recruiting energy that was lacking in some of the relics that JoePa was holding on to.
Bottom line, Urban Meyer isn’t going to have such an easy time in the Big Ten as everybody thinks.
by Willie Green on Feb 10, 2026 12:27 PM EST reply actions
Meyer inherited tressel's baggage?
if i were you i’d worry more about your own program’s baggage… and OSU with meyer in charge is gonna roll on the big10, he’s the best coach in college football hands down. it’s gonna be tough for a nitter like you to watch but PSU will no longer have their stranglehold on 5th best program in the big10 (behind OSU, Mich, Nebraska, and Wisky). i’d expect them to still be better than indiana and northwestern but that’s about it. the future is looking bright in happy valley, i hope you got your blue and white sunglasses on.
by panthro on Feb 10, 2026 2:11 PM EST up reply actions
Well yeah...
A Big Ten schedule IS just a little bit more difficult than the Big East…
But like I said, O’Brien is inheriting a solid team of players put together by JoePa…
And although none of them like the circumstances under which JoePa left, they certainly don’t blame O’Brien and the new staff for that. Quite the opposite… they all seem to be adapting well to the change and are even enthusiastically embracing it like a breath of fresh air.
They are talented, intelligent and motivated young men.
I think that the transition will go much better than anybody suspects.
And we don’t play any of the teams that you mention until the last half of the season. So that’s plenty of game time to get prepped for the tougher opponents. (Plus OSU and Wisc are at home, and we don’t play Mich until the following year, also at home.) Nebraska will be tough away, and so is Iowa.
So worst case is 8-4 next year, but probably better.
9-3 or 10-2 is certainly good enough in the Big Ten to get O’Brien off to a good start while the staff has a full year to pursue the 2013 recruits.
After that… yeah, the Big Ten is competitive…
But I really don’t foresee PSU’s program going down the dumpster like all the naysayers want to predict.
by Willie Green on Feb 10, 2026 2:54 PM EST reply actions
your boys may be talented and dedicated but they didnt look too motivated against houston
and for all the talent you claim to be stockpiling you still dont have anyone that even resembles an average QB on your roster especially since morhinweg wisely bolted before signing day. and by the way 8-4 is about your best case scenerio not worst case and 10-2 is a pipe dream. gotta love penn st fans, delusional elitests to the bitter end. news flash chief- your program is not nearly as good as you fools make it out to be and it’s headed downward not upward. but keep putting lipstick on that pig if you wanna.
by panthro on Feb 10, 2026 3:25 PM EST up reply actions
Meh... nobody ever heard of something called..
the “Ticket City Bowl” anyway.. LOL!
Yeah… that was a lowpoint…. but it was before O’Brien was named head coach. A lot of uncertainty was affecting their play.
And the QBs may not be NFL material, but they finally have a REAL QB coach.
(Truth is that, if Tom Bradley had gotten the top spot, he wouldn’t have ditched Jay Paterno.)
So I think George Godsey is a godsend. He might not be a miracle worker, but he should do a good job of rescuing the guys who are on the roster. They’ll do fine.
Besides, Mornhinweg wasn’t that great of a loss…
Instead of Mornhinweg, O’Brien scarfed up a 3-star out of Georgia called Steven Bench.
Fine young man is 6-3, 206-pound with a 3.86 GPA. Chose PSU over Rice because of O’Brien and PSU’s combo of excellent football AND academics. The kid is real excited and should have a good future with PSU.
Not a bad last-minute “steal” for a new coaching staff. I’m glad to see them expanding the recruiting territory into regions the previous coaches let slide.
by Willie Green on Feb 10, 2026 7:54 PM EST up reply actions
Willie Green
Hey Sir, PSU protected, harbored and even catered to a child predator; even on their own facilities, all in the name of football and ‘legacy’
End of Story.
I see you support your program, but you ought to really hang your head in shame; you are among the walking dead zombies a la ‘The Night of The Living Dead’.
Brain washed like the Gestapo of the Third Reich.
Puke City.
That is my rant.
by H.LandPitt on Feb 10, 2026 8:20 PM EST reply actions
Grow up, kid...
You’ll never get anywhere in life if you let the exagerated/sensationalist tabloid media do your thinking for you.
by Willie Green on Feb 11, 2026 12:57 PM EST up reply actions
Soon enough, you will know the alleged is the truth; your program protected and covered up for a pedohile..WTF is wrong with you?
They covered up molestations for the sake of football, image and legacy…there is nothing else to say.
The braiwashed nitters really are comparable to the Third Reich; both have the ultimate sense of entitlement, superiority over all others, will stop at nothing to protect the image of its members.
you sir, are the quintissential brainwashed Nitter; a 50-Something male who has watched Paterno since day 1; thenative pittsburgher who talks shit on Pitt and wears psu on his sleeve; the retired man who trolls on Pitt blogs from his den.
Look ,im glad you are loyal to psu, but i cant believe your audacity to talk smack to ANYONE after the recent news.
by H.LandPitt on Feb 11, 2026 2:38 PM EST up reply actions
Your priggish conspiracy theory is baseless
Did you read McQueary’s testimony?
He didn’t actually witness a damn thing.
He heard 2~3 suggestive “slapping sounds” and saw a reflection of Sandusky and a boy in the shower in a mirror. When he got a better look, no he did not see the boy being “raped”. No, Sandusky did not have an erection. No he did not see any insertion. No, he did not see the boy being fondled. No, he did not hear the boy protest or call out for help. No, the boy did not have a distressed look on his face. No, there were no other witnesses.
In short, he didn’t actually witness a damn thing. He heard some sounds and ASSUMED that there must have been something “sexual” going on.
So what do you expect JoePa to do when McQueary tells him such a flimsy allegation?
Well Sandusky was already retired and no longer on the staff, so JoePa reports it to the Athletic Director and the VP in charge of campus police.
Yes, I have “suspicions” about Sandusky, just like everybody else.
But there’s no hard evidence to hang him.
And it doesn’t do the “victims” any justice to go on a witch hunt to crucify everybody on the PSU campus.
So If you think that I’m ever going to respect your lynch mob mentality, your dead wrong.
by Willie Green on Feb 11, 2026 4:45 PM EST up reply actions
Soon enough, you will know the alleged is the truth; your program protected and covered up for a pedohile..WTF is wrong with you?
They covered up molestations for the sake of football, image and legacy…there is nothing else to say.
The braiwashed nitters really are comparable to the Third Reich; both have the ultimate sense of entitlement, superiority over all others, will stop at nothing to protect the image of its members.
you sir, are the quintissential brainwashed Nitter; a 50-Something male who has watched Paterno since day 1; thenative pittsburgher who talks shit on Pitt and wears psu on his sleeve; the retired man who trolls on Pitt blogs from his den.
Look ,im glad you are loyal to psu, but i cant believe your audacity to talk smack to ANYONE after the recent news.
by H.LandPitt on Feb 11, 2026 7:21 PM EST up reply actions
LOL State Penn is a joke
I enjoyed watching them dominate teams this past year. With so many of my high school friends going there and talking so much it was a shame to see them crush the opposition this past year for the BCS bowl. wait…
Ohio State is going to run train on them with Meyer on board. Pitt sucks at football so I can’t comment much on that. 2 at PSU for 1 at Pitt is bologna though. I’d rather keep the backyard brawl.
by EvilG on Feb 11, 2026 1:14 AM EST reply actions
from a WVU fan
Losing the PITT game is a travesty. Every fan of PITT and WVU should be encouraging the AD’s to schedule this game ANNUALLY in football and b-ball. I can only imagine what Jack Fleming is thinking from above.
I understand it may be required due to logistics, initially, but in the long run these 2 schools are 69 miles from each other and have one of the best rivalries in all of sports. It doesn’t make sense how so many WVU and PITT fans think that it’s no big deal if this game is played or not. These rivalries enhance BOTH universities.
There were years (very recent ones in fact) when the VPI game was more important than PITT but Maryland? Never. Playing them to me is like playing Virginia, Wake Forest, NC State or Georgia Tech….Meh. Programs with zero football identity.
The PITT/WVU rivalry isn’t one that benefits one school moreso than the other. It benefits both equally.
by WVUColumbus on Feb 13, 2026 5:48 PM EST reply actions
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