The first trip College GameDay takes in 2022 will be to welcome back the Pitt vs. West Virginia āBackyard Brawlā rivalry game.
The Backyard Brawl is back and College GameDay will be on hand to witness it.
In a special edition of the beloved college football preview show, GameDay will debut on Thursday, Sept. 1 at 3 p.m. ET on ESPN.
The show will precede the season opener between Pittsburgh and West Virginia, a rivalry put on pause since 2011.
College GameDay will open 2022 season with Pitt vs. West Virginia in Backyard Brawl
This is the third time GameDay will take place at Pitt. But it wonāt be the only appearance or Rece Davis, Lee Corso, Kirk Herbstreit, Desmond Howard and David Pollock. Theyāre going to be in Columbus for Ohio Stateās tilt against Notre Dame on Saturday, Sept. 3.
West Virginia owns a three-game winning streak in the Backyard Brawl, though Pitt still has the series edge with a record of 61-40-3.
The Panthers and Mountaineers met 104 times between 1895 and 2011. Some of those games have been incredibly important too.
Memorably the 100th edition of the Brawl was one of the biggest upsets in a season full of them. In 2007, West Virginia ranked No. 2 in the BCS poll with a chance at going to the championship game in view. Instead, their rivals crushed their hopes in a 16-13 result.
The rivals were split apart in 2011 when Pitt joined the ACC and West Virginia joined the Big 12. That year, West Virginia bested Pitt 21-20 via a 10-point coeback.
Now fans can look forward to the renewal of the rivalry as an out-of-conference series. The two will face off from 2022 to 2025 and again from 2029 to 2032.
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