The stakes are just higher in rivalry games. When you play in games like the Backyard Brawl, careers can be defined, heroes can be made, and memorable moments turn iconic. In Pitt’s logic-defying 38-34 comeback win over West Virginia on Saturday, there were plenty of players who embraced the intensity of the situation.
The 107th Backyard Brawl was just that, a street fight, or brawl, with momentum swings throughout the contest. Brandon George, Pitt’s sixth-year senior linebacker, got to have a moment of his own. The Pitt captain, who finished with nine tackles, scooped up a blocked punt from teammate Maverick Gracio in the third quarter and rumbled into the end zone to put the Panthers ahead at the time, 24-17.
“Knowing that the rest of the guys in the field did their job and that's what made it possible,” George said when asked to recall that play. “Especially in a game like this, it's something you'll never forget. Running towards the student section, watching the Panther Pitt, get up, roar. Hearing the rest of the crowd here at Acrisure Stadium get up and roar. Knowing that all this is for everybody out there, for all our families, for all our teammates, it's one heck of a feeling.”
Normally in a game like this, a blocked punt is the play that changes the momentum for good, but in this case it did not hold true. Rather than succumb to the crowd noise, West Virginia responded in a big way. The Mountaineers scored 17 unanswered points to build up a 34-24 advantage late in the fourth quarter.
Of course, the Pitt offense, fueled by star freshman Eli Holstein, made the necessary plays to score two late touchdowns, but it was the Panthers’ defense that boosted those efforts. The comeback bid does not happen unless Pitt made those stops, which is what George and company provided in the crucial final five minutes.
“Last two drives, we need to get the offense, our football back,” George said of the game’s final five minutes. “That's our game, it's our game no matter what. I don't care what the score is, don't even look up there. Get that offense the football back, and we're gonna be great. We're gonna be great.”
The confidence in that moment, despite the odds being stacked against them, was admirable. West Virginia’s rushing game had its way with Pitt. The Panthers had trouble containing Garrett Greene, with very little pressure on the Mountaineers’ quarterback throughout the game. Even when things were going against them, it was George leading the charge and being the voice for the entire defense according to his teammates.
“Brandon George was the No. 1 leader when it mattered most,” said sophomore linebacker Kyle Louis. “When we were down by ten, even myself, I was like, ‘Man, what are we doing? What’s going wrong?’ And B-George sees that and he’s telling me, ‘Hey we’ve been through worse’”
Pitt had been through worse.
The Panthers trailed Cincinnati by three touchdowns in the week prior, before rattling off 22 unanswered to steal a victory there. Knowing that it could be done and has been done, was enough for George and company to keep pushing.
“I think Coach Narduzzi said it best, there's confidence,” George said. "There's confidence in every last person on the field and that's why we're able to do what we do.”
Pitt cut into the West Virginia lead after a miraculous catch by Daejon Reynolds with 3:06 remaining. The Panthers had to generate a stop, which they did. Pitt stuffed a pair of CJ Donaldson runs on first and second down, before sophomore Jimmy Scott came up with a huge sack to force a punt from West Virginia.
West Virginia out-gained Pitt 142 to -2 in the third quarter. The Panthers were stuck on the field, and had some meltdowns with some costly penalties and also some breakdowns in coverage, but there was still a belief they could turn it around in the game’s final moments.
“It's simple, we're a Pitt defense,” George explained. “When you walk off the sideline, understand that there's adjustments being made.”
Those adjustments started to surface. After Holstein engineered another touchdown, this one to take the lead at 38-34, the Panthers had to grind out one more stop with :32 seconds remaining. The touchdown run by Derrick Davis sent Acrisure Stadium into a frenzy, but George knew there was still work to be done.
“There's no sigh of relief when Derrick crossed the goal line,” he said of the game’s final sequence. “The defense gotta step back out on the field and win a ball game. That's why I told everybody on the sideline, ‘hey, you can't get too high now. We gotta keep rolling. We still gotta step foot on the football field and win this football game.’ And that's what Kyle did. And Kyle had a great, great interception to finish it off.”
On West Virginia’s final drive, it did not go much of anywhere. Pitt defenders seemed to be targeted more than West Virginia wide receivers, with Louis finally ending the game on an interception.
As a member of Pitt’s 2019 recruiting class, the Reading native has seen it all. George has experienced the highs and lows with this program through the years, but there was a time following the 2023 season where it looked like his Pitt career had ended.
The senior initially put his name in the transfer portal. George was never a starter at Pitt before the current season, and was likely looking for a larger role at a different school. He was coerced to stay for one more year, and it’s been a storybook start to his final college season thus far.
As a captain, playing against Pitt’s biggest rival, George had a moment. He also helped create more of them when it mattered most. The sixth-year senior knows he is exactly where he should be in this particular point in time.
“It's amazing, having my family in the stands, especially alongside my family on the field, it's hard to beat,” George said of beating West Virginia as a Pennsylvania native. “I wouldn't want to be nowhere else. This is home. This is home for life.”
