Morgantown, West Virginia – It’s been 15 years since the West Virginia Mountaineers shockingly lost to the Pitt Panthers 13-9 in the Backyard Brawl in Morgantown, West Virginia.
But former West Virginia head coach Rich Rodriguez still answers questions today about the game. Rodriguez, 59, is now the head coach at Jacksonville State, and he calls the 2007 Backyard Brawl “the biggest nightmare of my coaching career.”
West Virginia, favored by 28 points and 10-1 on the season, lost to a severely outmatched Pitt team that was 4-7 on the season at the time.
In response to those who still question whether he threw the game in order to go to Michigan or not, Rodriguez firmly stated that that was not the case at all.
Rodriguez recently spoke with Ross Dellenger of Sports Illustrated and said the following about the rumors of him throwing the game: “It pisses me off,” Rodriguez said ahead of the upcoming Backyard Brawl. “That is total bull****. Bull****. Those conversations didn’t take place until a week after that. Anybody who says that doesn’t know what the hell they are talking about.”
