Pittsburgh Panthers head coach Pat Narduzzi let the passion flow after last night’s thrilling Backyard Brawl victory over the West Virginia Mountaineers.
During a postgame interview with ESPN’s Scott Van Pelt after claiming a 38-31 season-opening victory, the program leader claimed that ESPN “disrespected” the Panthers fanbase.
Narduzzi referenced an ESPN stat projecting that 75 percent of the Acrisure Stadium crowd would be West Virginia fans.
“It was a great atmosphere out here, I’ll tell you that,” Narduzzi said. “Panther Nation stood out. I saw some stat on ESPN that it was going to be 75 percent West Virginia fans. You guys messed that up for sure. It was all Pitt here today.
“… ESPN disrespected our fans and they showed up today.”
Pat Narduzzi on SportsCenter “ESPN disrespected our fans” pic.twitter.com/J2vVGEQ7kl
— Gifdsports (@gifdsports) September 2, 2022
70,622 fans were in attendance at Acrisure Stadium on Thursday night, setting a record for the largest crowd at any Pittsburgh sporting event in university history.
Pitt scored two touchdowns in the final four minutes of the game, including a pick six that proved to be the ultimate nail in the coffin. The record-breaking crowd was sent into a frenzy by these two clutch scores.
PITT PICK-SIX TO TAKE THE LEAD LATE IN THE 4TH 😱 pic.twitter.com/dMImh2Rznm
— ESPN College Football (@ESPNCFB) September 2, 2022
With this victory, No. 17 Pittsburgh snapped a three-game losing streak in the 105th edition of the Backyard Brawl series against West Virginia.
Panther fans will no doubt be back in full force for next weekend’s marquee home matchup against the Tennessee Volunteers.