It’s the Backyard Brawl.

I’m watching the game with family. Have the good bourbon. Feeling edgy and excited.

Let’s go Pitt!

It’s here. Hopefully everyone had a good time with family — or at least faked it.

Let’s hit the links as I still have plenty of family things to get through so I can sit and watch the game tonight without the wife glaring at me too much for doing nothing else.

How about this. Tickets (maybe 800) still remained for the game.

2007. 2007. 2007. It continues. Even in an SI.com feature as the game of the week, it leads with what happened that year. Another “turning point” for Pitt story (along with speculation on how it could have altered the coaching carousel if WVU had won). And there’s the “it hurt so much” to lose in 2007 stuff.

More interfaith stuff — this time within the Pitt Athletic Department.

Pitt isn’t looking past the Backyard Brawl.

Meanwhile WVU looks for their signature win in the Bill Stewart era — apparently that Fiesta Bowl trouncing doesn’t count since Stewart was only the interim head coach. And the Meineke Bowl win last year wasn’t it either.

Well, at least that is also along the lines of what the WVU DC Casteel is telling his players. That they have yet to win the big games. Just looking to close the season strongly.

Puff piece on Coach Wannstedt keeping an eye on the players in the classroom as well. Clearly something he didn’t learn from Jimmy Johhnson when they were at Miami. An interesting little thing in there was that when he was hired, in addition to getting money to hire and retain coordinators he was also able to get 3 more full-time academic advisers to help the players. He just got the Pitt Athletic Department to make more of a financial commitment to the football program.

Another Wannstedt puff piece about building his team.

Then there is the puff pieces on OC Frank Cignetti. Another focusing on the turnaround of Bill Stull and Pitt’s offense. This one from the San Francisco paper is on leaving Cal to go home. The fans of Cal (at the time) may not have been too bothered by his departure since Cal Coach Tedford was an offensive guy who made their system, but clearly the media liked Cignetti.

Bruce Feldman at ESPN.com puts Pitt at #7 on his list of top-10 biggest surprises (Insider subs).

Losing LeSean McCoy and LaRod Stephens-Howling figured to be a couple of big blows to a Panthers team that wasn’t exactly scary. But Coach Dave Wannstedt brought in new offensive coordinator Frank Cignetti, who has sparked major improvement in QB Bill Stull (fourth in the country in pass efficiency), WR Jonathan Baldwin and TE Dorin Dickerson to flow with the arrival of star freshman RB Dion Lewis. Pitt also has been outstanding on defense, leading the nation in sacks and ranking 16th in run defense.

Senior Tight End Nate Byham is still a great teammate. The Hoopies concern, though, is Dorin Dickerson.

Puff piece on how DEs Jabaal Sheard and Greg Romeus have raised their game since the NCState loss.

Which outcome will clarify the Big East bowl slottings for teams? Backyard Brawl or ND-Stanford?

As for the actual game itself, in case you haven’t heard Pitt plays power football. Looks like the computers see a near toss-up with a slight edge to Pitt. In one of those unit-by-unit comparisons, the edge goes to Pitt.

The WVU offensive line is young, but has played together all season. Whether that translates to stronger play after a week off, will go a long way to deciding the game.