West Virginia Vs. Pittsburgh: Mountaineers Upset Panthers In Backyard Brawl, 35-10

West Virginia took advantage of four Pittsburgh turnovers to rout the Panthers Friday afternoon, 35-10, the 103rd playing of the “Backyard Brawl.” It’s the second-straight win for the Mountaineers in the rivalry, and their eighth win in the past 15 meetings.

For Pitt (6-5, 4-2 Big East), the loss was especially damaging as it ruined their shot at the conference title and the automatic BCS bowl bid that goes along with it. As it stands now, West Virginia can win the Big East if they beat 4-7 Rutgers on Dec. 4 and Connecticut loses to either Cincinnati on Saturday or South Florida on Dec. 4. The UConn Huskies controls their own destiny following the Pittsburgh loss -- if UConn wins out, it earns the Big East’s automatic BCS bid because it owns the tiebreakers over bother WVU and Pitt.

The Mountaineers were led Friday by sophomore quarterback Geno Smith, who was just 9-of-12 passing, but threw for 212 yards and three touchdowns (with no interceptions). Running back Ryan Clarke added a pair of scores on the ground.

The Panthers had over 300 yards of offense, including 290 in the air, and 20 first downs, but the four turnovers were simply too much to overcome. QB Tino Sunseri contributed half of the giveaways, with an interception early in the first quarter and then a fumble in the second.

Pittsburgh concludes its regular season Dec. 4, at Cincinnati.