MORGANTOWN — It was very simple to Dave Wannstedt why Pitt, a 28-point underdog, rose up and knocked No. 2-ranked West Virginia out of a shot at the national football championship.
“Our defensive coaches did an unbelievable job at doing what we need to do,” the Panthers’ third-year head coach said after Saturday night’s stunning 13-9 win. “Our offense did what we were supposed to do.
“We tried to bring tradition of the rivalry alive, so we showed tapes of past games all week long. When you come down here to play, you have to overcome a lot to win. And the guys never gave up.”
Wannstedt, whose contract had been extended to 2010 earlier in the week, said the game tape of the 100th anniversary of the Backward Brawl will be the first the Panthers watch next season.
That miraculous triumph marked only the fifth against seven defeats this year. And it is Pitt’s first victory over a No. 1 team, based on rankings by the USA Today coaches’ panel.
In the opposite locker room of Puskar Center, WVU coach Rich Rodriguez and his players were shell-shocked. They were trying to figure out why they scored only nine points, including a two-point safety, and managed just 183 yards on 57 plays – all three season’s lows.
“We are disappointed in the way we played, but that starts with me,” Rodriguez lamented. “I haven’t slept well all week, and I probably won’t sleep well for a couple more weeks. It is going to be a hard four weeks (until a postseason bowl game), but we’ll bounce back.”
He thought the WVU defense played really well the whole game and gave the offense opportunities to produce.
“But we just didn’t make the most of them,” Rodriguez said.
“It was just a flat-out nightmare. We did not execute well and missed a few things that were there. They came out in what we thought they would. I don’t think it was surprise or anything.
“I can’t explain it. I feel bad because the guys tried. Nobody messed up on purpose. They are kids, and sometimes things don’t go how we want them to go.”
Rodriguez said this totally unexpected loss is especially tough on the squad’s 15 seniors.
“It’s tough on everybody in this program,” he said. “We worked awful hard. We lost a game. It’s tough to deal with.”
He doesn’t think the Mountaineers were “looking above and beyond” as their fondest dreams came crashing down on the turf of Mountaineer Field/Milan Puskar Stadium.
Rodriguez said he never sense any tightness by the team as it prepared and then played what was supposed to be the biggest game of their young lives.
Mickey Furfari
Wannstedt tells how Pitt did it
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