Kade Bell remembers watching the Backyard Brawl during the Big East era when he was younger. He remembers being enamored by the environment, the crowd's atmosphere, the fans' passion for their teams and, ultimately, the anger and resentment that both teams shared for their opponents.
Now, the first-year offensive coordinator for the Panthers gets to experience it live for the first time.
"Obviously, it’s a huge rivalry that I grew up watching, growing up in the Big East era, Pitt-West Virginia, I mean, shoot, I was always watching those games on TV, growing up," Bell said. "So I knew about this rivalry from before, I knew how much it mattered and I’m excited just to be a part of it. Obviously, we want to go out and play hard, and play the game the right way and hopefully, the results speak for themselves."
Bell isn't the only member of the Panthers' team that will be experiencing this rivalry for the first time because while Pitt took "took everybody that we could take," according to Pat Narduzzi, who estimated there are 73 players on the team this season that went to the West Virginia game in Morgantown last season, some of Pitt's key players, like Desmond Reid and Eli Holstein, will be experiencing it for the first time.
Earlier this week, Narduzzi said they are going to prepare their players in every way they possibly can to be ready for the atmosphere they'll play in on Saturday. That includes blasting music in practice to try and simulate the noise of a sold-out Acrisure Stadium.
"Preparation is everything. It's the details of what we do, and you prepare for the music you're going to see, the style of music," Narduzzi said. "I want our kids to get every possible thing out of that game they possibly can where they can say 'That was exactly right.' "
Reid has been one of Pitt's biggest contributors so far this season as he leads the nation with 488 all-purpose yards and has scored three touchdowns, all of them coming in different ways. The Western Carolina transfer said he's never really played in a rivalry game but has a full understanding of the Backyard Brawl after hearing stories from teammates and going through practices this week.
"It’s hate between both of us. They hate us, we hate them," Reid said. "Coach Duzz showed us a couple videos of the West Virginia fans last year, how they was acting, and that’s what makes it fun. We just have to come out and play good, we gotta start fast.”
Nate Matlack is another new member of the Pitt program who will be playing in the Backyard Brawl for the first time and said he's learned a ton about the rivalry. He said he watched the game on TV two years ago. Being from the Midwest, Matlack didn't realize how big of a game it was back then but he soon realized how much it meant to both programs.
"Now I know how big it is for both programs, how close we are, so I understand that it's a huge rivalry and I take pride in it already, even though I haven't been here for too long," Matlack said.
But while Pitt has prepared its players, the program has also taken extra precautions to make sure nothing is given away. Normally, the Panthers practice outside at the UPMC Rooney Sports Complex on the South Side as it shares a facility and four fields with the Steelers. But the Panthers have moved their practices inside to their indoor facility this week so they are not practicing in the same area as the Steelers at certain times.
"Extra careful, ya know? Paranoid. Ya got people in the hills, I mean they live in the hills. They got binoculars," Narduzzi said. "Mountaineers, man. They are up there. In the mountains right there. Take nothing for granted."
Narduzzi may have also moved his practices inside, which is a completely different building from the facility, to protect his team from guys like Beanie Bishop, a former Mountaineer currently playing for the Steelers, who has had a little fun with the Panthers this week. I mean, just watch.
Being taught about the rivalry and the atmosphere that comes with it and actually being able to play in it can be two different things and in just his third collegiate start, Holstein will be experiencing it for the first time. He's coming off a performance against Cincinnati where he was shaky early and threw an interception on Pitt's first offensive drive after marching the Panthers down the field. The redshirt freshman said he may have been a little nervous early on and was pressing to make the big play early on.
So while he was able to settle down in a hostile environment on the road, this game will be much different despite it being on Pitt's home field. West Virginia University is just 103 miles from Acrisure Stadium so one could expect the stands to be partly full with West Virginia fans. So, getting Holstein going early is important for the Panthers in a rivalry game that means so much to so many people.
"His third game is one of the biggest games of the year because it's the next game and because it's the Backyard Brawl, so it's his first experience in a big-time rivalry game," Narduzzi said. "But playing in a game like that, once that first ball gets snapped, it's just a normal game, I think. It's just about our guys executing for 60 minutes. Not for 30, not for 15, but for 30 minutes in the first half and 30 minutes in the second half for a total of 60."