BACKYARD BRAWL: THE TYE EDWARDS SHOW
Matti Tenney - September 20, 2025
The Backyard Brawl rarely disappoints, and the 108th edition lived up to the hype in every way. West Virginia looked dead in the water with less than 10 minutes left, down by 10 points to Pitt, but the Mountaineers roared back to steal a 31-24 win in overtime at Milan Puskar Stadium.
The first half of the game was low-scoring, the only touchdown being scored early in the 2nd quarter by WVU RB Tye Edwards. Both teams missed a field goal, resulting in a low-scoring 7-3 half time score in favor of the Mountaineers.
Pitt seemed to have the upper hand in the second half after Edwards’ second TD of the game, as quarterback Eli Holstein kept the Panthers moving through the air, and a pair of third-quarter interceptions helped Pitt build what felt like a comfortable lead off of 21 unanswered points (including a successful 2-point conversion).
Meanwhile, West Virginia shuffled quarterbacks, giving freshman Scotty Fox, Jr. and senior Jaylen Henderson chances to spark the offense. Neither stuck, and by the middle of the fourth quarter Pitt was in control, 24-14.
That’s when Nicco Marchiol’s redemption arc began. The redshirt junior, who had been pulled earlier in the game, was given one more shot late and made the most of it. Marchiol was nearly perfect on West Virginia’s final two drives of regulation, hitting 9 of 11 passes for 109 yards. The 1st drive resulted in a field goal to cut the Pitt lead to 7, while he finished the last march with a two-yard strike to tight end Grayson Barnes with only 11 seconds left. The stadium erupted, the game was tied, and suddenly The Brawl was headed to overtime.
Once there, the script writers favored Tye Edwards. The bruising transfer senior from Northern Iowa carried the ball 25 times for 141 yards on the night and saved his best for last, punching in a one-yard touchdown, his 3rd of the game, to give WVU the lead. Pitt’s chance to respond fizzled quickly, as Holstein’s desperation fourth-down heave to keep the game alive sailed out of bounds, sending the crowd into a frenzy.
It was a night of wild swings: Pitt in control, WVU on the ropes, and then a rally that sent Morgantown into chaos as WVU claws back in the all-time record, now sitting at 63–42–3 in favor of Pitt. In the end, it wasn’t just another win for the Mountaineers, it was another chapter in a rivalry that always seems to find new ways to break hearts and raise blood pressure. Pitt may have owned the middle rounds, but West Virginia landed the knockout punch, proving once again that in the Backyard Brawl, it’s never over until the musket fires.
YOU MIGHT ALSO LIKE
New evidence shows Kyren Lacy was not responsible for the fatal crash that led to charges against him. His case highlights serious flaws in the investigation and raises questions about why the truth was not revealed sooner.