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PITTSBURGH (AP) -- Pat Narduzzi's memories of "The Backyard Brawl" are hazy at best. Growing up in nearby Youngstown, Ohio, Narduzzi remembers catching the annual meeting between Pittsburgh and West Virginia on TV every year, but not much else.
"I wish I could tell you a lot of things back then," Narduzzi said with a laugh.
Narduzzi's vantage point will be far different tonight when his eighth season coaching the Panthers begins with an indoctrination into a blood feud between two schools separated by 75 miles of foothills and 127 years of animosity.
After a decade hiatus, the Brawl is back in all of its "Country Roads" vs. "Sweet Caroline" and pepperoni rolls vs. Primanti's glory.
"There's a lot of hatred on their end, but going to be a lot of hate on our end," Narduzzi said. "That's what it comes down to in rivalry games."
The two teams haven't met since 2011, with the series derailed by the ever-shifting tectonic plates of major college football. West Virginia bailed on the now-defunct Big East the following year for the Big 12. Pitt followed suit a year later to join the ACC.
They've spent the last 10 years warily eyeing each other from afar. The build-up to the series' return has included former players and coaches on both sides serving as history professors of sorts.
It's working.
"I've been waiting for this game my whole life," said West Virginia defensive lineman Dante Stills, whose father, Gary, played linebacker for the Mountaineers in the 1990s.
The same could be said, in a way, for West Virginia coach Neal Brown. The program is still searching for traction as he enters his fourth year. Taking down the defending ACC champions on the road could be an impactful step in the right direction.
Not that Brown is ready to talk about the big picture. For Brown and the rest of his staff, there are too many little pictures to worry about. Chief among them making sure the Mountaineers don't get so caught up in the hype they forget to do their jobs.
"In a first game, especially a first game when you have a rivalry game that's coming back for the first time in however long it's been, over 10 years, there's going to be a lot of emotions," said first-year offensive coordinator Graham Harrell. "The key is going to be to not beat yourself in those situations regardless of who you're playing. Don't let the emotions get the most of you."
Good luck with that.
Narduzzi has made it a point to try and get his players to turn the page from their breakout 2021, when they won 11 games for the first time since 1981 behind the play of quarterback Kenny Pickett. The calendar has flipped. Pickett is next door with the Pittsburgh Steelers and the 2022 version of the Panthers are, at least at the moment, a mystery to even their coach.
"We studied for eight months for this test, we're going to take the test," Narduzzi said. "The test is Thursday night. So you find out I think at that point where you are."
Southern California transfer Kedon Slovis beat out Nick Patti during training camp for the right to take over for Pickett, a Heisman Trophy finalist a season ago.
Slovis is no stranger the spotlight. It tends to come with the territory when suiting up for the Trojans. While Narduzzi stressed it was Slovis' accuracy that gave him the upper hand over Patti, the fact Slovis is unlikely to be fazed by the stage and the stakes isn't a bad thing either.
West Virginia at No. 17 Pittsburgh, 7 p.m.
TV: ESPN
Line: Pitt by 7¢, according to FanDuel Sportsbook.
Series record: Pitt leads 61-40-3
WHAT'S AT STAKE?
Local bragging rights as "The Backyard Brawl" returns following a 10-year hiatus. The series took a break after the previous meeting in 2011, a byproduct of both schools leaving the disintegrating Big East for safer (and more lucrative) landing spots in the ACC (Pitt) and Big 12 (West Virginia). The Panthers won the ACC for the first time last fall behind Heisman Trophy finalist Kenny Pickett. Things have been bumpier for the Mountaineers and coach Neal Brown, who is just 17-18 since arriving in Morgantown.
KEY MATCHUP
West Virginia's offensive line vs. Pitt's front seven. The Panthers have developed a reputation as one of the most consistently aggressive defenses in the nation during coach Pat Narduzzi's tenure. Pitt has racked up 151 sacks over the last three years, tops in the FBS over that span. Calijah Kancey is the latest Pitt defensive lineman carving out a resume that likely will land him in the NFL. The Mountaineers' best chance at pulling off the upset will depend on a veteran line keeping Kancey and company at bay and Georgia transfer JT Daniels upright at quarterback.
PLAYERS TO WATCH
West Virginia: Daniels. The well-traveled Daniels is hoping his third collegiate team will be his last after stops at Southern California (2018-19) and Georgia (2020-21), where he served as the backup to Stetson Bennett as the Bulldogs won the national title last season.
Pitt: QB Kedon Slovis. Slovis actually took over for Daniels at USC after Daniels was injured early in the 2019 season.