2007 Pittsburgh vs . West Virginia football game The 2007 Pittsburgh vs . West Virginia football game ( also known simply by its final score 13 – 9 ) was a college football game held in Morgantown , West Virginia that marked the 100th edition of the Backyard Brawl rivalry . Unranked and 4 - 7 Pitt , a 28½ point underdog , pulled the upset over arch rival WVU who , coming into the game , was ranked second in the BCS and AP Poll and first in the Coaches ' Poll . By upsetting West Virginia in the Mountaineers ' regular season and home finale , the Panthers knocked WVU out of what had been assured to be their first appearance in a BCS National Championship Game and a shot at their first ever National Championship . The game was one of the most important Backyard Brawls in the series history , one of the biggest upsets in both Pittsburgh and West Virginia history , one of the biggest upsets of the season , and was voted as the " Game of the Year " by ESPNU . Game summary . The weather was cold with a slight West wind . The game began at 7 : 45pm Eastern Standard Time . The Mountaineers , however , could never get their high - powered offense going against the Panthers and were hurt by fumbles , missed field goals , and an injury to star quarterback Pat White , who missed most of the game after dislocating his thumb in the second quarter . Trailing by one possession late in the fourth quarter , West Virginia twice had the ball in Pitt territory . White had just returned but both times failed to convert on fourth down plays . The final Pitt possession saw the underdogs run the ball out of the back of the end zone for an intentional safety as the clock expired . West Virginia ' s kicker Pat Mcafee missed two field goals in the game and Pitt ' s kicker Conor Lee missed one . Scoring . First quarter . no score Aftermath . The outcome of the game was met with stunned silence from Mountaineer fans while a small number of Pittsburgh fans were cheering in similar shock . At Pitt ' s campus in Pittsburgh , large numbers of students began forming in different locations of the Oakland neighborhood . In addition to the crowds a sofa chair was burned in front of the university ' s Cathedral of Learning , mocking the WVU couch burning tradition . Several football recruits that were visiting West Virginia for the game ended up on the cheering with the Panthers on their side line by the end of the game . Several of them later decided to play for Pitt over West Virginia . The game was briefly seen as a turning point in Coach Dave Wannstedt ' s early tenure at Pitt , during which he had struggled and seemingly stagnated . However , Wannstedt was later fired following the 2010 regular season . The trickle - down affect of West Virginia being knocked out of the BCS Championship has been speculated to have had a major impact on the bowl placement of many teams and the filling of various head - coaching positions . Most prominently affected was LSU , who slid into WVU ' s slot and ended up winning the BCS Championship . The game turned out to have a profound impact on the future of Michigan , which was in the midst of a search to replace retiring coach Lloyd Carr . Two weeks after the loss , Michigan hired Mountaineers coach Rich Rodriguez as Carr ' s successor . Had West Virginia beaten Pitt , Rodriguez likely would not have left West Virginia and passed up the chance to play for a BCS National Championship , and Michigan would have been forced to look elsewhere for its coach . Michigan fired Rodriguez after the 2010 season . The game was named as the " Game of the Year " by ESPNU and other publications . It was also the first time the Pittsburgh Panthers defeated a no . 2 ranked opponent since their 24 - 20 win over Georgia in the 1982 Sugar Bowl .