West Virginia came all the way back to win in overtime over Pitt in the 108th Backyard Brawl.

On the heroics of quarterback Nicco Marchiol, the Mountaineers rallied to win in overtime 31-24 over the Panthers, after trailing by seven with 5:03 left in the game.

Marchiol had an interesting game. He started the first half, but was benched for five possessions during the second half, where Scotty Fox Jr. came in for a couple of drives, and Jaylen Henderson took a drive. With under 10 minutes left in the fourth quarter and down 10, Marchiol came back in.

He led the Mountaineers to a field goal, then marched down the field, connecting with tight end Grayson Barnes for a touchdown with 11 seconds left. In overtime, Marchiol led another drive that resulted in the go-ahead touchdown on a 1-yard Tye Edwards run.

Zac Alley’s defense held, and WVU won, moving Rich Rodriguez’s record to 2-1 after a bad loss to Ohio. Pitt falls to 2-1 as well. Pitt still leads the Backyard Brawl 63-42-3 and has to wait until 2029 to get revenge when the series picks up.

“So happy for our players, so happy for our fans,” Rodriguez said. “Times looked bleak.”

It was a confusing game at quarterback for WVU.

Marchiol didn’t have too bad a first half. He missed one big throw to Cam Vaughn, but made some completions out by the sideline, and had the offense moving pretty well. He was 9-for-12 for 76 yards in the first half.

To start the second half, to a surprise, Rich Rodriguez marched out Fox, who is a true freshman and only saw action for a couple of plays in the season opener against Robert Morris. Marchiol had his helmet on during the Fox drives.

Fox led the Mountaineers on an 80-yard touchdown drive, including a jump pass to Justin Smith-Brown, who took the screen for 56 yards. WVU was up 14-3 with under three minutes to play in the third.

Holstein and Pitt punched right back after the Fox touchdown drive. After missing a couple of passes, Holstein connected deep with Raphael Williams Jr. for 67 yards. Holstein capped the drive off with a 1-yard keeper. Pitt went for two, making it a 14-11 game with 6:18 left in the third quarter.

Fox showed his age in his next two drives following the touchdown. Fox threw a bad pass across the field that was intercepted in WVU territory. The next drive, Fox was about to get sacked and threw it directly to a Pitt defender in the middle of the field, giving Pitt promising field position again.

After the picks, Texas A&M transfer Jaylen Henderson entered the game for a drive.

Rodriguez said he put the other quarterbacks in, looking for a spark.

“At the end we need, we knew we needed to throw,” Rodriguez said. “Nicco’s our best thrower, most accurate, most comfortable thrower.”

After a big personal foul on Marshon Oxley, Holstein delivered a 14-yard thought-to-be dagger to Williams, who was wide open in the end zone, making it 24-14 with 9:23 left in the fourth quarter.

Holstein didn’t have the best day and finished 22-for-37 for 303 yards and a touchdown. Pitt lost star running back Desmond Reid in the first half, and he didn’t return to the game.

Then, Marchiol came back out, who finished 19-for-25 for 192 yards and the lone passing touchdown.

“When my number was called again, there was just one goal of mine, just go and win the football game,” Marchiol said.

Marchiol had help. In the absence of the injured Jahiem White, Clay Ash got the nod for the start. Ash received most of the second-string snaps in the first two games. But he was not the most impressive back out of the backfield. Running back Tye Edwards stole the show. Edwards was one of the four Mountaineers battling the NCAA over an eligibility dispute, but finally made his debut.

At 6-foot-2, 226 pounds, Edwards brought physicality and a little bit of speed to get the running game going. He had the opening touchdown on a 12-yard carry, breaking tackles on his way to the end zone. Edwards rushed for 141 yards and three touchdowns.

Marchiol also connected with three different receivers for over 50 yards. Receiver Rodney Gallagher had seven catches for 61 yards.

Zac Alley’s defense put on another strong performance, even without pass rusher Jimmori Robinson, who was in street clothes on the sideline. In the first half, Alley’s defense stopped Pitt multiple times. Three times, Pitt had the ball in the red zone and came up empty twice. Safety Darrian Lewis picked off Holstein in the end zone, and Pitt missed a field goal.

The only points in the first half were a chip shot after three plays from the 6-yard line.

“Our defense played its tail off all game,” Rodriguez said. “Kept us in the game.”

With 2:27 minutes left in the game, Alley’s defense stopped Pitt on third down just on the WVU side of the 50-yard line, forcing them to punt, setting up the game-tying touchdown drive. Marchiol rolled with the momentum and capped off a big win.

“You’re not going to make me be unhappy right now,” Rodriguez said. “Basically, impossible. I’m happy tonight.”