Getty Pitt and West Virginia fans eagerly await the return of The Backyard Brawl rivalry, dormant since 2011. The rivals kick off again on Thursday.
The Backyard Brawl rivalry game returns when West Virginia and Pittsburgh meet on the football field for the first since 2011 on Thursday, September 1.
The game (7 p.m. ET start time) will be televised on ESPN, but if you don’t have cable, you can watch a live stream on FuboTV or DirecTV Stream, which both come with a free trial.
Those are the two best live stream options if you’re cutting cable, but there are also some other alternatives, so here’s a full guide on the different ways to watch West Virginia vs Pittsburgh streaming live online:
Note: Heavy may earn an affiliate commission if you sign up via a link on this page
DirecTV Stream
DirecTV Stream has four different channel packages: “Entertainment,” “Choice,” “Ultimate” and “Premier.” ESPN is included in every one, and you can pick any package and any add-on you want with your free five-day trial:
Once signed up for DirecTV Stream, you can watch West Virginia vs Pittsburgh live on the DirecTV Stream app or DirecTV Stream website.
Compatible devices for the DirecTV Stream app include Roku, Roku TV, Amazon Fire TV or Fire Stick, Apple TV, Chromecast, Samsung TV, any device with Android TV (such as a Sony TV or Nvidia Shield), iPhone, Android phone, iPad or Android tablet.
You can also watch the game live on the ESPN app or ESPN.com. You’ll need to sign in to a cable provider to watch this way, but you can use your DirecTV Stream credentials to do that.
FuboTV
You can watch a live stream of ESPN and 100-plus other live TV channels on FuboTV, which comes with a free seven-day trial:
Once signed up for FuboTV, you can watch West Virginia vs Pittsburgh live on the FuboTV app or FuboTV website.
Compatible devices for the FuboTV app include Roku, Roku TV, Amazon Fire TV or Fire Stick, Apple TV, Chromecast, Xbox One or Series X/S, Samsung TV, LG TV, any device with Android TV (such as a Sony TV or Nvidia Shield), iPhone, Android phone, iPad or Android tablet.
You can also watch the game live on the ESPN app or ESPN.com. You’ll need to sign in to a cable provider to watch this way, but you can use your Fubo credentials to do that.
Sling TV
You can watch a live stream of ESPN and 40-plus other live TV channels via Sling TV’s “Sling Orange” bundle. This option doesn’t include a free trial, but it’s the cheapest long-term streaming service with the ESPN channels, and you can your first month for half off:
Once signed up for Sling TV, you can watch West Virginia vs Pittsburgh live on the Sling TV app or Sling TV website.
Compatible devices for the Sling TV app include Roku, Roku TV, Amazon Fire TV or Fire Stick, Apple TV, Chromecast, Xbox One or Series X/S, Samsung TV, LG TV, any device with Android TV (such as a Sony TV or Nvidia Shield), airTV Mini, Oculus, Portal, iPhone, Android phone, iPad or Android tablet.
You can also watch the game live on the ESPN app or ESPN.com. You’ll need to sign in to a cable provider to watch this way, but you can use your Sling credentials to do that.
Hulu With Live TV
You can watch a live stream of ESPN and 65+ other TV channels via Hulu With Live TV, which now also includes access to both ESPN+ and Disney+ at no added cost:
Once signed up for Hulu With Live TV, you can watch West Virginia vs Pittsburgh live on the Hulu app or Hulu website.
Compatible devices for the Hulu app include Roku, Roku TV, Amazon Fire TV or Fire Stick, Apple TV, Chromecast, Xbox One or Series X/S, PlayStation 4 or 5, Nintendo Switch, Samsung TV, LG TV, any device with Android TV (such as a Sony TV or Nvidia Shield), iPhone, Android phone, iPad or Android tablet.
You can also watch the game live on the ESPN app or ESPN.com. You’ll need to sign in to a cable provider to watch this way, but you can use your Hulu credentials to do that.
Vidgo
You can watch a live stream of ESPN and 65+ other TV channels on Vidgo, which does not come with a free trial:
Once signed up for Vidgo, you can watch West Virginia vs Pittsburgh live on the Vidgo app or Vidgo website.
Compatible devices for the Vidgo app include Roku, Roku TV, Amazon Fire TV, or Firestick, Apple TV, Chromecast, any device with Android TV (such as a Sony TV or Nvidia Shield), iPhone, Android phone, iPad, or Android tablet.
You can also watch the game live on the ESPN app or ESPN.com. You’ll need to sign in to a cable provider to watch this way, but you can use your Vidgo credentials to do that.
West Virginia vs Pitt Preview
Seventeenth-ranked Pittsburgh takes on West Virginia in the revival of The Backyard Brawl on Thursday.
The rivals last met in 2011, but that drought ends in the Steel City. It’s a popular rivalry for both fan bases, which Jason Mackey of the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette described.
“The return of the Brawl has brought back countless stories and memories, emotions that are only possible whenever these schools play each other,” Mackey wrote.
Nobody knows the Brawl better…
@CoachWannstedt will serve as Pitt’s honorary captain on Thursday night!
Pitt and WVU first played each other in 1895 when the Mountaineers beat Pitt 8-0. The Panthers lead the all-time series 61-40-3, but the Mountaineers have won the past three meetings. Their rivalry fizzled when WVU left the Big East Conference for the Big 12 Conference in 2012. Pitt now plays in the ACC since the Big East’s cessation of being a football conference.
“Obviously a big game, not just because it’s the Backyard Brawl, because it’s the first game of the season,” Pitt head coach Pat Narduzzi told the media via 247Sports. “Would be a big game no matter who it was. Rivalry game adds more to it. We know they’ll come up, there’s a lot of hatred on their end, but going to be a lot of hate on our end. That’s what it comes down to in rivalry games. We’ll get our guys coached up.”
USC transfer Kedon Slovis will dive into the rivalry as Pitt’s new starting quarterback in place of Kenny Pickett, who as drafted by the Pittsburgh Steelers. The Panthers have a strong running back in Israel Abanikanda and strong receiver in Jared Wayne. Defensively, the Panthers have tough linebacker in SirVocea Dennis and deep secondary.
“[WVU’s players] won’t need a whole lot of speeches,” WVU head coach Neal Brown said via 59 News’ Sam Coniglio. “They’ll be ready to go.”
Another former USC quarterback, J.T. Daniels, will lead the WVU offense. Daniels has solid receivers to throw to in Bryce Ford-Wheaton and Sam James. Defensively, the Mountaineers have a strong veteran pass rush led by defensive linemen Dante Stills and Taijh Alston.
“We’ve got a bunch of guys that have played football. Not all of them have played necessarily at WVU….You look at across the board, like we’ve got guys outside of a couple guys on defense that have played,” Brown added. “Your expectation as a coach is that if guys have played, they’re going to have a maturity level to understand — to not get too high going into a contest.”