Not many college football fans would remember WVU’s loss against the Pittsburgh Panthers in the 2007 Backyard Brawl Rivalry. The feat was momentous since Pitt, an unranked underdog and a fierce rival of WVU, pulled off a massive upset as they defeated them by 13-9. The game ended any championship hopes for WYU, who were expecting to win that game and make it to the BCS championship game. The loss was brutal, and when unexpected things like these happen, culprits are usually quickly found. This time it was Pat McAfee.

“I didn’t know if I wanted to live anymore. My life changed immediately that day. It was a terrible f—— night, to be honest. I drove, parked, slept, and kept driving. I didn’t know where I was. I didn’t know where I was headed. I didn’t know what was coming next.”. McAfee said to Ross Dellenger about the aftermath of the infamous game. But what triggered all of this? The ESPN announcer was then in his Junior year at WVU, and their main kicker. He missed two short field goals (20 and 32 yards) in the first half, and fans turned against him after the loss. His car was vandalized, and the man had to literally become a road nomad to escape all the chaos, as he recounted. But if you ask then WVU head coach, Rich Rodriguez, the incident isn’t what defines Pat McAfee the most.

When asked about Pat McAfee’s days, the head coach reflected on him as the type of guy he still is: funny, passionate, and maybe a bit mischievous. ” I do remember, I think I quit checking his curfew because I was afraid of what I’d find out. So I think I think, I told, as long as you keep making kicks and punt the ball great, I won’t check your curfew. But we can’t have anybody arrested or anything like that, that would be a tough time“.

The head coach, Rich Rodriguez, came back again to coach WVU in 2025. However, in his previous stint from 2001 to 2007, not only did McAfee rise but also thrive under him. The infamous backyard brawl might have acted as a learning piece, as in the senior season McAfee broke the school record for all-time scoring with a field goal and surpassed Slaton. The now ESPN announcer finished his season with his career best 44.7 average punt yards and was even a finalist for the Ray Guy Award. As for McAfee’s passionate antics? Well, that needs no introduction as we regularly see them on his ‘Pat McAfee Show’, right?

As for Rich Rodriguez, the second stint comes with high hopes, with Rich Rodriguez, who provided back-to-back 9-4 seasons at Jackson State. Moreover, the system that the head coach is bringing has the potential to revitalize WVU’s offense, as the program struggled under Neal Brown with a 37-35 overall record. Also, the head coach is a native of West Virginia and a WVU alum, and his past stints’ proven track record (60-26) makes the move exciting to witness.

Rich Rodriguez’s ‘old’ methods not working for WVU?

Well, Rich Rodriguez’s past stint may have ended bitterly, but still, the head coach led the team to four Big East championships and two New Year’s Six Bowl wins. This was also the time when Coach Rodriguez’s innovative spread offense was making buzz, and players like Pat White and Steve Slaton were wreaking havoc. But his stint ended bitterly as disagreements with then-director Ed Pastilong reportedly forced him out. But the head coach now will not have the same things that guarantee success.

Rodriguez, speaking on Josh Pate’s podcast that he has evolved greatly in his “core beliefs“. “If I expect all of our players to get better, I expect our coaches to get better; I’ve got to get better too,” he added. “That’s why there’s not a day that goes by that I don’t think about, okay, what can we do to help us or help me get better?” Well, the rumblings have started with Rich Rodriguez’s arrival, as he has done some sweeping changes.

The head coach has banned TikTok from his team’s locker room and has even said about the thing when asked, “I’m not making a suggestion, I’m giving you a command“. All of these points to the thing that even Rodriguez knows that a deep cleaning is required for the program, and he is willing to navigate that route. However, with NIL and the transfer portal posing fresh problems, we have yet to see how he responds to all of these things. There’s no McAfee now, nor is there Steve Salton. So let’s see how he responds with new sets of players.