The 1908 Backyard Brawl pictured here took place 13 years after the annual event was founded, in 1895. Courtesy photo

SHEPHERDSTOWN — It’s been since 2011 that West Virginia football and its legion of fans could focus on the Pitt Panthers.

Coaches, athletic administrators and online ticket selling companies want wins that help bring in money and other athletic department revenues.

Fans want headline games with natural rivals who have been disliked ever since the Allegheny and Monongahela Rivers flowed into Pittsburgh, Penn.

It’s the fans that get their way this year because WVU and Pitt play in the season opener scheduled for Sept. 1.

Pitt was a darkhorse beauty in 2021, charging through its ACC schedule and then dumping Wake Forest in the conference championship game.

West Virginia did enough to reach a bowl game, but had to settle for a 6-7 overall record when it stumbled and lost.

Since its season ended with a bowl defeat, the Mountaineers have added 33 new players to the roster.

The so-called transfer portal has changed the nature of recruiting with coaches searching for immediate help there even more than through the traditional freshmen and junior college imports.

As many as five players from the transfer portal are being touted as potential starters populating WVU’s defense. Not all of them came to Morgantown just this year.

But Lance Dixon (Penn State), Marcis Floyd (Murray State) and Lee Kpogba (Syracuse and a community college) have joined with previous transfers Charles Woods (Illinois State) and Taijh Alston (Copiah-Lincoln Community College) already on the roster.

Dante Stills is West Virginia’s most-honored defensive player, having gained first-team All-Big 12 recognition in 2021.

Plenty of attention will be aimed at transfer (Georgia and Southern Cal) quarterback J.T. Daniels. Daniels was 7-0 at Georgia as a starter, before injury brought him down.

Garrett Greene, Will Crowder and freshman Nicco Marchiol have been told the quarterback position is wide open, but if Daniels doesn’t win it most people will be more than a little surprised.

It could be that a group of four wide receivers hold the answers as to whether the 2022 Mountaineers can score enough points to overcome the usual Big 12 giants in Oklahoma, Baylor, Iowa State and even Texas.

There was usually Leddie Brown around to give at least some credence to the running game. But he’s gone, and left to replace him are Tony Mathis, Jr. (one career start) and Justin Johnson, Jr. (90 rushing yards a year ago).

The corps of wide receivers has Bryce Ford-Wheaten, Kadan Prather, Reese Smith and Sam James. None of them was a full-time starter last season.

A Melbourne, Australia punter joins the ranks of the most-watched special teams players.

It’s a return of the Backyard Brawl. It’s going to pique the interest of even casual fans. Is it going to be an influx of enough play-makers, depth and team unity from the 33 newest faces to begin the season with a success against Pitt?