What helps make the Pitt-West Virginia rivalry a little more unique is that the coaches both played at and graduated from the teams they now lead into Saturday’s 100th Backyard Brawl. Not only that, but they grew up not too far from the schools and really exhibited what to took to make it back then.

Wannstedt was an undersized offensive tackle from Baldwin, Pa., who would take a summer job working in the steel mills with his father. Rodriguez grew up in Grant Town, W.Va., in Marion County, as the son of a coal miner. He went to WVU as a walk-on safety and left with a scholarship.

And when the annual game comes around, it’s always interesting to listen to them talk about what the rivalry means because they have intimate insight as player and now coach. Rodriguez reflected on the 1983 game the Mountaineers won on Jeff Hostetler’s bootleg touchdown run, a game in which Rodriguez played.

“Not much,” he said.

He had a prominent role a year later.

He was in the game as a sophomore in 1982 when the Mountaineers played at Pitt and had a lead in the fourth quarter. Pitt and quarterback Dan Marino would come back and win 16-13.

“For whatever reason, I was in the game playing free safety and we used to have what we called ‘ability alignment.’ In other words, it was zone coverage and you lined up to your ability. If you were faster, you were closer to the line of scrimmage and if you weren’t you lined up deeper. Well, I lined up a lot deeper.”

Rodriguez was taking no chances. He figured he’d be an easy mark for Marino.

“I backed up and backed up and backed up until my hand hit the goal post behind me. I figured I might want to start coming up then.”

His hunch was right and Marino targeted the young defensive back.

“They threw a 35-yard in route right in front of me, but he didn’t beat me deep.”