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Border Wars: West Virginia vs. Pennsylvania-based programs

Pitt's Dom Popa slides into third and beats JJ Wetherholt's tag for an RBI triple to tie the Backyard Brawl at PNC Park against WVU on April 20, 2022. (Photo: Sam Coniglio)

MORGANTOWN, W.Va. – On Monday, we tackled West Virginia’s record against the top Division-I programs in the Commonwealth of Virginia.

Today, we look at how WVU has fared against the top programs in Pennsylvania.

Of course, the 412 is home to the Mountaineers’ fiercest rival, while other past foes are scattered across the state.

Once again, we looked at WVU’s record against these universities in football, men’s and women’s basketball, and baseball.

Pittsburgh

Sept. 1 will mark the 105th installment of the Backyard Brawl. While, overall, WVU has a losing record on the gridiron against the Panthers, the Mountaineers have owned the series as of late – winning 15 of the last 22 meetings dating back to 1990.

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West Virginia holds all-time winning records against Pitt in men’s and women’s basketball and baseball. Both Bob Huggins’s and Randy Mazey’s squads picked up victories against the Panthers during the 2021-2022 academic year.

Overall Record: 280-261

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Penn State

While WVU has fared well against Pitt, the Mountaineers have not had as much success against the other Power 5 conference program in Pennsylvania.

West Virginia’s men’s basketball team holds a 66-53 record against the Nittany Lions, but that is the only one of the four major sports programs with an all-time winning record against Penn State.

Overall Record: 125-197-2

Villanova

There’s not exactly a long history of battles between West Virginia and Villanova. Most of the history between the two schools came during their time in the Big East Conference.

Arguably the most memorable moment between the Mountaineers and Wildcats came on February 13, 2009, when Da’Sean Butler scored a career-high 43 points in a win over a Villanova team ranked No. 13 in the country. WVU owns an edge over the Wildcats in football and baseball.

Overall Record: 66-58

Temple

Bobby Bowden and company hung 50 points on the Owls in 1975, and then Don Nehlen’s group scored 49 or more points against Temple in back-to-back seasons beginning in 1993. Even with those lopsided games, none of the major four sports teams at WVU have had as much success as the women’s basketball team.

The WVU women are 25-6 all-time against Temple, though the two programs have squared off just once since the end of the 1994-95 season.

Overall Record: 102-61

Duquesne

WVU and Duquesne are slated play one another in football in 2023. It will be the first meeting on the gridiron between the two schools since the Hoover Dam opened before the Second World War.

WVU baseball owns a 72-11 record all-time against the now-defunct Dukes baseball team.

Overall Record: 165-60-1

Robert Morris

The Colonials have only squared off against the Mountaineers 49 times in basketball and baseball, as the two schools have never met in football.

West Virginia has won 87.8 percent of those meetings, including all but one in women’s basketball.

Overall Record: 43-6

Bucknell

The Bison athletics department only claims one NCAA national championship. But Bucknell can also claim it has never lost to West Virginia – the 15th winningest program in DI college football – on the gridiron.

That’s right. The Mountaineers are 0-1-2 against the Bison in football. But don’t worry, WVU’s basketball programs are a perfect 13-0 against Bucknell on the hardwood.

Overall Record: 16-4-2

Lehigh

Remember when Lehigh knocked off two-seeded Duke in the NCAA men’s basketball tournament? Well, the Mountain Hawks have never done that to West Virginia.

The WVU men are a perfect 5-0 against Lehigh, and the Mountaineer baseball program is 2-0 against the Mountain Hawks. The two programs haven’t played one another in football since 1944.

Overall Record: 10-2-2

U Penn

Of the four WVU teams in question, only the men’s basketball team has defeated the University of Pennsylvania Quakers. That three-point win came in Morgantown on March 13, 1981, with Greg Nance leading the way with 16 points.

1916 was the last meeting between Penn and WVU on the football field.

Overall Record: 1-10

La Salle

Greg Van Zant’s final year in charge of the Mountaineer baseball team included the program’s only win over La Salle. It was also the first-ever meeting between the Explorers and Mountaineers on the diamond.

The WVU women’s basketball team is also undefeated against La Salle in two tries.

Overall Record: 4-3

WVU vs. these Pennsylvania-based programs: 812-662-7