Pitt coach Dave Wannstedt read Don Nehlen's comments about the Pitt-West Virginia rivalry and was willing to give the former Mountaineers coach the benefit of the doubt.

Nehlen told the Post-Gazette that he did not think the series was as much of a rivalry any more because West Virginia has had the upper hand since the mid 1980s. He also said the Panthers would have trouble beating West Virginia in recruiting because they play in an off-campus stadium.

Wannstedt said he did not think Nehlen was trying to insinuate that the Panthers can no longer compete with the Mountaineers or that Nehlen was trying to put Pitt down.

And his response was a simple "thanks for your concern, but we're doing just fine."

"I like Don Nehlen a lot, I respect him, he's a good friend and he did a great job of building that program," Wannstedt said.

"I know this, I played in this game before Don Nehlen was the head coach of West Virginia, and it was a rivalry. We have competed with them [in recruiting] and we will compete with them. They have it going right now, they have a great program and they've done a great job, but we know where we have to get and how we have to get there."

Tardy

Coach Rich Rodriguez is not exactly giddy about playing a game amid hunting season.

Not so much deer-hunting season -- and a host of West Virginians and Western Pennsylvanians partake in that -- but rather the period for tracking down prospective Mountaineers still in high school or junior colleges.

"This is the third year in a row West Virginia has missed a week" of the recruiting period, Rodriguez said yesterday. "When we only have six weeks of a recruiting-contact period, losing a week hurts."

In 2005, the Mountaineers traveled to Tampa for a hurricane-postponed game Dec. 3 with South Florida.

Last year, they played host to Rutgers Dec. 2 with a New Year's Day bowl date on the line.

This Saturday, the second-ranked Mountaineers (10-1, 5-1) entertain Pitt (4-7, 2-4) in the 100th Backyard Brawl, and with a win West Virginia likely will go to the national championship game.

Rodriguez said he is a proponent of playing the game on the last weekend of the schedule, he just wished the regular season would end in late November.

"I see a lot of people doing it," he added of a rivalry finale. "I just don't like playing it in December. Playing it this late, I don't know if it's that fun for our fans out there."

Pressure is on them

Wannstedt has been on both sides of the rivalry scenarios and said it is much tougher to handle the pressure of being the favored team with a lot on the line than the underdog.

That's why he feels good about the way the Panthers are preparing for a game Pitt is not expected to win.In fact, it has nothing riding on the game and nothing to lose.

"We just have to make sure we have a great week in practice and go down and get ready to play," Wannstedt said.

"In order to pull an upset, you have to win the turnover battle and someone has to step up that you usually aren't counting on it. But I think it is easier to climb the mountain than it is to stay on top. And in our case -- we can go down there and play loose and have fun with this thing. We'll just enjoy it and play as hard as we can and see where it goes."

Four scores?

Asked about his team being installed by oddsmakers as a 28 1/2-point favorite Rodriguez barked: "That's crazy. In a rivalry game? I don't know where they get that."

Then again, maybe he did.

"I've been to Las Vegas," he added. "Those light fixtures aren't cheap."

Rush to gold

Pitt fans bought up roughly 3,000 of their 5,000-ticket allotment, news of which gave Rodriguez a chance to reiterate that the 57,000 West Virginia followers coming to Mountaineer Field should wear their gold -- even if it meant going to a store to purchase the color if they have none.

Quick hits

Tight end John Pelusi (toe) is questionable for the game Saturday, but the Panthers are healthy otherwise. ... Wannstedt said that freshman wide receiver Aundre Wright will simulate the role of West Virginia quarterback Pat White for the Panthers' scout team this week. "The fastest guy on our team has to be Pat White and there is no question that Aundre Wright is our fastest guy," Wannstedt said. "And he swore to me that he was a quarterback in junior high so he will be Pat White this week, but that may be bad because we might not be able to tackle him, either." ... Wannstedt doesn't have a vote in the coaches' poll but, "West Virginia is the best team in the country, without a doubt," he said.