SOURCE: www.pittsburghlive.com

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"To end this season and send our seniors out with a victory over West Virginia (would be) a positive," outside linebacker Adam Gunn said.

"We know if everything is firing right, our opportunity is great and we can beat anybody out there."

The intensity of the rivalry tends to bring out the best in both schools. In fact, when Pitt ascended to the No. 1 ranking for the first time, during its national championship run in 1976, its only single-digit margin of victory (24-16) was against a West Virginia team that finished 5-6.

Then again, Pitt has never beaten a top-ranked team - although it tied Army, 14-14, in 1958 - and hasn't defeated a No. 2 since Dan Marino threw the touchdown pass to John Brown to beat Georgia in the 1982 Sugar Bowl.

The most recent time the Panthers beat such a highly ranked opponent was in 2002 and '03, when they beat a Virginia Tech team that was ranked in the top 5 both times.

If playing the spoiler isn't incentive enough, Wannstedt has more motivation in that he has yet to beat West Virginia as Pitt's head coach and is one of only six Panthers coaches to have never beaten the Mountaineers.

Four of them coached before 1903, and the other, Red Dawson, coached against the Mountaineers twice.

"There's plenty of reasons to be motivated about playing this game," Wannstedt said.

"I'm sure everybody might look at it a little bit differently, but because of where they're ranked is something every kid and maybe half the coaches haven't had an opportunity to play somebody that's ranked No. 1 or No. 2 in the country.”

"That doesn't happen every day. If you go down there and perform well and win the game, it's something you'll talk about the rest of your life. People will talk about you the rest of your life."

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