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The original was posted on /r/cfb by /u/Designer_Piglets on 2023-12-12 21:50:49.
Original Title: There used to be a three-way rivalry trophy between WVU, Pitt, and Penn St when they played each other every year called ‘Old Ironsides’. When WVU finally broke their 25 game losing streak to PSU in 1983 and tried to claim the trophy it turned up “missing” and hasn’t been found since.
The way the trophy worked was that you only got the trophy if you went 2-0 against the other two teams. If you only went 1-1, then the team that already had the trophy would keep it. In the event that only 2 of the teams played each other that year, you would have to beat the team that currently had the trophy, so it worked kind of like a very miniscule version of the belt in those seasons.
Since the three teams are playing each other more often again (WVU played both this year and will again in 2024) I think WVU should create a new more modern looking version of the trophy and fill in the results of who should have had the trophy each year the trophy exchanged hands. You could go back through previous schedules just like with the belt and figure it out pretty easily. As it turns out, the trophy should belong to Penn State this year, but I’m too lazy to figure out exactly how long they’ve held onto it for.
So if I’m the West Virginia AD, I would hand over the brand new fancy looking trophy to Penn State a week before they play each other in week one of 2024. It makes for a fun storyline and will be a motivating factor for both teams. But all of this so far is easy for me to say as a WVU fan, it’s all reward no risk. So let’s pretend and say West Virginia wins the game and reclaims the trophy officially for the first time in 40 years. It’s not unthinkable, they had a decent year, are playing at home, and return pretty much their whole offense who got better as the year progressed. That’s where things get spicy.
In week 3, West Virginia plays at Pitt in the Backyard Brawl. This year’s brawl was particularly embarrassing for the Panthers since they had one of the worst QB performances of all time and just could not do shit on offense. They will be motivated as hell to put their new high-flying offensive coordinator to use and will try to rip our shaky secondary to shreds. Now, on top of all of that, throw in the idea that Pitt could immediately steal this brand new trophy WVU built before they even had time to show it off. It would be the ultimate revenge and make West Virginia look like dumbasses for remaking the trophy in the first place.
It would be great story for all the schools involved, and make the matchups a little bit spicier than they already are. With the upcoming 12 team playoff, early season matchups are going to mean less than before but an idea like this would help bring back the fiery spirit of cfb that we all love. It would take some big balls for WVU to actually go through with it, but we’ve got plenty of time to bother the athletic department in the off-season.