Pittsburgh, PA -- (Sports Network) - LeSean McCoy scored twice in the fourth quarter, as Pittsburgh dashed West Virginia's Big East title hopes with a 19-15 win in the 101st edition of the "Backyard Brawl" at Heinz Field.
McCoy ran for a career-high 183 yards for Pittsburgh (8-3, Big East 4-2), which bounced back from a loss to Cincinnati last week to win for the third time in its last four tries.
Pat White ran for 93 yards and a touchdown and threw for 143 more for West Virginia (7-4, 4-2), which lost for only the second time in its last eight games.
West Virginia needed to win its final two games and have Cincinnati lose to Syracuse on Saturday to have any chance at claiming a Big East title. Instead, the Bearcats won the Big East.
Trailing by eight, McCoy pulled the Panthers within two with a five-yard touchdown run, but the two-point conversion, which would have tied the game, failed.
Pitt eventually got the ball back with 5:10 to play and McCoy capped a 10- play, 59-yard drive with a one-yard burst, putting the Panthers ahead 19-15 with 52 seconds to play.
White managed to get the Mountaineers into scoring position, but could not deliver the game-winning touchdown.
The Panthers lead this rivalry, 61-37-3, that dates back to 1895 and includes a 13-9 upset last season which denied WVU a possible trip to the BCS title game.
Pittsburgh hit the scoreboard first when Bill Stull connected with Derek Kinder on a 30-yard touchdown pass on the Panthers' first drive of the game.
Stull helped set up the score with a 28-yard strike to Nate Byham.
West Virginia then took advantage of a Pitt turnover late in the first half when McAfee's 20-yard field goal narrowed the gap to four. The Mountaineers thought they had a touchdown on the previous play, but Wes Lyons couldn't get a foot down inbounds in the back of the end zone.
Pitt missed out on a golden opportunity to put points on the board right before the half, as Stull's interception deep in WVU territory ended the threat.
After McAfee's 26-yard field goal pulled the Mountaineers within one, White put them ahead, as his 54-yard scamper up the right sideline gave West Virginia a 12-7 lead.
The Mountaineers failed to convert the extra point, but McAfee's 40-yard field goal in the fourth quarter pushed the Mountaineer lead to eight.
