WEST VIRGINIA-PITTSBURGH A real Backyard Brawl?

The winner could wind up in a BCS bowl.
PITTSBURGH (AP) -- Pitt coach Walt Harris wants to make sure the game known as the Backyard Brawl doesn't become exactly that.
After watching Clemson and South Carolina stage an ugly fight late in their rivalry game Saturday, Harris talked to his players about avoiding any kind of altercation during Thursday night's game with neighboring West Virginia.
Harris stressed the importance of remaining focused on the task at hand -- namely, beating a team that defeated the Panthers the last two seasons -- and not becoming distracted by any on-field personal battles.
"We want to be playing spirited and hit as hard as humanly possible, but only between the whistles," Harris said.
"We can't take [our] emotion and make it into a personal vendetta. This is a team game, everybody needs to play with the team foremost in mind."
Pitt (6-3, 3-2 Big East) and No. 21 West Virginia (8-2, 4-1) are located only 70 miles apart and each university attracts players and students from the other's home state.
The 8 p.m. starting time on Thanksgiving could encourage tailgating fans to arrive early and consume alcohol before entering the stadium, thus adding to the always-edgy rivalry.
However, the game is not a sellout, as it was the previous two seasons -- an indicator the holiday nighttime start will reduce not only the crowd but, possibly, some of the hostilities.
Since the winner could wind up in a BCS bowl if Boston College loses to Syracuse or the Gator Bowl otherwise, Pitt quarterback Tyler Palko said the game is too important for any player to risk becoming involved in a penalty-causing situation.
Quotable
"We have a lot more important things to worry about than that stuff," Palko said.
"To play this game, you have to get yourself into a state where you get arrested in public for doing the things you do on a football field. I'm not going to sugarcoat it, things happen -- but, obviously, you have to control it."
Palko already knows all about that. He issued numerous apologies two weeks ago when he uttered a profanity during a live TV interview moments after Pitt's 41-38 upset victory at Notre Dame.
That moment was out of character not only for Palko, but for his team, according to Harris. Harris still dresses down his team when he sees a player walking off the field or with his shirttail pulled out, saying players must respect the game they play.
"Fighting is not a part of football -- there's enough physical activity going on that you don't need to get into a fight," he said. "Both of us have good football players, classy football players and talented players, young men who have worked extremely hard. It's a rivalry, and it's a highly contested game, but that's between the whistles."