WVU tight end Grayson Barnes (80) outleaps Pittsburgh defender Cruce Brookins (12) for a touchdown pass in the fourth quarter of Saturday’s 31-24 overtime win in Morgantown. (Photo by David Pennock)

On third and 9 with two minutes left, West Virginia quarterback Nicco Marchiol dropped back and found tight end Grayson Barnes over the middle of the field for 34 yards, putting the Mountaineers into Pitt territory.

A couple of plays later, with 11 seconds left, Marchiol hit Barnes again for the game-tying score. WVU went on to win the Backyard Brawl 31-24 in overtime.

The tight ends had a lot of pressure put on them during the preseason. Rich Rodriguez said other than the quarterback, the tight ends had the hardest position in his offense. It makes sense, in a tempo offense, you can’t sub because it allows the defense to sub, so the tight end will have to block effectively for the run and be able to catch, without a break.

In the first two weeks, the tight ends looked shaky. Barnes, who transferred from Northern Illinois, and Jacksonville State transfer Jacob Barrick had fumbled and some drops. They didn’t live up to Rodriguez’s expectations.

During the Backyard Brawl, WVU’s tight ends came up big.

“It is such an extension of this offense that, frankly, people don’t see coming,” Marchiol said. “The way we can run the ball, and then when we can just sneak off pass a here and there, or get outside the pocket and get it to the athletes. Tight tight ends are our athletes. They’re not these big, stocky guys that can’t move in space. Our guys can do everything that we want them to do, and more. I have just as much trust in 80 and 81 as I do No. 4, No. 5 and Rodney and every single person on the team, because it’s rooted in substance.”

Barnes had five catches for 58 yards and a touchdown. Barrick had one grab for seven yards.

The tight ends weren’t the only safety blanket during the comeback. When Marchiol came back in the fourth quarter, he connected with slot receiver Rodney Gallagher three times. Marchiol also hit Gallagher a couple of times before he was benched.

Gallagher led all receivers with seven catches for 61 yards.

“He’s a talented athlete,” Rodriguez said. “He’s a quick learner. He’s just got as good a football sense as any slot receiver that I’ve had. Just has a feel for the game. You’d be crazy not to use him, and we used him a lot more today, which we needed to. But even toward the end of the game, you could see where he was a dominant figure.”

The tight ends and Gallagher were utilized more at the end of the game because Pitt’s defense tried to take Marchiol’s favorite target, Cam Vaughn, out of the game by assigning more bodies to him.

“Pitt had a pretty good idea who I was gonna try to go after when it came down to the last couple drives, I was trying to find Cam Vaughn down there,” Marchiol said.

Even without getting the ball, Vaughn made an impact. When Vaughn didn’t have two defensive backs on him, Pitt struggled to guard him. While WVU was down at the goal line in the final seconds, Marchiol fired to Vaughn, who was aggressively fouled, and drew a flag. WVU scored on the next play.

Vaughn only had four catches for 32 yards, but drew two pass interference penalties in the fourth quarter, moving the chains.

Marchiol said Vaughn wasn’t upset about his numbers, like some No. 1 receivers would’ve been.

“[Vaughn] was just as excited as anyone else,” Marchiol said. “He was the first one to congratulate everyone on the sidelines. He’s just a team guy. He’s been with Coach Rod just a year longer than me now. He’s not a selfish guy. He wasn’t talking about getting me the ball, finding a way to give him the ball. All he was talking about was finding a way to win.”

In Week 3, WVU had seven different receivers catch a pass. Five of them had over 30 yards, and three had over 50. The Mountaineers really spread the ball around. It’ll be important to keep other players involved, especially with better defenses in the Big 12, who’ll try and take Vaughn out of the game.

“That’s the awesome thing about this offense,” Marchiol said. “I got 10 other guys I throw the ball to.”