MORGANTOWN, W.Va. -- Truth trumps all, even in the face of one of college football's most ferocious rivalries.

That's why, as difficult as it might have been for West Virginia left tackle Don Barclay, as tough as it was to say it through those gritted teeth, he had to give credit to the Pitt Panthers.

Barclay and his linemate, right tackle Selvish Capers, will be saddled with slowing down South Florida's highly touted defensive end tandem of George Selvie and Jason Pierre-Paul tomorrow night.

For a case study in how to limit those two edge rushers, look at what Pitt's offensive line did in a 41-14 victory Saturday: Selvie and Pierre-Paul combined for four tackles, one for a loss and zero sacks.

Was there a secret to Pitt's success?

"No," Barclay said. "Pitt just pounded them, their whole line just took it to them."

A West Virginia Mountaineer (albeit from Cranberry) giving Pitt credit?

What is the college football world coming to?

Maybe it isn't all that big of a deal, though, because Barclay hit on something -- the job Pitt did last week was nothing short of masterful. And, the Mountaineers can use it as a teaching tool.

Selvie, a two-time first team All-American, has been double- or tripled-teamed on 117 of 263 snaps this season according to the South Florida sports communication office, which charts such peculiar statistics along with the usual ones. He is college football's active leader in career tackles for loss with 66 1/2, 8 1/2 shy of the all-time NCAA record.

Barclay will be the one on Selvie's side.

"They are both really good, but I think Selvie might have the upper hand because he has more experience," said Barclay, a sophomore. "But playing against these guys gets me hyped up, it makes me focus more. I like this kind of challenge. I look forward to this stuff.

"Why would you come out here and not want to play against the best, and not want to play against a guy like this?"

On the other side Capers, a senior, will face Pierre-Paul, a junior who has elevated his play exponentially this season. The Haitian with an 81-inch wingspan is a 6-foot-6, 265-pound study in athleticism who leads the Big East Conference in percentage of tackles that go for a loss.

Of Pierre-Paul's 23 tackles this season, 9 1/2 have been drag downs behind the line of scrimmage.

"He's a heck of a player," Capers said. "He goes hard to the whistle and more."

And the surge in Pierre-Paul's play has forced an uptick in Selvie's, as offensive lines can no longer key on just one side.

That is a bit worrisome to West Virginia head coach Bill Stewart as his team departs today for Tampa.

"He is making plays," Stewart said of Pierre-Paul. "Look at his stats. When you have a guy like George Selvie, who is a star, they always double-team him and that has helped Pierre-Paul. He is pretty special and a great player."

Two great players who West Virginia quarterback Jarrett Brown will pay attention to more than most he plays against this season?

Not exactly.

Brown made a point to mention that he can't get caught up in that game, he needs to focus on his job, and delegate the power of stopping the South Florida edge rushers to the West Virginia players who are trained to do so.

"I don't want to think about the rush, that will throw my game off as a quarterback," Brown said. "All I can do is just worry about myself and let those guys do what they do up front. I want to go through my progression, make my reads and make protection calls to help them out. That is the only thing I can do."

That and hope Barclay and Capers do what they are supposed to do -- and have taken a lesson from, of all teams, Pitt.

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