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Untangling the highs and lows of the Penn State-Pitt rivalry
The Penn State Nittany Lions and Pittsburgh Panthers renew their historic rivalry Saturday. George Gojkovich/Getty Images

Untangling the highs and lows of the Penn State-Pitt rivalry

In the ever-changing and constantly in-your-face sports climate we live in every day, it's increasingly more difficult to remember beyond what happened yesterday. But it's as important as ever to know your history and be able to contextualize the present. Or in this case, the near future, as Penn State and Pittsburgh will face off on a football field on Saturday at Heinz Field for the first time in 16 years. This Pennsylvania rivalry, even though it was lopsided overall in Penn State's favor, was very much alive years ago.

The two teams have played a total of 96 times since 1893, which makes for more matchups between the two schools than Auburn and Alabama, Florida and Tennessee, USC and Notre Dame, and Florida State and Miami. Overall, the series record is 50-42-4 in favor of Penn State, but Pittsburgh won the last meeting between these two in 2000, 12-0.

So, what else do we need to set straight before fully being able to appreciate the Nittany Lions and Panthers meeting again on Saturday? Here are highs and lows.

High: The Big Names

This rivalry is responsible for 12 would-be NFL Hall of Famers — eight of them from Pittsburgh (Dan Marino, Tony Dorsett, Mike Ditka, Chris Doleman, Curtis Martin, Russ Grimm, Rickey Jackson, Joe Schmidt) and six from Penn State (Mike Michalske, Lenny Moore, Jack Ham, Franco Harris, Mike Munchak, Dave Robinson).

To highlight a few of them, Harris would go on to stay in Pennsylvania but switch sides over to Pittsburgh and join the Steelers, where he won four Super Bowls. Marino is thought by many to be one the best quarterbacks to ever play in the NFL. Ditka is now widely known as "Da Coach" due to his wild successes coaching the Chicago Bears from 1982-92 (yes, he's responsible for the 1985 Bears) after playing with the Bears as a tight end from 1961-66. In total, Ditka had a 40-year NFL career. Ditka is one of two people to ever win a championship in each role as a player, assistant coach and head coach.

The may or may not be a future Hall of Famer on the field Saturday, but history says there's at least a chance.

Low: The Lead-Up to the Death of the Rivalry

This is a low that could turn into a potential high.   

In September 1999, the Morning Call predicted it when Mark Wogenrich wrote, "Unless the schools find some common ground soon, they may not return for quite a while." 

Both schools were struggling to come to terms with an extension for the series beyond 2000. We now know that then-Penn State coach Joe Paterno and then-Pittsburgh athletic director Steve Pederson would never agree on negotiations. Paterno wanted more home games. Pittsburgh wouldn't agree to that.

Also according to Wogenrich, Paterno said this at the time: "In a way (the series) was the one you feel the least regret about because it is Pitt's fault. They were the ones that chose the Big East for basketball as opposed to an all-sports conference. It was their call. It was not Penn State's call to discontinue the series. Penn State was doing everything possible to make sure we would be playing each other forever. Pitt decided that was not as important as going into the Big East for basketball." 

Paterno would go on the record many times disdaining Pittsburgh's move to the Big East in 1982, but some believed the real reason the rivalry was discontinued was a petty Paterno — a man who wanted to treat Pitt like a little brother by making the Panthers play in Happy Valley more than the Steel City.

Sixteen years passed, egos lived and died, and here we are.

Before the rivalry's revival, which will extend through the next four seasons, former Pittsburgh quarterback Marino said this about the Penn State-Pitt rivalry: "Why wouldn't Penn State want to play us? To me, it would make sense. We just have to beat them the next four years, and they definitely won't renew it."

In Marino's Pittsburgh days from 1979-82, he and his Panthers went 2-2 against Penn State. One of those losses came in 1981 with a trip to the championship game on the line. Penn State monstrously came back from 14 points down to beat the Panthers 62-14.

High: The Renewed Rivalry

The high is that it's back — with new faces and new storied plots between Panthers and Nittany Lions waiting to be created. College football fans in Pennsylvania can rejoice for at least four more years.

The scenery is much different than 16 years ago. Penn State is now helmed by James Franklin, who is in his third season and has a 15-12 record so far as the top Nittany Lion. Pittsburgh has been led by Pat Narduzzi since Dec. 26, 2014, who came to the Panthers from Michigan State, where he was a defensive coordinator for eight years. Narduzzi led the Panthers to an 8-5 season in year one.

There are a couple names to keep an eye on as well Saturday. Penn State running back Saquon Barkley is a Pennslyvania native. Last season, he averaged 107.6 yards rushing per game. Barkley is supremely athletic, known to jump over defenders and a fan favorite in Happy Valley.

On the flip side, Pittsburgh defensive end and redshirt senior Ejuan Price, another Pennsylvania native, had 11.5 sacks last season as well as 19.5 tackles for loss. Price and Barkley will be a fun matchup to watch on Saturday, Barkley trying to elude Price, as Price tries to take down all Penn State ball carriers.

Low: The Stained Legacy

No matter how you slice it, there is the looming presence of the late, controversial and ultimately disgraced Penn State head coach Joe Paterno.

Paterno's tenure at the helm of the Nittany Lions was a swarm of highs and lows, ending on the lowest of lows when he was ousted by Penn State after the Jerry Sandusky child sexual abuse scandal. (Sandusky was found guilty on 45 of 48 child sex abuse counts and is currently in jail. Paterno was let go and passed away shortly after.)

The abuse that so many children endured at the hands of Paterno's former defensive coordinator, some on the Penn State campus, is what needs to be and is going to be mentioned first any time his name comes up. But for the purposes of this story, it's also important to highlight Paterno's role in the Penn State and Pittsburgh rivalry prior to his downfall.

Paterno was one of, if not the loudest, voices in wanting the Penn State and Pittsburgh series to cease. But prior to that inevitability, he enjoyed much success. His record against Pitt was 23-7-1, which included back-to-back undefeated seasons in 1968-69, and beating Pittsburgh in 1982 and 1986 on the way to winning two national titles. He both was the forefront of the rivalry's rise and the impetus for its fall. Given that he coached so many of the games in the series, it's simply impossible to ignore his impact, for better or worse, on this battle of Pennsylvania.

High: James Conner

And finally, a high that is to come on Saturday is the entrance of James Conner into this storied rivalry. Conner, a standout Pittsburgh running back, battled Hodgkin's lymphoma in the offseason and underwent 12 rounds of chemotherapy in six months. In the Panthers' season opener win over Villanova last weekend, Conner scored twice.

He was named ACC Player of the Year in 2014 after a sophomore season that included breaking records previously set by Dorsett with 24 total touchdowns and 144 total points. Dorsett's 23 total touchdowns and 140 total points had held up for 38 years before Conner came along. Now, Conner is back and ready to tackle the dreams that cancer briefly put on hold.

He said in April on The Ellen Degeneres Show, "Next season will be something to remember forever. I can't wait for it to start. The goal is still the same; it's just a little postponed. Everything is going to work out for the best, I believe it. Hopefully, I can still achieve that dream of the NFL."

Penn State and Pittsburgh have produced many quality NFL players, so Conner is in great company. Regardless of where you stand on this game — on the side of Penn State, Pittsburgh or completely neutral — everybody can claim a roster spot on Team Conner on Saturday and beyond.

Can you name the coaches in college football with the most wins?

Per Sports-Reference, this only includes games played by schools while they were considered major schools and will exclude notable coaches such as Eddie Robinson (408 wins) and John Gagliardi (489 wins)

SCORE:
0/10
TIME:
4:00
409 1966-2011
Joe Paterno
357 1970-2009
Bobby Bowden
323 1945-1982
Bear Bryant
311 1897-1938
Pop Warner
282 1891-1943
Amos Alonzo Stagg
257 1972-2000
LaVell Edwards
255 1973-1997
Tom Osborne
249 1969-2004
Lou Holtz
248 1990-
Nick Saban
245 1985-
Mack Brown

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