Penn State–Pittsburgh football rivalry
   HOME

TheInfoList



OR:

The Penn State–Pittsburgh football rivalry is a long-standing American
college football College football (french: Football universitaire) refers to gridiron football played by teams of student athletes. It was through college football play that American football rules first gained popularity in the United States. Unlike most ...
rivalry A rivalry is the state of two people or groups engaging in a lasting competitive relationship. Rivalry is the "against each other" spirit between two competing sides. The relationship itself may also be called "a rivalry", and each participant ...
between the Penn State Nittany Lions and Pittsburgh Panthers. The game played in 2019 was the 100th edition of the rivalry game. Penn State has not played more games against any other opponent, whereas Pitt has only played more against
West Virginia University West Virginia University (WVU) is a public land-grant research university with its main campus in Morgantown, West Virginia. Its other campuses are those of the West Virginia University Institute of Technology in Beckley, Potomac State College ...
. After the rivalry resumed in 2016, it was branded "The Keystone Classic" with Peoples Natural Gas as its corporate sponsor. A four-game series between Pitt and Penn State ended in 2019 and there is no future game planned. Penn State won 12 of the first 15, but Pitt dominated afterwards, going 21–2–2 (1913–1940). Pitt at one point won 14 straight times (1922–1938). Pitt coach
Jock Sutherland John Bain Sutherland (March 21, 1889 – April 11, 1948) was an American football player and coach. He coached college football at Lafayette College (1919–1923) and the University of Pittsburgh (1924–1938) and professional football for the ...
never lost to Penn State (1924–1938). From 1941 to 1951, the rivalry was much more even, as Pitt went 6–5 against Penn State in that span. From 1952 on, Penn State has dominated, going 34–13–2, including wins in ten of the last twelve games. Former Penn State coach
Joe Paterno Joseph Vincent Paterno (; December 21, 1926 – January 22, 2012), sometimes referred to as JoePa, was an American college football player, athletic director, and coach. He was the head coach of the Penn State Nittany Lions football, Penn ...
went 23–7–1 against Pitt (1966–1992, 1997–2000).


Series history

Once considered one of the most important college football rivalries north of the
Mason–Dixon line The Mason–Dixon line, also called the Mason and Dixon line or Mason's and Dixon's line, is a demarcation line separating four U.S. states, forming part of the borders of Pennsylvania, Maryland, Delaware, and West Virginia (part of Virginia ...
, this intrastate rivalry was deemed the biggest annual game for both schools for a large part of their histories. The game often had regional and national implications with the winner often claiming Eastern college football supremacy and its respective
Lambert-Meadowlands Trophy The Lambert Trophy is an annual award given to the best team in the East in Division I FBS (formerly I-A) college football. In affiliation with the Metropolitan New York Football Writers (founded 1935), the Lambert Trophy was established by brother ...
. The first game was played on November 6, 1893, in State College, PA, with Penn State prevailing 32–0. Penn State won the first six meetings. This was also the first game to be played in Old Beaver Field. Pitt's first victory in the series occurred on November 24, 1904, in Pittsburgh, 22–5. The 1963 game was originally scheduled for Saturday, November 23, but was postponed to December 7 following the
assassination of John F. Kennedy John F. Kennedy, the 35th president of the United States, was assassinated on Friday, November 22, 1963, at 12:30 p.m. CST in Dallas, Texas, while riding in a presidential motorcade through Dealey Plaza. Kennedy was in the vehicle with ...
the day before. The once-beaten Panthers were being touted as a possible Cotton Bowl participant, but the bowl representatives expressed desire to invite Pitt only if they had one loss. With the game postponed until December 7, the Cotton Bowl could not wait. Pitt beat Penn State 22–21, finishing the season 9–1, with no bowl. The 1976 game pitted undefeated Pitt, ranked number one in the nation, against Penn State at Three Rivers Stadium on the night after Thanksgiving, November 26. The score was tied 7–7 at the half. Pitt's coach
Johnny Majors John Terrill Majors (May 21, 1935June 3, 2020) was an American professional football player and college coach. A standout halfback at the University of Tennessee, he was an All-American in 1956 and a two-time winner of the Southeastern Confe ...
moved Tony Dorsett to fullback for the second half, and the Panthers went on to win 24–7, finishing the regular season 11–0, on their way to a
Sugar Bowl The Sugar Bowl is an annual American college football bowl game played in New Orleans, Louisiana. Played annually since January 1, 1935, it is tied with the Orange Bowl and Sun Bowl as the second-oldest bowl games in the country, surpassed onl ...
victory over
Georgia Georgia most commonly refers to: * Georgia (country), a country in the Caucasus region of Eurasia * Georgia (U.S. state), a state in the Southeast United States Georgia may also refer to: Places Historical states and entities * Related to the ...
and their first National Championship in 39 years. The 1981 game was one for the ages. Pitt was once again undefeated at 10–0 and number one in the nation, ready to claim the title, "Beast of the East". The Nittany Lions had other ideas when they came to Pitt Stadium on November 28. The game featured two junior quarterbacks, Dan Marino for Pitt and
Todd Blackledge Todd Alan Blackledge (born February 25, 1961) is a former American football quarterback in both the NCAA and National Football League. In college, he led the Penn State Nittany Lions to a national championship. A member of the famed Class of 19 ...
for Penn State. Pitt went up 14–0 in the first quarter; Penn State tied it at 14 at the half. The second half belonged to Penn State, scoring 34 second-half points while holding the Panthers scoreless. The 48–14 final cost Pitt a chance for its second national title in five years. The 1982 game again featured two of the nation's best teams. Pitt had been ranked preseason #1, but had lost to Notre Dame to enter the game at 9–1. Penn State also entered the game 9–1, having lost only to Alabama. Again, it would be Marino vs. Blackledge in their last regular season game at a windswept Beaver Stadium. Penn State prevailed 19–10 on the strength of one Blackledge touchdown pass to Kenny Jackson, four field goals and a tenacious defense, and was on its way to a Sugar Bowl upset of Georgia, earning its first National Championship. The rivalry began a slow death in the 1990s when both schools left the ranks of college football independents and chose to join different conferences. Penn State accepted an invitation to join the
Big Ten Conference The Big Ten Conference (stylized B1G, formerly the Western Conference and the Big Nine Conference) is the oldest Division I collegiate athletic conference in the United States. Founded as the Intercollegiate Conference of Faculty Representati ...
while Pitt's football program joined the
Big East Conference The Big East Conference is a collegiate athletic conference that competes in NCAA Division I in ten men's sports and twelve women's sports. Headquartered in New York City, the eleven full-member schools are primarily located in Northeast and ...
(who had rejected Penn State's application to join by a single vote in 1982) where the majority of the school's athletic programs already participated. The conference affiliations of the two previously independent football programs resulted in fewer scheduling opportunities. The last game prior to the series hiatus was played at
Three Rivers Stadium Three Rivers Stadium was a multi-purpose stadium located in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, from 1970 to 2000. It was home to the Pittsburgh Pirates of Major League Baseball (MLB) and the Pittsburgh Steelers of the National Football League (NFL). Built ...
in
Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania Pittsburgh ( ) is a city in the Commonwealth (U.S. state), Commonwealth of Pennsylvania, United States, and the county seat of Allegheny County, Pennsylvania, Allegheny County. It is the most populous city in both Allegheny County and Wester ...
, on September 16, 2000, when Pitt shut out Penn State 12–0. The desire of the Penn State Athletic Department to host an unbalanced number of home games (proposing 2–1 and 3–2 series) at Beaver Stadium was a significant factor in not agreeing to renew the series. The basis for this request stemmed from the fact that of the 96 games played by the two teams at the time, only 23 occurred in Happy Valley. During the years the rivalry was dormant, both schools went through a major transformation. At Pitt, the school's basketball program became more prominent at the expense of the football team, seen most notably by the placement of the
Petersen Events Center The Petersen Events Center (more commonly known as "The Pete") is a 12,508-seat multi-purpose arena on the campus of the University of Pittsburgh in the Oakland neighborhood. The arena is named for philanthropists John Petersen and his wife Ge ...
in the footprint of old Pitt Stadium. While the football team's attendance remained comparable after moving to
Heinz Field Acrisure Stadium is a football stadium located in the North Shore neighborhood of Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, United States. It primarily serves as the home of the Pittsburgh Steelers of the National Football League (NFL) and the Pittsburgh Panth ...
in 2001 (almost 45,500 at Pitt Stadium in its final years and almost 42,000 at Heinz Field), it often appears empty due to the venue's much higher capacity (56,500 at Pitt Stadium and 68,400 at Heinz Field). This became more pronounced after Pitt joined the
Atlantic Coast Conference The Atlantic Coast Conference (ACC) is a collegiate athletic conference located in the eastern United States. Headquartered in Greensboro, North Carolina, the ACC's fifteen member universities compete in the National Collegiate Athletic Associa ...
and especially after
West Virginia University West Virginia University (WVU) is a public land-grant research university with its main campus in Morgantown, West Virginia. Its other campuses are those of the West Virginia University Institute of Technology in Beckley, Potomac State College ...
joined the
Big 12 Conference The Big 12 Conference is a college athletic conference headquartered in Irving, Texas, USA. It consists of ten full-member universities. It is a member of Division I of the National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA) for all sports. Its ...
, also putting the Backyard Brawl on hold. Since moving to Heinz Field, years Pitt hosted the Backyard Brawl were among the few times Pitt filled Heinz Field, mostly due to the influx of WVU fans making the 70-mile trip up Interstate 79 from
Morgantown, West Virginia Morgantown is a city in and the county seat of Monongalia County, West Virginia, Monongalia County, West Virginia, United States, situated along the Monongahela River. The largest city in North-Central West Virginia, Morgantown is best known as th ...
and other parts of the state in addition to the large amount of WVU alumni in
Western Pennsylvania Western Pennsylvania is a region in the U.S. state of Pennsylvania, covering the western third of the state. Pittsburgh is the region's principal city, with a metropolitan area population of about 2.4 million people, and serves as its economic ...
. Meanwhile, the
Penn State child sex abuse scandal The Penn State child sex abuse scandal concerned allegations and subsequent convictions of child sexual abuse committed by Jerry Sandusky, an assistant coach for the Penn State Nittany Lions football team, over a period of at least fifteen years ...
was made public, leading to Pitt fans to chant "Joe Knew" as a reference to longtime head coach
Joe Paterno Joseph Vincent Paterno (; December 21, 1926 – January 22, 2012), sometimes referred to as JoePa, was an American college football player, athletic director, and coach. He was the head coach of the Penn State Nittany Lions football, Penn ...
allegedly knowing about the allegations but not reporting it to police. This, as well as other general insults, has gained some controversy among sports fans, including Pitt students and alumni. The rivalry was renewed after 16 years of dormancy for the 2016 season under the Keystone Classic moniker. This game was the first of a four-game series from 2016–19, with the teams playing at
Heinz Field Acrisure Stadium is a football stadium located in the North Shore neighborhood of Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, United States. It primarily serves as the home of the Pittsburgh Steelers of the National Football League (NFL) and the Pittsburgh Panth ...
in Pittsburgh in 2016 and 2018, while battling at
Beaver Stadium Beaver Stadium is an outdoor college football stadium on the campus of Pennsylvania State University in University Park, Pennsylvania. It has been home to the Penn State Nittany Lions of the Big Ten Conference since 1960, though some parts of ...
in State College in 2017 and 2019. In 2016, Pitt went up 28–7 during the second quarter. Penn State rallied back during the second half, but was still down 42–39 late in the fourth quarter. In the final minutes, the Nittany Lions drove the ball almost within field goal range before going for a deep pass in the end zone. Quarterback
Trace McSorley Richard Thomas "Trace" McSorley III (born August 23, 1995) is an American football quarterback for the Arizona Cardinals of the National Football League (NFL). He played college football at Penn State, and was drafted by the Baltimore Ravens ...
's pass was intercepted, effectively ending the game. The loss was cited as a key reason the Nittany Lions failed to make the
College Football Playoff The College Football Playoff (CFP) is an annual postseason knockout invitational tournament to determine a national champion for the National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA) Division I Football Bowl Subdivision (FBS), the highest level ...
. This game became the largest attended sporting event in the history of the city of Pittsburgh. In 2017, Penn State won by a score of 33–14. After going up early off the back of an opening-drive interception, the Nittany Lions never surrendered the lead. The recorded attendance was 109,898, the 10th-largest (seventh-largest at that time) ever at Beaver Stadium and the largest since 2009. This was also the largest crowd to ever attend a game in the series. The renewal has been highly successful, showcasing competitive games and setting major attendance records in its first two years. In late April 2018, Pitt athletic director,
Heather Lyke Heather Lyke is the athletic director at the University of Pittsburgh. She was previously the athletic director and vice president at Eastern Michigan University, and has also served in administrative roles at Ohio State University and the Univer ...
, was reported to have sent a proposal to her Penn State counterpart, Sandy Barbour, regarding a four-game series renewal in 2026. This would come after much discussion between both universities and athletic directors. As the Nittany Lions have yet to fill their non-conference Power Five slot for that season, this would be the first opportunity for the two to play again. However, a couple weeks later in May, Barbour stated that she had yet to sign the proposal, calling non-conference scheduling a “complicated puzzle.” Because of the Big Ten's nine conference games requirement, Penn State has a smaller degree of flexibility for scheduling compared to Pitt, as the ACC only has an eight conference game schedule. Barbour went on to say that both she and Lyke had agreed that the universities were unlikely to do something presently and that they were looking at post-2030 for a series renewal. The 2018 game in Pittsburgh had long been rumored to be a nationally televised, prime time, night game. This was further supported when the
Pittsburgh Pirates The Pittsburgh Pirates are an American professional baseball team based in Pittsburgh. The Pirates compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the National League (NL) Central division. Founded as part of the American Associati ...
of the
MLB Major League Baseball (MLB) is a professional baseball organization and the oldest major professional sports league in the world. MLB is composed of 30 total teams, divided equally between the National League (NL) and the American League (AL), ...
changed the start time of their game at
PNC Park PNC Park is a baseball stadium on the North Shore of Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania. It is the fifth home of the Pittsburgh Pirates of Major League Baseball (MLB). It was opened during the 2001 MLB season, after the controlled implosion of the Pira ...
on September 8 from 7:05 p.m. to 1:05 p.m. On May 16, Pitt and Penn State announced that the game would officially be played at night. In the rain and wind caused by the wake of
Tropical Storm Gordon The name Gordon has been used for ten tropical cyclones worldwide. In the Atlantic Ocean, Gordon has been used five times since 1988, when it replaced the name Gilbert on the list of hurricane names: * Hurricane Gordon (1994) – killed 1,122 in H ...
, Penn State prevailed 51–6. This was the first night game in the series since 1987. In a game only fitting for their 100th meeting, Pitt and Penn State exchanged scores in the first half after a delay due to severe weather. After the Nittany Lions struck first with a touchdown in the first quarter, the Panthers answered with ten points in the second. In the waning seconds of the half, Penn State drove the ball into enemy territory and within field goal range. However, a sack by Pitt moved them back considerably to bring up fourth and long. With little chance of converting, the Nittany Lions elected to attempt a school record 57-yard field goal. Kicker Jordan Stout punched it through the middle of the uprights to tie the game going into halftime, breaking the record. The second half was marked with both big offensive breaks and strong defensive stands. Penn State notched the sole score of the third quarter to go up 17-10. However, after converting on multiple fourth downs and third and longs, the Panthers threatened to tie the game up late in the fourth quarter. With less than six and a half minutes remaining in the game, Pitt converted on 2nd and 19 to get the ball to the Penn State 1 yardline, almost scoring in the process. The Nittany Lions would hold the line and force 4th and 1 with less than five minutes left in the game. Pitt's head coach,
Pat Narduzzi Patrick Regan Narduzzi (born April 22, 1966) is an American football coach and former player. He is the head coach at the University of Pittsburgh. He was formerly the defensive coordinator at Michigan State. He attended Youngstown State Universit ...
, controversially elected to attempt a 19-yard field goal. Kicker
Alex Kessman Alex Thomas Kessman (born January 2, 1998) is an American football placekicker for the Memphis Showboats of the United States Football League (USFL). Career He played college football for the Pittsburgh Panthers. He set the NCAA record for most ...
, who had set a school record four 50+ yard field goals the season prior, kicked the ball off the left upright of the goalpost. The Panther's defense would hold up the Nittany Lions on the ensuing drive once again, forcing them to punt and giving their offense one last chance to score. After starting on their own 16 yardline, Pitt drove the ball deep into enemy territory. After gaining a first down in the last few seconds, there was confusion over the game clock, which failed to stop for the ball to be set after the conversion. The clock would run out to 0, leading the Nittany Lions and most of Beaver Stadium to think the game was over. The officials were then forced to clear the teams off the field and back onto the sidelines, announcing the error over the speakers and asking for five seconds back on the clock. This would become six seconds, and later nine, after further review, leaving a confused crowd on the edge of their seats for one last play in regulation. Kenny Pickett's pass would fall incomplete, ending the game and the renewed series (for the time being) with a 17-10 Penn State victory. As a result of the SEC's acquisition of
Big 12 The Big 12 Conference is a college athletic conference headquartered in Irving, Texas, USA. It consists of ten full-member universities. It is a member of Division I of the National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA) for all sports. Its f ...
stalwarts
Texas Texas (, ; Spanish language, Spanish: ''Texas'', ''Tejas'') is a state in the South Central United States, South Central region of the United States. At 268,596 square miles (695,662 km2), and with more than 29.1 million residents in 2 ...
and
Oklahoma Oklahoma (; Choctaw language, Choctaw: ; chr, ᎣᎧᎳᎰᎹ, ''Okalahoma'' ) is a U.S. state, state in the South Central United States, South Central region of the United States, bordered by Texas on the south and west, Kansas on the nor ...
, the ACC, Big Ten, and
Pac-12 The Pac-12 Conference is a collegiate List of NCAA conferences, athletic conference, that operates in the Western United States, participating in 24 sports at the NCAA Division I level. Its College football, football teams compete in the NCAA D ...
announced an alliance between their conferences. Part of this agreement was the inclusion of a scheduling regiment between the member conferences to increase the number of games they each play against each other, complete with its own scheduling committee (of which Penn State Athletic Director, Sandy Barbour, is a member). As a result, there is renewed hope that the series will start up again sooner rather than later. However, there are several hurdles that first need to be overcome before this becomes a reality, chief among them being the different number of conference games the Big Ten (9 games) and ACC (8 games) play as well as honoring the current scheduling commitments the 41 members of the Alliance already have in place, including ACC members Clemson,
Florida State Florida State University (FSU) is a public university, public research university in Tallahassee, Florida. It is a senior member of the State University System of Florida. Founded in 1851, it is located on the oldest continuous site of higher e ...
,
Georgia Tech The Georgia Institute of Technology, commonly referred to as Georgia Tech or, in the state of Georgia, as Tech or The Institute, is a public research university and institute of technology in Atlanta, Georgia. Established in 1885, it is part of ...
and
Louisville Louisville ( , , ) is the largest city in the Commonwealth of Kentucky and the 28th most-populous city in the United States. Louisville is the historical seat and, since 2003, the nominal seat of Jefferson County, on the Indiana border. ...
having commitments to November games vs. in-state SEC opponents, plus the ACC's agreement to schedule five games vs. Notre Dame each season. Should the Pac-12 move to an 8 game format, as they are rumored to do as a result of the agreement, the Big Ten could follow suit in the near future for uniform scheduling. Realistically, the scheduling regiment is still a few years from taking effect, keeping the paused series in the same place for the time being.


Game results


See also

*
List of NCAA college football rivalry games This is a list of rivalry games in college football in the United States. The list also shows any trophy awarded to the winner of the rivalry between the teams. NCAA Division I Football Bowl Subdivision ...
*
List of most-played college football series in NCAA Division I This is a list of the most-played college football series in NCAA Division I. The Lehigh–Lafayette rivalry, known as "The Rivalry," is the most-played in Division I at 157 games. Lehigh and Lafayette are members of the Football Championship Su ...


References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Penn State-Pittsburgh football rivalry College football rivalries in the United States Penn State Nittany Lions football Pittsburgh Panthers football 1893 establishments in Pennsylvania