Some feel Penn State doesn’t need to play Pitt.
For others, Penn State is scared to play Pitt.
Both are right.
The Pitt-Penn State rivalry is alive and well in some sports. Volleyball is probably the No. 1 example. Penn State has one of America’s best volleyball traditions and just added to it with a national title. Pitt has made the Final Four four years in a row.
Pop the Champagne: Penn State Volleyball Wins 8th National Title
Another thing— and this is very important— is that the two teams actually play each other.
The football programs haven’t played each other annually in more than 30 years and have only played five times since the turn of the millennium. It’s created one of the more polarizing topics for fans of each program.
There are Penn State fans who feel that playing Pitt would be a waste of time.
There are Pitt fans who feel Penn State is scared.
There are Penn State fans who want the game to be played.
There are Pitt fans who are tired of the topic and want to focus on other rivalry games.
There are fans on each side who pretend not to care about the rivalry but would secretly love to see it return.
If I had to bet (and luckily I don’t, because I stun at gambling), I’d guess that the two biggest groups are the Penn State fans who feel Pitt is beneath them and the Pitt fans who feel Penn State is scared.
So who is right?
Well, both groups are.
WHY PENN STATE DOESN’T NEED PITT
Photo by Matt Lynch, Nittany Sports Now
James Franklin has been very clear.
He does not what his program to have marquee non-conference matchups.
After Penn State played Auburn in Alabama three seasons ago, Franklin pretty much laid out his entire train of thought when it comes to out of conference scheduling.
“There’s a reason that (Penn State-Auburn) is like one of the only (Big Ten-SEC) games that’s been scheduled in the history of the Big Ten,” Franklin said. “All the data, all the analytics show you have to do whatever you can to win your conference. To win your conference.”
Although Franklin was talking specifically about the SEC here, it also applies to other three power conferences.
Whether people agree or not, Franklin is clear in his stance: Avoid teams that are a threat.
This year’s OOC slate: Nevada, FIU and Villanova, is the finest example of Franklin’s dream coming to life.
So is Franklin right?
To me, there’s two logical ways for Penn State to go about this.
Option 1: Penn State uses its three non-conference dates to schedule cupcakes
Option 2: Penn State does what Ohio State and Texas are doing Aug. 30 and opens the season against a fellow national championship contender.
Playing Pitt wouldn’t meet the criteria for either option, and Franklin gets this.
When fans on both sides argue for Pitt to play Penn State, their reasons are usually the same.
“It’d be so fun for the state!”
“It’s better than playing Villanova!”
“They played every year back in my day!”
All of these are reasons why the fans would benefit from Pitt-Penn State coming back.
None of them are reasons why the teams themselves would benefit.
How many players on Penn State’s current roster care about Pitt, and vice versa?
If somebody asked Drew Allar what “48-14” meant, would the Medina, Ohio, native who grew up rooting for the Buckeyes know?
Would Kaytron Allen, who grew up in Virginia, know about the feud between Joe Paterno and Jackie Sherrill?
Could anybody picture A.J. Harris watching highlights of old Pitt-PSU clashes when he was growing up in Alabama?
The same could be said for a lot of Pitt players, too. Since Pat Narduzzi took over as coach a decade ago, the program has emphasized acquiring talent from out of state, which has helped Penn State get more players from Western PA.
So although Pitt players would love to play Penn State, would they love it for the rivalry or for the chance to take out a top-five program?
On the Penn State side, if Franklin gave his players the option of reviving Pitt rivalry or starting a series with a team like Alabama, Clemson, Georgia or Texas, what do you think they’d pick?
I think I know the answer.
My colleague and friend Kyle Golik wrote a column detailing why Pitt and Penn State should play.
This column stemmed from Narduzzi’s latest “I don’t know why they don’t play us” comments.
“That Penn State/Pitt one, which we’re still trying to figure out why we don’t play that game still,” Narduzzi said on 93.7 The Fan in Pittsburgh Friday. “We should be playing West Virginia and Penn State every single year and I’ll go on record as saying I’m ready to go right now. Let’s line it up.”
The last time Narduzzi made a similar comment was at ACC Media Days last July.
“We’d love to play Penn State if they would play us,” he said.
The next day, Franklin spoke at Big Ten Media Days for around 40 minutes.
Not one reporter asked him to respond to Narduzzi’s comments.
This makes it fair to wonder: How big a deal is this rivalry outside of Pittsburgh? To me, it isn’t, and that might be part of why Penn State is avoiding Pitt.
WHY PSU IS SCARED
Pitt fans who say Penn State is scared to play Pitt are right.
The reason PSU’s non-conference slate is cupcake city this season is because none of those three teams have a chance to win.
Pitt would have a chance, and Franklin knows that.
Crazy things happen in college football, and Franklin has emphasized this point in many a press conference. Penn State being consistently in the top 10 and Pitt being perpetually decent means that Penn State would gain nothing by winning and lose a ton by not winning.
So, yes, Penn State is scared. But not scared in the sense that Franklin wouldn’t be confident in his team to beat Pitt. When Franklin made it clear that he didn’t want to play SEC teams, it was after beating Auburn by 29 in its house.
In the Franklin era, Penn State has played eight games against schools from other Power 4 conferences and won seven.
Although it must be said that that one loss was to Pitt in 2016, the idea that Franklin wouldn’t like his team’s chances against Narduzzi’s is preposterous.
With that said, why take the risk?
If Penn State is up by, say, 38 points on Nevada early in the third quarter Week 1, Franklin would probably be wise to take Allar out of the game.
Would the odds be good for Allar to play the rest of the way without getting hurt? Sure.
But would it possible for Allar to get hurt?
Absolutely.
Would it be dumb for Franklin to risk it?
Yes.
It’s a similar type of deal with Pitt.
Penn State would probably win if it played Pitt.
But there’s no reward in that, and the risk of losing is too great to take.
The side that wants this rivalry to come back the most is the only side that has something to gain from it.
