Pitt HC Pat Narduzzi Wants Penn State Rivalry Back

Pitt Panthers head coach Pat Narduzzi called out Penn State for their unwillingness to play the Keystone Classic.

Sep 10, 2016; Pittsburgh, PA, USA; Pittsburgh Panthers head coach Pat Narduzzi (L) and Penn State Nittany Lions head coach James Franklin (R) talk at mid-field before their teams play at Heinz Field. Mandatory Credit: Charles LeClaire-USA TODAY Sports / Charles LeClaire-USA TODAY Sports

PITTSBURGH -- Pitt Panthers head coach Pat Narduzzi called out Penn State for their unwillingness to bring back the famous rivalry, known as the Keystone Classic.

Narduzzi responded to a question during ACC Kickoff Media Days in Charlotte, N.C. about the state of the Backyard Brawl and chose to, surprisingly, extend his answer about what rivalries mean to him.

"It's great to have that rivalry back," Narduzzi said about the rivalry with West Virginia. "In Pittsburgh, we embrace rivalries. We'd love to play Penn State, if they would play us. If they won't play us, we'd love to play West Virginia as many times as we can play them."

Pitt recently played Penn State in 2016-19, with Pitt winning the first matchup and Penn State winning the final three.

The schools haven't scheduled another game in football, as there are differences in understanding about the rivalry going forward.

Penn State head coach James Franklin, after defeating Pitt in 2017, described Pitt's win over them in 2016 as "their super bowl" and that beating Pitt was like, "beating Akron."

Nittany Lions fans view Pitt as an unimportant rival, looking at schools like Ohio State, who they haven't beaten in 2016 and lost 10 of their last 11 meetings too, and Michigan, who they've only beaten three times since 2014.

Narduzzi has said on numerous occassions that he wants to play the Keystone Classic, but Penn State clearly isn't interested in returning the rivalry.

Both teams wouldn't have the chance to play again until at least the 2028 season, as both teams have a game/games available in their schedule, but it's unlikely they will play.

The Pitt-Penn State series served as one of the fiercest rivalries in college football throughout the 20th century, with the teams playing consectuively from 1900-31, 1935-92 and 1997-2000.

Issues with the rivalry began in the 1980s, when both teams were still two of the best in the sport, playing as independents.

Penn State head coach Joe Paterno wanted to create an Eastern Sports conference that would include schools like Pitt, Penn State, Syracuse, Boston College, West Virginia and Temple. The schools would not only share location and athletics, but also academics.

The schools chose to go against Paterno's desiers, with Syracuse and Boston College joining the Big East in 1979 and Pitt joining three years later in basketball. The Big East added football in 1991, which Pitt would join and Penn State joined the Big Ten in 1993.

Many people believe that Paterno held a grudge against Pitt for not joining his conference and led to the rivalry being on hold from 1993 to 1996. 

Paterno also wanted two home games to Pitt's one, since the series used to have more games in Pittsburgh, the old Pitt Stadium used to have greater capacity than PSU’s Beaver Stadium.

Pitt wanted to continue the home-and-away structure, but Penn State thought otherwise, keeping the rivalry dormant for the next 16 years.

The College Football Playoff expanding to 12 teams may help the rivalry come back, as teams don't have to finish with a perfect record to make it.

Pitt defeated Penn State in 2016, but Penn State would win the Big Ten. Since they finished 11-2, with a loss to Pitt, Ohio State, who they defeated, made it into the College Football Playoff with an 11-1 record.

This reinforced the idea that playing easier teams and finishing with a better record is more important than playing rivals and tougher teams in the non-confernece. This is why Penn State has Temple and Syracuse as future home-and-away opponents and not Pitt.

Pitt and West Virginia will continue to play each other, finishing out the first four year series, which ends in 2025, and then starting the next one in 2029 through 2032.

Despite the lack of football rivalry, Pitt and Penn State play each other in a number of other sports.

Pitt hosts Penn State at the Petersen Events Center on Sept. 18 for volleyball, which will likely come on national television, men's soccer will play away at University Park, as they hosted the Keystone Classic last season, and both baseball and softball compete against each other.

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