Blue White Illustrated

December 2021

Penn State Sports Magazine

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D E C E M B E R 2 0 2 1 6 3 W W W . B L U E W H I T E O N L I N E . C O M On Nov. 27, 1993, in East Lansing, Penn State rallied back from a 37-14 deficit late in the third quarter to win, 38-37, and earn a berth in the Citrus Bowl, then the Big Ten's second-best bowl game. Rivalries develop over time; they aren't prefabricated. In the three years that followed, Penn State won by scores of 59-31, 24- 20 and 32-29. Then, from 1997 through 2002, the Nittany Lions won four and lost two. With PSU in control, the rivalry lost a bit of its luster. But the Land Grant Trophy somehow became an object of fascination. When the trophy was unveiled, it looked like a monstrosity and was so heavy it took two or more people to lift it. It is diffi- cult to describe, and you have to see it to believe it. A perceptive student writer for The Daily Collegian, Thomas Schlap, offered a perfect description in 2018: "Its middle school woodshop aesthetic has developed a bit of a cult status in the world of college athletics. The trophy is a hulking hunk of wood with a picture of Old Main and Michigan State's Beaumont Tower affixed to the block. Two additional wood platforms are attached, one holding a Lion Shrine replica and the other holding a Spartan statuette. Topping the trophy is a small football player figurine on a platform. Its majestic size requires multiple near-300-pound men to carry." George Perles passed away more than 20 years ago, but his season-ending Michigan State-Penn State rivalry game has been revived this season after a four-year period in which it was not the final scheduled Big Ten game on either team's slate. What galls both teams is that they are treated like little broth- ers by their other foremost conference rivals. Before the Big Ten, Pitt had been Penn State's traditional archrival. Since then, Ohio State has been the No. 1 team in the Lions' crosshairs. That first game in 1912 had an ending so bitter that the teams didn't play again until 1956. Penn State was such a heavy underdog and played so roughly that Ohio State walked off the field with nine minutes to play and the Lions leading 37-0. The rules of the day required the Penn State players to stay on the field for five minutes to win by forfeit. Michigan State's rivalry with Michigan goes back even further — to 1898 and a 39-0 shutout by the Wolverines. Despite the contentious history of those series, Ohio State and Michigan are preoccupied with each other, not with the Nittany Lions and Spartans. Ohio State can lose to Penn State, and Michigan can lose to Michigan State, but by beating their No. 1 rival that year, the winner salvages its season. There's not much Penn State and Michigan State can do about it but win the consolation prize, that ugly and overweight Land Grant Trophy. ■ James Franklin and his team held onto the Land Grant Trophy with a 39-24 victory over Michigan State last December at Beaver Stadium. PHOTO BY STEVE MANUEL

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