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the president of Youngstown Sheet and Tube," Prato said. "He it arranged with John Galbreath, who was a big horse racing guy and was also co-owner of the Pittsburgh Pirates and an Ohio State grad. They were buddies, and they decided it was time for those teams to play again. So Penn State goes out there, and Ohio State is a three-touchdown favorite, and we beat them, 7-6. " They went on to play each other periodically for the next three decades before Penn State's entry into the Big Ten turned the two teams into annual rivals. They will continue to meet each other every year after the league scraps the Leaders and Legends divisions next season in favor of an East-West split. O'Brien said that while he understands "the rivalry thing, he doesn't prioritize " one game over another. "I think everybody is a rival, because everybody comes on the football field and wants to beat you and you want to beat them, he said. "So " that's a rival. I think the other thing that defines a rival is a balanced series, a series where it's maybe split half and half. They've won half, you've won half. That's a rival. "But I also know that I have a tremendous amount of respect, too, for the teams in the Big Ten, and I think all of the teams in the Big Ten are very well coached, good football teams. So I think any time we take the field, we respect them all, and they're all rivals. " Technically, the Penn State-Ohio State series roughly fits O'Brien's 50-50 criteria, as the Buckeyes hold a narrow 16-13 edge all-time. But since joining the Big Ten, Penn State is only 7-14 against Ohio State. And its winning percentage drops precipitously when you throw out the games at Beaver Stadium. The Nittany Lions are 2-9 in the Horseshoe since 1993, and their 49-point loss in Columbus earlier this year was a mauling of historic proportions. Not since a 64-5 loss to the Duquesne Athletic Club in 1899 had the Lions been manhandled quite so thoroughly. But even in the midst of an evening that most Penn Staters will no doubt try very hard to forget in the off-season, there were some moments that will surely be remembered. Ohio State coach Urban Meyer spiced things up a bit by calling for a review of the spot on a fourth-andshort play by Penn State with the Buckeyes leading 56-7 in the fourth quarter. The Nittany Lions didn't fume publicly about Meyer's decision – "It's sports; you gotta expect that, linebacker Mike Hull said – " but you can bet that fans and reporters will bring it up next October in anticipation of the Buckeyes' trip to Beaver Stadium, especially since the officiating crew ended up spotting the ball short, ending Penn State's drive and making a dismal loss just a little bit more painful. Meyer has brought a lot of pain to the rest of the Big Ten, thanks in large part to the Southeastern Conference mentality he brought with him. Most notably, he has caught flak for ignoring the gentlemen's agreements that used to prevent coaches from going after each other's verbally committed recruits. It's an all's-fair approach, and it hasn't endeared him others in the league. When Iowa coach Kirk Ferentz was asked point blank earlier this season about his interactions with Meyer at Big Ten meetings and media day events, he expressed the requisite level of respect for the two-time national champion's accomplishments while making it clear that theirs is not an especially friendly relationship. "I guess I'm not a guy who is looking for friends right now," Ferentz said. "I have friends in my personal life. We don't have a dog. Might consider that. "It's been cordial with everybody in our conference, he added. "I can't think of " anybody who hasn't been cordial. I've got a lot of respect and admiration for all my colleagues in the league. It's pretty much the same way with Coach Meyer, certainly. " On game day, personal grudges and motivational ploys matter a lot less than players' size, speed and preparation. Given the chasm that has opened up between Ohio State and the rest of the conference – Meyer was 13-0 against Big Ten foes as of this writing – intangibles seem less significant than ever. For the foreseeable future, opponents will have their hands full dealing with Ohio State's tangibles. As O'Brien said after the Nittany Lions' blowout loss, "They've got a helluva football team. " THE ROAD AHEAD But while Ohio State is the measuring stick that Penn State must use if it's going to rebuild itself back into an elite program, there are some who say the Nittany Lions' true rival will always be Pitt. The Panthers and Lions may have gone their separate ways, the former to the Atlantic Coast Conference and the latter to the Big Ten. Moreover, when they do play each other – a four-game series is set to begin in 2016 – the games take place in September, not in November, when the stakes are higher. But to hear longtime fans tell it, these two programs belong together. They've got competitive balance (Penn State leads 50-44-4). They've got geographic proximity (the two campuses are 135 miles apart). They've got historical grudges (Pitt helped scuttle Joe Paterno's dream of an Eastern all-sports conference). And there's a genuine feeling of antagonism between their fans, which Penn State grads attribute to Pitt's inferiority complex, and Pitt fans attribute to Penn Staters' arrogance. "If Pitt had come into the Big Ten, we would consider that our big rivalry, Prato " said. "I think Penn State fans consider Ohio State a bigger rival than Michigan, but we have no natural rival anymore. And I think fans miss that." Whether they miss it or not, Penn State's rivalry against the Panthers is unlikely to ever be resumed on an annual basis. When the Big Ten finally expanded into the East, it bypassed Pitt in favor of Rutgers and Maryland. The next round of expansion – if there is one – is more likely to extend the league's reach into a contiguous state such as Missouri or Virginia than to consolidate its position in a state where it already has a strong presence. And with the Big Ten getting set to launch a ninegame conference schedule in 2016, there soon will be only three nonconference slots in Penn State's slate, further diminishing the chances of an annual game against the Panthers.

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