Blue White Illustrated

have less consequence for either team because it would not affect their league standings and, for the most part, their postseason bowl participation." I still believe the bitterness of a last game dissipates significantly when the game is played early in the season. But my last sentence no longer matters in this new age of the Power Five confer- ences and the championship playoff. A win or loss for either team outside its conference still could affect a postsea- son bowl game, conference prestige and even the final playoff rankings. My second justification for opposing the series concerned bragging rights and recruiting. I downplayed the obvious, that "the winner would get bragging rights and maybe, just maybe, an edge up on recruiting in western and central Pennsylvania for a year." And I scoffed at that recruiting thesis because "recruit- ing has changed dramatically since Penn State went into the Big Ten. Western Pennsylvania is no longer the province of Penn State, Pitt and West Virginia that it once was… and both Penn State and Pitt now recruit all over the country." Recruiting has changed even more dramatically since I wrote those words. I now believe an annual Pitt-Penn State game would help both teams in what has become a more vehement, dog-eat-dog, skirt-the-rules-however-you-can type of nationwide recruiting that is now the standard in college football In fact, in the two years since the hir- ing of James Franklin at Penn State and Narduzzi at Pitt, the recruiting battle between the teams has become more spirited, reminding me of the open war- fare and antagonism during the Pater- no-Jackie Sherrill feud in the mid- 1980s. Narduzzi has accepted Franklin's boast about owning the state in recruit- ing, with the head coaches and some assistants exchanging subtle barbs. With more than three months left be- fore the series resumes, one can expect even more salvos from both sides. It could get even nastier during and after the game. My friend Mike Poorman of StateCol- lege.com believes this game "is the first truly must-win game of the Franklin era. … No loss of any variety by Penn State in 2016 would sting as much as a defeat at Heinz." With Penn State still feeling the rever- berations from the NCAA's sanctions of 2012 and Pitt already installed as an ear- ly nine-point favorite by the gambling world, a Penn Sate win might just sting Pitt even more. See Penn State's Franklin-created slogan "Unrivaled." Frankly, I think few college football fans outside the region are going to care when the teams play at Heinz Field on Sept. 10. But that's just the start. To make this ri- valry work on an annual basis and regain the influence and prestige the game once had nationally, both teams have to be perennial winners with rankings and ma- jor bowl games as part of the mix. Not every year is necessary but consistently. I'm not going to get into the old sched- ule bugaboo, with one school or the oth- er wanting more games at their own sta- dium. That argument dates back to the early 1900s and it doesn't work any- more. Nor do I care if each school jacks up its ticket prices when the game is played on its home turf. As we say, tit- for-tat. Yes, I know it may be more diffi- cult to blackmail the Pitt fans with sell- outs at Beaver Stadium compared to the Mojave Desert emptiness one some- times sees at Heinz Field. But I am sure Penn State's resourceful athletic depart- ment hierarchy can find a way. Pitt's money can help upgrade those inferior Beaver Stadium restrooms too. There is still one final caveat to my ad- vocating for a resumption of the series annually. I still detest the Pitt fight song because it once included the gross chant of "Penn State Sucks!" Pitt officials said in October 2001 that this vulgar and dis- respectful refrain has been officially eliminated from the song. We'll find out in September. So, if we hear it again then, I propose that when Penn State fans sing the Nit- tany Lions' more worthy and noble fight song, we end it with those glorious words: "Go to Hell, Pitt!" Nah, Penn State has always had more class than Pitt. Just needling, Beano and E.J., just needling. ■ A new Penn State football book by Lou Prato with a forward by Adam Taliaferro The Remarkable Journey of the 2012 Nittany Lions Price: $14.95 plus shipping Published by Triumph Books (soft cover) Autographed copies available via louprato@comcast.net or through Lou Prato & Associates at 814-954-5171 Autographed copies of Lou's book We Are Penn State: The Remarkable Journey of the 2012 Nittany Lions are still available via louprato@comcast.net or through Lou Prato & Associates at 814-954-5171. Price: $19.95 plus tax where applicable and shipping

• Cover