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UNRIVALED? The Nittany Lions have resumed several long-dormant series against Eastern foes. But are they really rivalries? ver since the end of the annual game with Pitt that climaxed their football regular season for decades, the Nittany Lions have been without an opponent that could match the rancor, intensity and competiveness of that enduring intrastate rivalry. Penn State's surprising entry into the Big Ten in 1991 and the subsequent re- shaping of the college football landscape decimated what had been one of the best rivalries in any sport. Because of the proximity of the two schools and the politics of the state government that provides financial support for the edu- cation of their students, Penn State and Pitt will continue to maintain a rivalry on the varsity playing fields and in re- cruiting. Periodic encounters in basket- ball, baseball, wrestling and other sports will continue in the future. How- ever, as long as they are in different con- ferences, the scheduling of football games will be erratic at best, and they'll never again meet as the last game of the regular season. It was that climactic final game of the year where upsets occurred and one team ruined the season or the postsea- son bowl plans of the other that made the Penn State-Pitt games so significant and entertaining. In the heyday of the series, when both teams were national powerhouses, especially the 1920s, '70s and '80s, the games were the equal of such famous rivalries as Michigan-Ohio State, Alabama-Auburn, USC-UCLA and Army-Navy. What continues to make those traditional rivalries so great is that the players, coaches and fans – for the most part – actually dislike each other but also share a grudging respect. Michigan State appeared to be a natu- ral football rival for Penn State when the Lions began competing in the Big Ten in 1993. Both institutions were among the original land grant colleges established by the federal government in collabora- tion with state legislatures in 1862 to ed- ucate students primarily in agriculture and mechanical arts. In 1914, Michigan State became the second intersectional football opponent to play at Beaver Field, following Notre Dame the previous year, with the Spartans victorious, 6-3. The teams played nine more times before 1993, with Penn State winning just once, 13-6, in 1925, tying, 14-14, in 1948 and losing, 42-8, at East Lansing in that last pre-Big Ten era game in 1966, Joe Pa- terno's first year as head coach. Mutual respect Michigan State coach George Perles spearheaded a campaign with Big Ten leaders to schedule Penn State as the school's annual season-ending game, and they agreed, creating a new trophy to hype the apparent magnitude of the matchup. That inaugural conference game at Michigan State 24 years ago was memo- rable and appeared to set the tone for a potential first-rate rivalry. The No. 12 Lions and No. 24 Spartans were battling for a slot in the Citrus Bowl, then the Big Ten's best postseason game after the Rose Bowl. As the 1993 game progressed late in the third quarter, Michigan State led 37-17, and their fans taunted the Lions and their few thousand followers inside Spartan Stadium with jeers and shouts about weak Eastern football. Then, in a five-minute spurt that tran- sitioned into the early fourth quarter, Penn State took a 38-37 lead and ran out the clock for the stunning victory. In 1995 and '96, the rivalry gained mo- mentum with two last-minute victories by Penn State, sending the Lions to Florida bowl games on New Year's Day. The shocking come-from-behind 24-20 win in '95 came down to the last seconds of the game, with wide receiver Bobby Engram breaking tackles for a 4-yard touchdown on an inside screen pass from quarterback Wally Richardson. The following season at Beaver Stadium, the lead changed hands four times and the score was tied twice before Richard- son led an 80-yard drive late in the fourth quarter. The possession drained more than four minutes off the clock and set up a 23-yard field goal by Brett Conway for 32-29 victory. However, as the Lions' domination of the series took hold, with 13 victories and only three defeats from 1993-2009 the rivalry lost its luster. Mocking of the unique, but agreeably ugly Land Grant Trophy by the media and fans became the symbol for the fizzling of the rivalry. Mark Dantonio, the stern-faced Spar- tans coach since 2007, has resuscitated the rivalry in the past four years, and his team's 27-24 upset in the interminable lighting-delayed East Lansing monsoon a few weeks ago is just the type of dev- astating defeat that would normally en- ergize the hostility of a bitter rival. Yet there was hardly an angry word, even on the hateful social media platforms, in the hours and days after the game. E

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