Intense rivalries are at the core of of what makes college football uniquely special. They’re the dates on the locker room calendar that are marked boldly in red from being circled and re-circled. They’re the games that produce the most memorable plays and finishes. And they’re the ones in which a down year never compromises fans’, players’ and coaches’ desires to win. Simply put fans are cheated when rivalry games are put on hold.

Penn State and Pittsburgh have played The Pennsylvania Classic, the fiercest football rivalry in the north east, 96 times since 1893.  The last game was played in 2000 with Pitt winning 12-0. The details why the series hasn’t been renewed are murky. On the surface money is the stumbling block. Since they’re the bigger draw Penn State is insistent that they get an extra home game.

“Financially, we have to have seven home games,” Paterno said. “Now, if Pitt would say tomorrow that we’ll play twice up at your place and once down here … The last time we came to Pitt, they charged more money for our game than any other game.”

Pitt is never going to accept those terms and their athletic director Steve Pederson said as much at a booster event last weekend.

“Like all other great programs, we’ve always played people straight up,” Pederson said. “Home-and-home series’ are always great for us, like we have with Notre Dame, that’s kind of the method under which we’re interested in playing anybody.”

Even if Paterno’s dollars argument is legitimate (it doesn’t make sense to us) it will never fly with Pittsburgh fans. If Pittsburgh agreed to an uneven series they would be admitting Penn State football is superior and castrating any bragging rights they have. JoePa has put a stranglehold on the series being renewed and that’s just the way he wants it.

When Pitt Football joined the Big East in 1991 it ended any chance of Joe Paterno forming his Eastern super conference. Two years later Penn State joined the Big Ten and the rest is history. While he hasn’t come out and said so the writing is on the wall that JoePa is still holding a grudge.  Maybe Paterno is still salty because deep down he knows pushing changes such as replay and expansion across the commissioner’s desk would have been much easier if his picture was hanging on the wall.  Whatever the reason may be Panthers, Lions and fans of college football are being deprived of something special.

A look from the other side [The Sentinel Online]

Paterno still recovering from injury [Pittsburgh Post-Gazette]

Cook: Pitt-Penn State series is bigger than Paterno [Pittsburgh Post-Gazette]