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Penn State and Pitt haven’t met on the gridiron since 2019 and seemingly have no plans to revive the rivalry in the near future, and Pat Narduzzi wasn’t shy about calling out the Nittany Lions for declining to do so in a recent interview.
It’s been more than 130 years since Penn State welcomed the Pitt Panthers to State College for an inaugural showdown where the home team walked away with a 32-0 victory all the way back in 1893.
That marked the start of a storied string of in-state battles that officially reached triple-digits when the two schools (which are located around 225 miles apart) met for the 100th time in 2019.
That contest (which Penn State won 17-10) was the last in a four-game series that kicked off in 2016 to resurrect a rivalry that had laid dormant since the start of the millennium, and as things currently stand, the Nittany Lions have an edge thanks to their 53–43–4 all-time record.
It’s a bit hard to blame Penn State for prioritizing other teams over Pitt as it looks to secure its first national championship since 1986, as the Panthers (who finished with a 3-9 record last season) aren’t exactly the top choice for any program looking to boost its strength of schedule.
On Tuesday, Pat Narduzzi (who’s posted a 65-50 record at Pitt since taking over in 2015) got the chance to address the current state of a rivalry that is also inextricably linked to West Virginia, which rounds out the trio of teams that compete for the Old Ironsides trophy that’s currently in Penn State’s possession.
Narduzzi said he looks forward to the Backyard Brawl with the Mountaineers before addressing the state of the lapsed Penn State rivalry while acknowledging there’s only so much he can do to revive it.
Pat Narduzzi says Pitt loves having the West Virginia rivalry on the schedule. Says Pitt would love to play Penn State too “if they’d play us. They won’t play us.”
— Amanda Godsey (@AmandaFGodsey) July 23, 2024
As much as I’d love to frame that comment as Narduzzi calling out Penn State for ducking Pitt, it’s pretty safe to assume he’s very aware the reason it’s not happening is because the Panthers currently aren’t even close to sniffing the level of talent their foe boasts.
With that said, I genuinely wish him the best of luck in turning things around in Pittsburgh, as there’s nothing like a rivalry game between two truly competitive teams.