Penn State Football Will Play Pitt, Beat Them

Okay, it may be a tad early to predict a winner, but c'mon... it's Pitt.

Penn State and Pittsburgh have finally reached an agreement to pick up their long-standing football rivalry, playing a home-and-home series scheduled to begin in 2016 at Heinz Field. While the two universities have not met on the gridiron since 2000, back in the day it was widely considered one of college football's greatest tug-of-wars.

For most of the previous century, the Nittany Lions and Panthers met annually, but the series has been on hold in recent years largely due to Penn State's insistence on a two-for-one: two games at Happy Valley for every one in Pittsburgh. This is a practice prestigious schools often use as leverage with smaller programs, such as Temple.

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Conspiracy theorists suggest the real reason for the rivalry's absence was a grudge Joe Paterno had with Pitt over not forming an Eastern sports conference several decades ago. With the Big Ten considering further expansion, and Pitt one of the logical schools left to invite, it would make sense to let the feud thaw.

However, the Penn State-Pitt rivalry continued for many years after the failed realignment attempt, so it's possible they were simply trying to muscle the Panthers into a more favorable schedule.

The two will meet again the following September (2017) in Beaver Stadium, a game that will likely be worth the trek back to State College, if for no other reason than the atmosphere. Pitt's athletic director was confident there could be more games in the future. "We're certainly hopeful that we can continue to come up with ways to play."

PSU is 50-42-4 all time versus Pitt. And yeah, they're gonna beat 'em.