College Football: 25 most underappreciated team rivalries of all time

6. Penn State Nittany Lions vs. Pittsburgh Panthers

Once upon a time, the matchup between the Penn State Nittany Lions and the Pittsburgh Panthers was considered the most important rivalry in college football.

These two intrastate foes would often battle with not just in-state bragging rights on the line, but potential national implications as well. The longstanding showdown between these two teams separated by just under 150 miles has lost some of its luster since, but don’t tell that to the fans.

The Nittany Lions and the Panthers first faced off back in 1893 and it was Penn State that established dominance early on. They went 12-3 over the first 15 meetings in the rivalry. However, things have swung wildly in each direction over the years with both Pitt and Penn State going on runs of owning their opponent in this rivalry matchup.

Overall, Penn State holds a slight edge over their rivals, posting a record of 52-43-4 in the history of the rivalry. However, things in the rivalry slowed down a bit in the latter part of the 20th century.

With the Nittany Lions taking their program to the Big Ten and the Panthers entering the Big East and later the ACC, the two teams didn’t meet from 1993 to 1996. Then after meetings in each year from 1997 to 2000, didn’t face off again until the 2016 NCAA season.

Luckily for fans, they’ve met the past three seasons and the 100th clash between these two teams will come in the 2019 NCAA season. As the rivalry is now rejuvenated, the hope is that it will again return to the national spotlight that its long hiatus has, ultimately, taken it out of.