Penn State's James Franklin beat Pitt, then compared the poor Panthers to lil ol Akron
A cold, hard rivalry burn.
No. 4 Penn State beat Pitt on Saturday, 33-14. It was payback for last year’s meeting between the teams, their first in 16 years, which ended with Pitt winning. Penn State finished one spot out of the Playoff because it had two losses.
This, by PSU coach James Franklin, is a shot fired:
James Franklin: "I know last year beating us for them was like the Super Bowl. This was just like beating Akron for us."
— Ben Jones (@Ben_Jones88) September 9, 2017
Franklin’s quote is in line with how Penn State fans have long talked about Pitt:
“Let’s say Penn State is [the favorite], and they lose. I mean, they’re gonna be dancing in the streets down in Forbes Avenue and Shadyside, and outside the Pitt Cathedral, they’re gonna be so happy that they beat Penn twice in a row, and dadadadada,” says Lou Prato, a PSU historian. “If Penn State beats Pitt, they’re gonna say, ‘Eh, OK, fine, we beat you. Go away. We have to play you two more two years, but go away. You’re not in our same class anymore.’”
It’s in line with how Franklin’s talked about Pitt, too. At Big Ten Media Days this summer in Chicago, I asked Franklin for his thoughts on extending this series, which is slated to expire again after the teams meet the next two seasons:
Two things I'll say is we open the season against Akron, and I would love to talk about Akron and Akron and Akron and Akron and Akron and not get ahead towards any other games. The only thing I'll say is I think you guys know as well as we do the way scheduling works. I think our schedule is set through 2026 or something like that. We're excited about the teams we're going to play this year. It starts with Akron, and we'll go from there from that point after that.
PSU crushed Akron in Week 1. The Nittany Lions are now 2-0.
Franklin going after Pitt after the game is somewhat reminiscent of Pitt coach Pat Narduzzi after beating PSU a year ago. After Pitt’s win, Franklin complained that Pitt had been illegally clapping to throw off Penn State’s snap cadence. Narduzzi “guessed that was just another excuse,” he said then. The two coaches are fitting rivals.