The rivalry spans 123 years and 96 meetings, 21 U.S. presidents and 46 College Football Hall of Famers.
One Pitt-Penn State game stands above all the rest.
Thirty-five years ago -- on Nov. 28, 1981 -- the Penn State Nittany Lions completed one of the biggest upsets in school history, not necessarily by whom they beat but by how they won. They entered a hostile environment to take on the No. 1 Pittsburgh Panthers, a touchdown favorite, and found themselves trailing 14-0 after the first quarter.
They ended up winning 48-14.
Some fans might have turned off the national ABC broadcast 15 minutes into the game. Penn State wasn't supposed to rally, after all, not over Dan Marino's team. Not over the squad riding a 17-game win streak and poised for a national championship.
Then something happened. Even 35 years later, some players remain dumbfounded.
"You're never going to see that again," said former Penn State linebacker Chet Parlavecchio.
Penn State and Pitt will resume their rivalry on Saturday (Noon ET, ESPN). It almost certainly won't live up to the 1981 contest. No Penn State game may ever again approach that turnaround.
Here's the story ...
Leading up to the game
No. 11 Penn State is 8-2 entering the last game of the regular season, while No. 1 Pitt is an undefeated 10-0 and on the cusp of its second national championship since 1938. Parlavecchio, a senior, draws the ire of Pitt fans after going on a radio show and slamming the Panthers' easy schedule. Junior Pitt quarterback Marino says on the taped TV pregame that, "It's a big rivalry game; it's the most important game of most of the players' lives."
Rich D'Amico, Penn State defensive lineman, 1978-1981: Back then, Dan could move around and he was very accurate. It was tough to get heat on Danny. He had quick feet in the pocket, and he had maybe the quickest release in the game. But I felt like we had a lot of confidence in our ability as a defense to play with anybody.
Greg Gattuso, Penn State defensive lineman, 1980-83: There was no real way to defend him. Between his quick release and his feet, it was just so hard to sack him. We were dropping eight or nine into coverage because he was just such a hard quarterback to guard.
Chet Parlavecchio, Penn State linebacker, 1979-81: It started to get annoying with them being No. 1 in the country and us sort of being talked about like we're second fiddle. They were being talked about like the second coming of the Green Bay Packers, and we were just supposed to go there and lay down.
Gregg Garrity, Penn State wide receiver, 1980-82: We were pretty angry because we knew we had one of the better teams in the country, but we had a couple bad losses.
Wayne DiBartola, Pitt running back, 1979-81: It was a huge game and a huge opportunity. Our team the year previous was ranked No. 1 in the preseason and it didn't really pan out, and we lost all those great players. But here we roll into the '81 season and we end up undefeated essentially playing for the national championship against Penn State. It was huge.
Curt Warner, Penn State running back, 1979-82: We were as geared up as much as you can get. They had beaten us the last couple years -- and had beaten us fairly convincingly in my freshman and sophomore years. So we were just trying to get our footing with regards to those guys.
Jackie Sherrill, Pitt head coach, 1977-81: We had won 17 games in a row and we had Dan Marino so, if you're asking me if I felt comfortable, yes I did. It was a very big game. ... A Pitt-Penn State game was bragging rights for 365 days in the state of Pennsylvania. It's kind of like the Alabama-Auburn, Mississippi-Mississippi State, Texas-Texas A&M, Michigan-Michigan State, and you can go on and on.
Pitt takes the lead
The Panthers absolutely dominate in the first quarter. Marino is nearly perfect, as his team outgains Penn State 143 yards to minus-1 yard. Pitt leads 14-0, and all the momentum is on its side. It's on pace to be a blowout.
Leo Wisniewski, Penn State defensive lineman, 1978-81: You're feeling like you're on the ropes. There's no question about that. You're like a fighter who's gotten a standing eight count with those two quick TDs, so you're just trying to focus one snap at a time.
D'Amico: I remember thinking to myself at the point they had gone up 14-0 that we had been talking some serious trash and, if this thing didn't turn around, it was going to be pretty embarrassing to face the hometown crew after taking a good old-fashioned ass-whipping.
Todd Blackledge, Penn State quarterback, 1979-1982: It was unnerving because everything was going Pitt's way. Not only were we struggling to move the ball and get on the positive side of putting some plays together, but we showed no signs of slowing them down. Dan was just moving right up and down the field early on. It was a little hairy.
Tom Bradley, Penn State assistant coach, 1979-2011: We were just trying to hang in there because things weren't going our way early. We were struggling.
DiBartola: We were on cloud nine. After some of the Penn State players' remarks that we didn't play anyone, we ran out to a 14-0 lead and we actually were close to a 21-0 lead. There was no stopping us at that point. We were in control of that game.
Mike Munchak, Penn State offensive lineman, 1978-1981: We felt like Pitt could've blown us out right there if we didn't make some plays.
Turning points
It seems like the game is about to fly out of control. Marino is driving on second-and-7 from the Penn State 32, but Nittany Lions DB Roger Jackson makes an over-the-shoulder interception in the end zone when the wind grabs Marino's pass as he tries to toss it out of bounds.
Warner: I don't know when the game completely shifted, but I know when it started: It started when Roger Jackson made that interception in the end zone. They were going to go up on us 21-0 -- and 21-0, I think, there would've been a sense of panic. We needed a play right then.
DiBartola: If we score that touchdown, I think we would've beaten them 50-0. It would've been the opposite effect of what really happened. They would've been down 21-0 at halftime, and we would've come out and tried to control the tempo of the game. I don't think they would've ever stood a chance.
Munchak: Those are the plays that change a game dramatically and, when you're down 14-0 and not playing well, you need someone to change the momentum. And that was the first one that got it going, 21-0 would've been a lot more difficult to come back from. No doubt that started the turn in momentum.
Penn State's offense shows its first signs of life after the pick, on an 80-yard drive that culminates with a 2-yard touchdown run by running back Mike Meade. That cuts Pitt's lead to 14-7. "DRAT!" flashes on the scoreboard. Pitt starts driving again when it gets the ball back -- and Parlavecchio is nailed with a 15-yard personal foul for a hit out of bounds.
Parlavecchio: I knew we had to do something to get the game turned and, sometimes, doing the wrong thing is the right thing. We were dead; we had that deer-in-the-headlights look and I was the captain. I said, "We need to get this going." I dragged their receiver about 5 yards out of bounds and he went flying. And when I got up, there were about 20 Pitt guys and Jackie Sherrill were around. I remember Jackie came up, pulled me by the arm and says, "C'mon, Chet, get out of here!" To a layman in the stands, it just looked like a late hit. But I always said this: I knew what I was doing.
Gattuso: It was an amazing bit of -- well, I don't even know what you'd call it. But that's when the hitting picked up and the game started to swing. I have no doubt he did it on purpose. He was not going to let us go quietly. We changed after that. I could feel it in the huddle.
Blackledge: Our team kind of stiffened and made a few plays and, Chet's hit on the sideline, once we had something like that happen, the offense kind of kicked in.
Several plays after Parlavecchio's hit, Pitt is again poised to score a touchdown and finds itself on the Penn State 30. PSU's Jackson then deflects a pass -- one just inches from completion on the 4-yard line -- and defensive back Mark Robinson intercepts the ball. Pitt never finds its way back to the end zone.
Penn State WR Gregg Garrity: I would say that was the big turning point. Because, if they would've scored any points there, then the panic would've set in. There wasn't any panic at that point. But it was getting close.
Rally and reversal
Penn State enters halftime in a 14-14 tie, but the momentum has shifted dramatically. The Nittany Lions score the next TD to go up 21-14, and it snowballs. Everything seems to bounce Penn State's way; Pitt turns the ball over seven times.
Garrity: At halftime, we knew. We knew we had them because we didn't think we were playing our best on offense. So we said if we pick up our game, there's no way they can stay with us. I know our defense was thinking we can handle Marino and the receivers. To be honest with you, I watched their receivers and they were totally different in the second half. They didn't seem to want to go for the balls. They kind of had alligator arms because our defense just kept hitting them.
Gattuso: I remember at halftime Coach (Joe) Paterno saying, "OK, boys we got them right where we want them." I remember that vividly because I was like, "Holy smokes. We got them right where we want them?" I remember him coming in clapping and saying that. It just felt like that at halftime. We felt like we were going to win. It's such a long time ago, but that one really stands out in a lot of ways.
Parlavecchio: The minute we made it 21-14, we knew it. Body language is a funny thing. No one had ever done that to them and again, if no one had ever done that to you, you don't know how to handle it.
DiBartola: When they scored first, we were like, "Whoa -- now we're down by 7." And that's when it was like, we might be in trouble here. There was no way to get back to that feeling in the first quarter.
Warner: We were just probably as surprised as everyone else at how we were able to put points on the board. Our mindset has always been that way -- let's put points on the board -- but it just kept racking up. We just kept making plays and, at some point, the momentum shifted where we were making every play.
Blackledge: The second half was just a completely different game. We were playing with great confidence and when we got the lead, the avalanche kind of switched and went the other way. They couldn't hang on to the ball; we were rolling. And a 14-0 game went on to a 14-14 game and went on to a 48-14 game that was just kind of a crazy win.
Sherrill: The head coach lost that game because we kept throwing the football instead of running the football, and Penn State was dropping nine people every play. They were only rushing two. So our confidence level with Danny was that we could beat anybody, but that didn't come to fruition because we didn't run the ball. And we had a great running game. Point blank: The head coach didn't do a great job.
Parlavecchio: We literally just rushed two guys. We had nine guys in coverage. Nine. And he kept throwing. OK, go ahead. Go ahead. And I think the score started to get out of whack and then you really think you have to throw -- like, "Hey, I gotta get back in it" -- maybe that's what their mindset was.
DiBartola: We scored so fast, so easy. We were so dominant in the first quarter that we tried to go back and hit the home run and blitz their quarterback and make big plays. If we just got into our regular game plan, we might've been able to overcome those unfortunate circumstances. ... We threw two long touchdown passes and it was so easy, so why grind it out? I guess we just got caught up in the speed of the game.
Sherrill: If we had done a better job, we would've had a national championship. And that's not the players' fault, that's my fault.
D'Amico: I think I grabbed (Marino's) arm after the game and said, "Hey, you were throwing them away out there. What about me? Why can't you take care of me?" I thought he might get a chuckle out of it. I was wrong. He lashed out at me, and I kind of felt bad.
Warner: If you told us before the game it would be 48-14, I don't think anyone would've believed you, to be honest. We believed we could win and we knew it would be a tough football game, but to beat them the way we did was surprising.
Wisniewski: It was deeply satisfying, especially being a senior and finishing up our regular season and senior year at Pitt Stadium with a huge win like that. I don't think for the Pittsburgh guys, I don't think we could've scripted it any better than that. It was very, very special.
Blackledge: To come back and win and play on the road against the No. 1 team, our arch rival, it doesn't get much better than that in college football. And to add insult to injury, I guess the day of the game was Jackie Sherrill's birthday -- and I can still remember our Blue Band playing "Happy Birthday" to him. ... It was just a great, great night, just one of those really enjoyable and memorable games.