During his interview session at Big Ten Media Days on Wednesday, I asked Penn State coach James Franklin if he considers Ohio State and Penn State to be rivals.
To Franklin, the fact that I had reason to ask that question was evidence enough that Ohio State vs. Penn State is not a true rivalry.
“I kind of look at those teams in our conference as really good teams that we've competed with for a long time and have had great games. To me, that word is different,” Franklin said. “I think there seems to be a lot of people trying to create those things … to me, there shouldn't have to be discussions on if this team is a rival or not.