“Chet Parlavecchio” is probably not the name that comes to mind when you think of Penn State’s “Linebacker U” reputation. But in the history of the Pitt-Penn State rivalry, he’s on the Mount Rushmore of colorful personalities.
The former Nittany Lions linebacker and captain trash talked the Panthers in an infamous radio interview ahead of the teams’ 1981 meeting, in which Penn State knocked No. 1-ranked Pitt out of the national title conversation with a 48-14 upset victory at Pitt Stadium.
A generation later, he thinks Pitt coach Pat Narduzzi’s media blackout has the potential to rob the series of some of that past character as it tries to regain its footing as one of college football’s premier blood feuds.