The word rival is tossed about a lot in sports, and in college football specifically it seems that certain teams value their attachment to a rivalry as a badge of honor. OSU-Michigan, Alabama-Auburn, Oklahoma-Texas…if you are a fan of one of these schools, you know that you definitely have a rival. In other parts of the country, rivalries are less important, and teams/players/fans simply concentrate on each individual game.
But what about Penn State? They lack a traditional rival in the sense that the above match-ups have historical significance. If Penn State continued playing Pitt every year, it’s probable they would qualify, but since Penn State-Pitt hasn’t happened for 15 years, it’s tough to argue it carries the same weight as Duke-UNC.