Penn State at Pitt: 11 things to know about this week's game

PITTSBURGH — The schools are only 140 miles apart.
Their mascots are both big cats.
The names of both universities start with the letter p.

RELATED: Parking details announced for Pitt vs. Penn State game Saturday

But for fans of Pitt and Penn State, there’s no comparison. Each believes their school is superior – and will win Saturday night’s match-up at Heinz Field.

Here are 11 things you should know about the Pitt-Penn State game:

1) The two teams have played 98 times. Penn State leads the series 51-43-4.

2) Saturday night’s 8 p.m. game is the first night game in the series since 1987.

3) Tickets for the game are officially sold out, but you can still find them on resell websites like StubHub for at least $69 each.

RELATED: Penn State-Pitt game at Heinz Field sold out

4) Penn State has six former WPIAL players on their roster representing Central Catholic, Woodland Hills, Clairton, Mars and Baldwin-Whitehall.

5) Several former high school teammates will play against each other, including Pitt’s Aaron Matthews and PSU’s Lamont Wade, who played together at Clairton.

6) Pitt will introduce its inaugural Hall of Fame class before the game. All members who are still alive are expected to be in attendance.

• Henry Clifford "Doc" Carlson (Athlete: Football, Basketball, Baseball; Coach: Basketball)
• Mike Ditka (Football)
• Tony Dorsett (Football)
• Herb Douglas (Track and Field)
• Bill Fralic (Football)
• Marshall Goldberg (Football)
• Hugh Green (Football)
• Trecia-Kaye Smith (Track and Field)
• Roger Kingdom (Track and Field)
• Billy Knight (Basketball)
• Dan Marino (Football)
• Lisa Shirk (Gymnastics)
• Charles Smith (Basketball)
• Kathy Stetler (Swimming)
• John Bain "Jock" Sutherland (Athlete: Football; Coach: Football)
• John Woodruff (Track and Field)

7) Aliquippa native and former Pitt star Mike Ditka will be in the honorary caption for the Panthers.

8) Next year’s game in Happy Valley is the last scheduled game between the two teams. It’ll mark the 100th time they’ve played each other.

9) Former Penn State quarterback Todd Blackledge will call the game on ABC. Blackledge and his teammates knocked off then No. 1 Pitt and Dan Marino during the 1981 season.

10) Penn State fell to 13 in the AP college football rankings after a close win over Appalachian State.

11) This will likely be the last game between the teams at Heinz Field for quite a while. Penn State Athletic Director Sandy Barbour said she doesn’t expect a renewal until at least 2030.

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