The rivalry. Is there one?

If you're Ohio State and Michigan the answer is definitely.

But is there one between Penn State and Ohio State?

For the Nittany Lions, the response is somewhere between maybe and no.

For the Buckeyes, the reaction is a sure thumbs down.

"I don't think there's a kid on Ohio State who joined that roster not thinking about the opportunity to play Michigan," said Rick Pizzo, a studio host for the Big Ten Network. "I don't think that kids joined that roster thinking about the opportunity to play Penn State. Whether that will change in the future? Perhaps, but right now that's not the case."

Ohio State has its annual big game with Michigan to look forward to no matter the decade or circumstance. The two teams have played every year since 1918. When Buckeyes coach Jim Tressel was hired, some of the first words out his mouth were used to count the time until the first game he would coach against the Wolverines.

"That is obviously one of the biggest [rivalries]," Ohio State wide receiver Brian Robiskie said. "That comes with the history of the series."

But Penn State's big game varies with each season. Some years the schedule concludes without a game nearing the magnitude of this Saturday's against top-ranked Ohio State.

The Lions have had recent highly anticipated matchups, but each year with a different team. Notre Dame visited State College in September for the first time since 1991. In 2005 the Lions' win against the Buckeyes put them back among the high trees in the college football landscape. Last year, Penn State's home game against Michigan was the most sought after ticket.

"I really don't think we have a big rival etched in stone," Penn State cornerback Justin King said.
Others from the Penn State side, though, think something is in the works with Ohio State, especially after the '05 victory that capped the Lions' return to the national scene. That loss was Ohio State's last Big Ten defeat and now it returns to State College as the No. 1 team in the country.

"Playing Ohio State is always tough, and we've played them tough," Penn State linebacker Sean Lee said. "I think it's a little bit of a rivalry, yeah."

Part of the confusion or lack of concrete rival, depending on the view, Rizzo said, is that Penn State only joined the Big Ten for the start of the 1993 football season.

The Lions history with conference schools doesn't go back nearly as far as the Wolverines and the Buckeyes. Penn State has played Ohio State 22 times, a small number compared to the 90 games between Michigan and Ohio State. The Lions have played in-state rival Pitt 95 times but not since a four-year stretch of games ended in 2000.

"So much of the Ohio State-Michigan rivalry is based on hatred of fans. The fans hate each other. The fans hate the teams," Pizzo said.

That disgust, however, hasn't reached equivalent magnitude between Penn State and Ohio State fans, Pizzo said.

"Jim Tressel is not the kind of guy -- and I even think Michigan fans find this to be true -- he's not the kind of guy you can hate," Pizzo said. "The same thing could be said about Joe Paterno, especially as he gets older. You're never going to hear Jim Tressel say anything negative about Penn State. You're never going to hear Joe Paterno say something negative about Ohio State."

This week at their respective press conferences, Tressel and Paterno made sure to compliment each other. Tressel said the first time he met Paterno was in 1974 when he interviewed for a job at Penn State, an offer he turned down in favor of an assistant coaching job at Akron. Paterno said he's always watched Tressel from afar and admires the job he's doing now.

Not exactly high contention.

But if there is any rivalry between Ohio State and Penn State, if anything, it's one-sided.

"It's not nearly what the Ohio State-Michigan rivalry is," said Ray Schwabe, the general manager of Eddie George's Grille 27 in Columbus, Ohio.

Games like Saturday nights, though, could help even the contention.

"When you talk about 'Well prepare to wear your goggles because when we storm the field.' That kind of stuff does start a rivalry," Pizzo said. "Then the folks in Columbus start saying, 'Are you kidding me, they already think they're going to win this game. Who the hell do they think they are?' "