So, just how much has the Ohio State-Penn State rivalry grown over the years?

Well, there are two sides to the coin, but there is no question it’s becoming one of the more underrated rivalry games in college football.

Obviously, the Buckeyes’ biggest rival will always be Michigan. Nothing will ever change that and nothing should. However, Penn State has emerged as a clear No. 2 on OSU’s list.

But the Nittany Lions take it one step further. They consider Ohio State their clear-cut archrival. In fact, PSU beat writer Jeff Rice of NittanyNetwork.com and the State College Centre Daily Times said there is “no question that Penn State fans think of Ohio State as their biggest rival.”

Ohio State head coach Jim Tressel is not about to rank OSU’s biggest rivals in order, but he agrees that the OSU-PSU game has evolved into an exciting border war.

“Oh, absolutely,” Tressel said. “I think the Ohio State-Penn State game is definitely a rivalry. When the Big Ten sets its scheduling rules, it sets it as such that Ohio State will always play Michigan and Penn State. The location of the two states, the two schools, the traditions of the programs … I think there’s no question about it that it’s a great rivalry.

“I think the Big Ten has been enhanced tremendously by Penn State coming into it. Every kid that comes to the Big Ten gets to play at Beaver Stadium twice. And I think Penn State has been enhanced, because now they’ve had the chance to come play in the Horseshoe (Ohio Stadium), go play in the Big House (Michigan Stadium). I think Michigan State is the other team that they always play.

“And so, it’s created a great thing for both sides. It’s been a win-win and there aren’t many of those win-wins out there. But it definitely is a rivalry. And like I’m sure our older players can tell you, they will remember tremendously those times they had to go play the Ohio State-Penn State game, whether they were in the Horseshoe or at Beaver Stadium.”

Back at the Big Ten media days in Chicago in late July, I asked Penn State head coach Joe Paterno if he considered Ohio State his team’s biggest rival.

“I don’t know if they are No. 1,” Paterno said. “I can’t get into that stuff. Right now, Akron is our biggest rival (PSU opened the 2009 season against Akron). If I start getting into that stuff, I’m going to get myself into trouble.

“Obviously, when we get to Ohio State, it’s going to be a big game. But Iowa is going to be a big game and we have to play them early. There’s going to be a lot of big games for us. Michigan State is going to be a big game.

“So, it’s a (competitive) league. If you said to me, ‘Which team has been the top team the last four or five years?’ I’d say, ‘Ohio State.’ They’ve been right there the last four or five years. So, it’s a big rivalry.”

There are many reasons why OSU-PSU has grown into a great yearly game that everyone from both sides looks forward to. Both of the programs are dripping with tradition, they play a similar brand of football and they recruit a lot of the same players.

“I wish we could keep Ohio out of Pennsylvania,” Paterno said, somewhat jokingly. “No, you make a good point. That’s exactly right and that will continue (Ohio kids playing for PSU and Pennsylvania kids playing for OSU). People don’t realize that Columbus is probably only about 150 miles from Pittsburgh. I don’t know, but it wouldn’t be much further than that. Then Youngstown and Akron and those places aren’t too far away. You can get from Youngstown to State College in less than three hours. Cleveland to State College is less than four hours.

“There’s so many good players in Ohio – just like Pennsylvania – and Ohio State can’t take them all. Some years they need this, some years they need that. So, there’s always a guy – if we do our homework – that we should be able to get out of Ohio. The same way with them. They should be able to get a couple good players out of Pennsylvania regardless because certain years, we don’t need certain positions so we don’t recruit them. Even if the guy might be a good football player, you don’t bring him in or you don’t try and recruit him because you don’t have room. We try to put a football team together. So, I think that will not change. Ohio will come into Pennsylvania and get some good kids, and hopefully we’ll be able to go into Ohio and get a couple of our own.”