The Penn State and Notre Dame rivalry everyone forgot, explained

Penn State and Notre Dame are two programs with long, rich histories of success in the college football world.

They have both been successful at the highest level, winning major bowl games and national championships throughout their existence. I say all that to say that this matchup that we get on Thursday night comes with a lot of history.

However, a large part of it is forgotten.

Watching this game today, most people would think it’s just a game between two of the best schools in the country. On the surface, that’s exactly what it is.

But when you dig a little deeper into the history between these schools, you realize that there is an intense rivalry between the two sides that has been dormant for decades and now may have a chance to come back to the fore. These two schools hated each other throughout the 1980s.

Penn State and Notre Dame are rivals?

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They were for a while. There was a 12-year stretch in which Penn State and Notre Dame played each other every year. They called it the 12-year war, according to Sports Illustrated. It lasted from 1981 to 1992.

During that stretch, Penn State went 8-4 against Notre Dame, including in 1990 when the Nittany Lions upset the No. 1 seeded Fighting Irish.

Here’s more from SI:

“The Penn State-Notre Dame rivalry reached a new high in 1990. Penn State, then ranked No. 18, they disturbed no. 1 Fighting Irish, 24-21, at South Bend. Terry Smith, a former wide receiver and current Nittany Lions cornerbacks coach, and Al Golden, now Notre Dame’s defensive coordinator, both caught touchdown passes for Penn State in his comeback effort.”

Wow. I didn’t know that. Why did the rivalry end?

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The last match was 1992 Snow Bowlwith Notre Dame winning 17-16.

The rivalry essentially ended when Penn State joined the Big Ten in 1993. Penn State was previously independent and could schedule its games without considering conferences. When it ended, Notre Dame fell off the schedule and the rivalry died.

Have Notre Dame and Penn State played since?

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They have played twice since 1992. Their last match against each other was in 2007 when Derrick Williams’ punt return sparked a 31-10 victory for the Nittany Lions.

Overall, the two schools have played 19 times and have a 9-9-1 record between the sides.

Not only does whoever wins here get a chance to play for a national championship, but they also get a slight edge in this renewed rivalry for who-knows-how-long.

There’s a lot at stake here, folks.