The 100th meeting of the Penn State and Pittsburgh rivalry will take place at noon today (ABC), ending the four-year Keystone Classic series that started in 2016.

Many Nittany Lions fans are upset that the two couldn’t come to an agreement to extend the series, but with the competitive nature of college football and the strong emphasis of putting yourself in the best position to qualify for the College Football Playoff, I can see why the series won’t be extended.

Let’s address this for a second, and I’m sure Pitt fans aren’t going to like to hear this, but unfortunately the Panthers are not in a state where it makes sense for Penn State to play them.

If the Nittany Lions defeat Pitt, then people say, “Oh they were supposed to.” And if Penn State loses, then it’s an upset. It’s just a lose-lose situation for the Nittany Lions to play Pitt right now. Plus, Pitt only plays eight conference games where Penn State plays nine, so that’s also playing a key role in why I think this rivalry — at the moment — isn’t going to be extended.

Pitt might not be on the schedule in the foreseeable future, but Penn State has beefed up its schedule for the next several seasons. The Nittany Lions will play at Virginia Tech in 2020, a home and away series with Auburn in 2021 and 2022, a home and away series with West Virginia in 2023 and 2024, and then will host Virginia Tech in 2025.

But let’s focus on the Nittany Lions (2-0) opponent this week in the Pitt Panthers (1-1). Pitt is coming off a 20-10 win over Ohio. It was unknown how Pitt would play against the Bobcats — one of the MAC favorites — coming off a 30-14 opening-week loss to Virginia, but it was able to bounce back with a win.

The passing game was clicking for the Panthers against Ohio with quarterback Kenny Pickett throwing for 321 yards and a score.

This season’s Pitt offense is not what college football fans are accustomed to. It’s no secret Pitt head coach Pat Narduzzi likes to run the football, coming from Mark Dantonio’s coaching tree at Michigan State, but with the hire of a more passing-minded offensive coordinator in Mark Whipple in the offseason, the Panthers have been airing it out.

Turning more to the passing game this season can also be attributed to the fact that Pitt lost its two best rushers from last season in Qadree Ollison and Darrin Hall. Pitt doesn’t have a game-breaker type running back that should scare the Nittany Lions. However, one thing the Penn State defense does need to do is clean up its execution on early running downs, as it gave up way too many yards to Buffalo last week in those types of situations.

Pitt is averaging just 119 yards on the ground this season, with AJ Davis leading the way with 114 yards rushing and a touchdown.

“Getting into it offensively, Mark Whipple, is a guy that’s been in the profession for a long time. Very well-known and respected. Mark’s been an offensive coordinator or a head coach almost the entirety of his career,” said PSU head coach James Franklin. “I think you’re still going to see Pat Narduzzi’s personality all over that offense in terms of running the football, but Mark has great experience both in the run game and in the pass game.

“They have five returners starting on that side of the ball. They are multiple formations, multiple personnel groups, tempos. The fullback will be involved, as well. They are going to play with an extra tackle, so they will have six offensive linemen on the field. They will go 11-personnel, they will go 22-personnel, they will go 21-personnel. We have been impressed by Kenny Pickett, A.J. Davis, Maurice Ffrench and Taysir Mack.”

I don’t think Pitt will be able to run the football with success against Penn State’s front seven, so the key defensively for the Nittany Lions will be to stop Pickett and the explosive Ffrench and Mack in the passing game. I think Penn State has the edge here as well.

Pickett has been wildly inconsistent in his career and so far this season, that doesn’t look like it’s changed as he only threw for 185 yards, one score and two interceptions against Virginia in Week One. Pickett was under pressure all day long and was sacked four times.

The strength of Penn State’s defense is up front with a host of players that can get after the quarterback. The Nittany Lions already have eight sacks on the season with standout Yetur Gross-Matos responsible for 3.5 of them. With the Panthers inability to run the football, and with only one starting offensive lineman returning from last season, I think Penn State will be able to pin its ears back and come after Pickett — which is exactly what it was able to do to him last season, sacking him four times and holding him to just 55 yards passing.

With the pressure I think the Nittany Lions will be able to generate on Pickett, that will help starting cornerback John Reid and Tariq Castro-Fields — two talented players in their own right — contain Ffrench and Mack.

“Yeah, Ffrench he’s a dynamic player. We recruited him. He’s a dynamic player. He’s had a great career there. I think in a lot of ways, they go the way he goes. He’s a momentum guy for them. He’s an impact guy on offense and special teams, in a lot of ways like KJ is for us,” said Franklin. “We have to know where he is. It’s a great challenge. We try to identify guys each week on defense. Here are a few guys that we know if we are not aware of where they are at, they can have a significant impact in the game and on special teams. We know who those players are.”

Offensively, I think this is the week we start to see the talent of Penn State’s offensive line. After struggling last week in the run game against Buffalo (78 yards), I think the Nittany Lions offensive line will get a serious push in the trenches. I think Penn State will have a nice day on the ground. Some people might not agree, with Pitt giving up just 82 yards per game on the ground, but I just have a feeling with the talent Penn State has at running back and at the guard and center positions, that it will put up some big rushing number this afternoon.

A strong run effort will only help in the passing game and Sean Clifford has played well in his first two games replacing Trace McSorley. Clifford has thrown for 559 yards and six touchdown passes, with a 66.7 percent completion percentage. Clifford can also bring the ball down and run with it (108 yards rushing), and what I like about him is that he always keeps his eyes down field — just like his predecessor.

I’ve been saying since the season began that if the offensive line plays well enough, this PSU offense can be special and explosive, and Clifford has already proven he can pick the offense up with an explosive play. The Nittany Lions two fastest receivers, KJ Hamler and Jahan Dotson, are averaging over 24 yards per reception with two TDs apiece. Pitt is known for playing aggressive press coverage on the line of scrimmage, so if Clifford has time, I think it could be a big day for both Hamler and Dotson.

I think this game comes down to Penn State just being a more explosive ball club than Pitt. I think the Nittany Lions pass rushing ability and speed on the offensive side of the ball will help them come away with a “W” in this one.

Las Vegas has Penn State as a 17-point favorite. My pick is PSU 41, Pitt 17.