Most, if not all Penn State fans would love to see an installment of Pitt and Penn State’s rivalry clash every year instead of mid-major match ups fans have come to loathe in recent years, despite the seemingly “easy” win.

Included in the crowd supporting the annual Pitt-Penn State clash is none other than legendary former Penn State quarterback and current ESPN analyst Todd Blackledge, who voiced his support for an annual installment earlier Monday morning on a conference call.

“I wish they would play every year,” Blackledge said. “I know logistically they may not be feasible, but to me one of the greatest things about college football — and the thing that sets it apart from the NFL — is rivalries. When I was at Penn State, the Pitt-Penn State game was as good a rivalry game as there was in college football, and it had its own niche, that Friday after Thanksgiving, the battle of route 322, a lot of the in-state competition, even though I was an Ohio guy, I found out pretty quickly how important that game was.”

Blackledge went on to share fond memories from Penn State’s 1981 beatdown of Pitt that saw the Lions score 48 unanswered points to upset the then-No. 1 ranked Panthers. This year’s resumption of the rivalry is sure to evoke plenty of nostalgia for older fans fortunate enough to witness the rivalry in its heyday. For the younger demographic, it opens a new chapter on one of the greatest in-state rivalries in college football.

We might not get to see this game played every year, but at least some of the program’s most notable figures are on board with it.