PITTSBURGH -- Pitt and Penn State spent the days leading up to the renewal of their once annual series in a semantic argument over whether theyre still rivals.The Nittany Lions tried to downplay the stakes, with coach James Franklin pointing out the current roster on both sides were toddlers the last time the two schools faced each other in 2000. The Panthers went the other way, with coach Pat Narduzzi bringing in the 1976 national championship team to give a pep talk on what facing Penn State used to -- and still could -- mean.Four quarters, nearly four hours and one well-timed interception by a fifth-year cornerback later, consider the debate over. Pitt-Penn State is still very much a thing.James Conner ran for 117 yards and a touchdown and caught another and senior Ryan Lewis picked off Penn State quarterback Trace McSorley in the end zone with just over a minute to play as the Panthers held on for a 42-39 victory on Saturday in front of the largest crowd to watch a sporting event in the citys history -- 69,983.I would say going to next year, theyre going to think its a rivalry now, said Pitt safety Jordan Whitehead.One that shouldnt lack for juice when the two teams meet at Beaver Stadium next fall. Penn State nearly made it all the way back from a 21-point deficit. The Nittany Lions had the ball at the Pitt 31 with less than 90 seconds to play when McSorley dropped back and lofted a rainbow toward the back of the end zone to no one in particularLewis, who spent four long years in the program before finally earning significant playing time this fall, cradled it in his arms for the first pick of his career.I was just reading the quarterback the whole time, Lewis. I saw it in the air and took it.And dealt Franklin another significant blow in a tenure that is still searching for traction. A year after losing on the road in Philadelphia to Temple -- next weeks opponent -- the Nittany Lions currently dont have bragging rights in any corner of the state after looking flat in the first half before getting back in it.The fact it was this close at the end of the game speaks volumes for us in the second half, Franklin said. But were going to have a hard time if we get ourselves into a 28-7 situation.Saquon Barkley almost singlehandedly brought the Nittany Lions (1-1) all the way back. The sophomore running back totaled five touchdowns (four rushing, one receiving), the most by a Penn State player since Ki-Jana Carter did it against Michigan State in 1994. Barkleys fifth score, a 2-yard dive with five minutes to play, drew the Nittany Lions within three.We started off slow, they punched us in the mouth first, Barkley said. We responded but weve just got to come out earlier and be ready to play earlier.SO CLOSEMoments before Lewis interception, McSorley threw a lob to wide-open DaeSean Hamilton, who was behind the Pitt defense and had nothing between himself and the go-ahead score. The ball smacked off Hamiltons hands and onto the turf instead.For us to get that close and not pull out a win is really upsetting, Hamilton said. It just comes down to crunch time, us battling back so far and to see the game slip away from me right there is the hardest part.THE TAKEAWAYPENN STATE: Barkley is a star in the making but the Nittany Lions curiously didnt get him the ball when it was deep in Pitt territory trailing by a touchdown early in the fourth quarter. Penn State settled for a field goal instead and will have a year to think about what might have been.PITT: First-year offensive coordinator Matt Canadas playbook is deep. A week after using a nondescript game plan to get past Villanova, Canada used a variety of jet sweeps, shovel passes and play-action to get the ball to his playmakers in space. The Panthers ran for 359 yards and held onto the ball for more than 35 minutes.UP NEXTPENN STATE: Welcomes the Owls to State College in a rematch of Temples one-sided 27-10 win last year. Penn State plans to commemorate the 50th anniversary of Joe Paternos first game as coach, a decision that has been met with stiff resistance in some areas, including the schools student newspaper.PITT: The Panthers head west on Saturday to take on No. 22 Oklahoma State (1-1) for the first time in program history. The Cowboys lost on a last-second Hail Mary to Central Michigan.---AP College Football site: www.collegefootball.ap.org Nike React Discount . Patrice Bergeron and Daniel Paille scored 20 seconds apart a few minutes after Stamkos was taken off the ice on a stretcher with a broken right leg, and the Bruins beat the Lightning 3-0 on Monday afternoon. Nike React Sale . In the lead up - which seemed to begin the moment Mike Geiger blew the whistle in Houston last Thursday night - the Impact rumour mill went into overdrive. The speculation went into meltdown mode, of the golden nugget variety. http://www.nikereactcheap.com/ . -- Timbers coach Caleb Porter didnt stray from his business-like approach to the season even after Portland downed the two-time defending league champion Los Angeles Galaxy to gain crucial playoff position. Nike React On Sale . After Mondays hard-fought loss, the wait seemed longer than usual. Getting set to go their separate ways for a short Christmas break, the Raptors coach credited his team for their effort on a seemingly impossible three-game road trip, urging them to build on that success when they get back to work at the end of the week. Nike React Shoes Online .Y. -- Vancouver Canucks goaltender Roberto Luongo had little trouble picking up his first shutout of the season against a Buffalo Sabres team thats having trouble scoring goals. After a summer full of hyperbole, promises, slogans, candidates and debate, we can finally see light at the end of the tunnel.No, Im not talking about the U.S. presidential election, which wont end until Nov. 8.Thankfully, the start of the 2016 college football season is right around the corner. And if you havent heard, the opening weekend of the season is going to be so big. Its going to be yuuuge. Listen, its going to be so good that you wont be able to turn away from your TV for 72 straight hours. Its going to be so very, very, very big. Trust me.On the opening Saturday, Oklahoma will play Houston, UCLA will play Texas A&M, LSU will play Wisconsin (at Lambeau Field!), Georgia will play North Carolina, USC will play Alabama and Clemson will play Auburn. Then Notre Dame will play at Texas on Sunday night, and Ole Miss will play Florida State on Labor Day night.Were going to have so much fun. Its going to be like Super Bowl Sunday on steroids. The best part: everybody is going to win (even UCF and Kansas!). Theres going to be so much winning that no one will want to fire a coach after Week 1. Well, everyone but Auburn, which always seems to want to fire its coach.Hawaii and California officially kick off the season in Sydney, Australia, on Aug. 26 (10 p.m. ET, ESPN). After college football goes worldwide, heres what to watch this coming season:1. Alabama will win the national championship. Again.Alabamas season will look a lot like the last one -- the Crimson Tide will struggle at quarterback early, might even lose to Ole Miss again, and then theyll figure it out and start rolling. By the end of the regular season, Alabamas running game will be punishing people and its defense will be stuffing everyone.Alabama coach Nick Saban will win his fifth national title in 10 years in Tuscaloosa and his sixth overall (he won one at LSU), which will tie him with legendary Tide coach Paul Bear Bryant for the most in major college football history. Afterward, Alabama will unveil a statue of Sabans wife, Terry, at Bryant-Denny Stadium at next years spring game.2. Alabama will be joined in the College Football Playoff by Clemson, Michigan and Oklahoma.Year 3 of the College Football Playoff includes semifinal games at the Chick-fil-A Peach Bowl and Fiesta Bowl on New Years Eve. Then the championship game will be played at Raymond James Stadium in Tampa, Florida, on Jan. 9.Its the last time the CFP semifinals games will be played on New Years Eve until after the 2021 season. After this season, future semifinals games will fall on either Saturday or New Years Day until 2022. So this year, youll have to split time between college football and Ryan Seacrest once more.Im picking Alabama, Clemson, Michigan and Oklahoma to make the playoffs. Alabama will play Michigan in the national championship game, which will be preceded by an eight-day Twitter war between Wolverines coach Jim Harbaugh and Alabama offensive coordinator Lane Kiffin. Sadly, the Twitter war will be more entertaining than the actual game.3. Clemson quarterback Deshaun Watson will win one of the closest Heisman Trophy races in history.Miamis Mark Richt recently said that when he was Georgias coach, he told an assistant that Watson would win somebody a national championship when the Bulldogs were recruiting him four years ago. Watson will get close to winning a national championship for the second season in a row, but the Tigers will fall in the CFP semifinals.However, Watson will win the Heisman Trophy in a very close race over Oklahoma quarterback Baker Mayfield and three tailbacks -- LSUs Leonard Fournette, FSUs Dalvin Cook and Stanfords Christian McCaffrey.4. McCaffrey will kick an extra point, return a fumble for a touchdown and score a touchdown off an onside kick this coming season.What didnt McCaffrey do last season? Hell be the best player in the country for the second season in a row in 2016, but not enough Heisman Trophy voters on the East Coast will stay up late enough to watch him play.Pac-12 After Dark sounds cool, but its killing the league. Please dont make East Coast fans stay up until 11 p.m. ET every week to see McCaffrey play. Hes too fun to watch.5. The Pac-12 will be left out of the College Football Playoff again.The Pac-12 was the only Power 5 league left out of the playoff last season, and it might be in the same boat in December.dddddddddddd There doesnt seem to be a dominant team out West, especially with Stanford and Oregon having to break in new quarterbacks.Plus, the Pac-12 is at a disadvantage playing nine conference games (compared to eight in the ACC and SEC). The Big 12 also plays nine conference games, but one of them is against Kansas. The Big Ten is starting to play nine this season, but one of them is against Purdue. The Pac-12 will devour itself, and Washington will win the league with three losses.6. Michigan will beat Ohio State and win the Big Ten.I dont get why people dont like Harbaugh. He loves Twitter. He appears in rap videos. He likes Judge Judy. He likes taking his shirt off in public. He takes his entire team to Florida for spring break and holds satellite camps around the world. Whats not to love?College football people in the South dont like Harbaugh because he doesnt fear the SEC. SEC coaches dont like Harbaugh because he makes them work too hard. SEC coaches dont like spending their summers at satellite camps. They want to spend their summers with their families at the beach, and I dont blame them.The Wolverines went 10-3 in Harbaughs first season and throttled SEC East champion Florida 41-7 in the Buffalo Wild Wings Citrus Bowl. But there was also an ugly 42-13 loss to Ohio State in the Big House. Harbaugh despises the Buckeyes. The Wolverines wont lose to OSU this season. They will beat the Buckeyes at the Horseshoe to win the Big Ten.7. A Power 5 school will scoop up Houstons Tom Herman by Dec. 1.After guiding Houston to a 13-1 record and 38-24 upset of Florida State in the Chick-fil-A Bowl last season, Herman will be a hot commodity this coming season. With quarterback Greg Ward Jr. leading Hermans offense, the Cougars are again favorites to win the AAC.If teams like Auburn, Texas or Texas A&M struggle early, dont be surprised to see an athletic director fire a coach sooner than usual. Everybody will line up to get a chance to hire Herman, especially schools in Texas.8. Tennessee will win the SEC East (but wont beat Florida).The Volunteers havent won an SEC championship since 1998 and havent won 10 games in a season since 2007. After limping through four seasons under Lane Kiffin and Derek Dooley, the Vols have slowly showed progress under Butch Jones, who is 21-17 in three seasons.But Jones says he believes he might finally have an SEC contender, and the Volunteers look loaded on both lines of scrimmage. With quarterback Joshua Dobbs and tailbacks Jalen Hurd and Alvin Kamara coming back, the Vols might be the team to beat in the SEC East. Theyll win at Georgia and South Carolina, but theyll lose to Florida for the 12th season in a row. Even worse, Steve Spurrier will be there to watch it.9. Big 12 expansion will come quickly.The Big 12 has 10 teams. The Big Ten has 14. Whatever. The Big 12 recently announced that its looking to expand, possibly with two more teams and maybe even four. Everybody from BYU to Cincinnati to Houston to South Florida to Tulane is under consideration.The Big 12 will expand, probably even before the games kick off in September. I think itll add only two teams -- probably Houston and maybe Cincinnati. The Big 12 adding four teams of the caliber its considering for expansion would only water down its on-field product. It wont help it catch the SEC. After losing Cincinnati and Houston, the AAC wont replace them and will remain at 10 teams.10. San Diego State will finish the regular season undefeated.If the Aztecs can beat a rebuilding Cal team at home on Sept. 10, then win at Northern Illinois the next week, theyll have a great chance to finish 12-0. SDSU carries a 10-game winning streak -- second-longest in FBS behind only that of Alabama -- and doesnt play Boise State during the regular season.Aztecs tailback Donnel Pumphrey is one of the most underrated players in the country, after running for 1,653 yards with 17 touchdowns in 2015, and coach Rocky Longs defense is stingy. After going 12-0 in the regular season, the Aztecs will have to beat Boise State in the Mountain West championship game to land a spot in a New Years Six bowl. 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