An American tragedy affected the rivalry

One of the most memorable games of the series occurred in 1963 just shortly before JoePa’s arrival. That year Pitt was 8-1 entering the Penn State game and would lock up a bid to the Cotton Bowl with a victory. However, just days before the game, President John F. Kennedy was assassinated, and the matchup was moved from Nov. 23 to Dec. 7. In an interesting twist, the Cotton Bowl was interested in Pitt only if it finished the season with one loss. And with the postponement, bowl officials decided they couldn’t wait any longer and went in another direction. Pitt ended up winning the game and finishing the season 9-1, but didn’t play in a bowl game.