Coaches often downplay big games. In my experience, the more you hear a coach utter the words "it's just another week" then that's how you know that the game means just a bit more than usual.

Penn State head coach James Franklin has been saying something close to that phrase a lot lately about the Nittany Lions match-up later today (3:30 p.m. ET, ABC) with in-state rival Pitt. But trust me, internally the Nittany Lions are most likely chomping at the bit to get after the Panthers.Forget about the fact, that these two teams pretty much have always despised each other. There are other factors that make this game must see TV. The key recruiting battles in the always talent-rich western Pennsylvania region, and the snide comments between players and coaches on social media also feed the fire that has become a raging inferno since success has returned to the Penn State program."People kind of keep asking me about this game and I understand the significance of this game, and I understand the importance of this game, but I'm also a huge believer that this is the most important game on our schedule because it's the one we play this week," said Franklin. "Last week the Akron game was the most important game in the universe for us. This week, the Pitt game is the most important game in the universe. It's the only thing that exists for us."The 2016 and 2017 seasons couldn't be anymore different for these two teams. In 2016, the Nittany Lions dropped a heartbreaker to the Panthers early on, 42-39. Penn State still didn't know its identity at that point in the season and Pitt played with energy, withstanding a furious Nittany Lions comeback to take the first game of the scheduled four game Keystone Classic series.Pitt went on to finish 8-5, defeating the eventual national champ Clemson during the regular season, and the Nittany Lions finished an unexpected 10-3, losing to USC in the Rose Bowl in one of the best college football games of the year.In 2017, Penn State is riding the momentum they established last season, while the Panthers look to be down from a year ago. The No. 4 ranked Nittany Lions (1-0) pummeled Akron in all phases in week one, 52-0, while Pitt (1-0) struggled to beat Youngstown State in overtime, 28-21.As noted, the Penn State defense pitched a shutout against the Zips, but the story on the day was the offense. The Nittany Lions offense was expected to be talented this season, but to actually see it at work, with all the moving pieces in place, was honestly an impressive site.Saquon Barkley started his Heisman campaign off on the right foot with an FBS-best 246 all-purpose yards and two touchdowns, including 174 yards rushing on just 14 carries. Trace McSorley was good as well, throwing for 280 yards and two scores, while rushing for a touchdown. As a unit, the offense gained 569 total yards.For the Pitt defense, the match-up does not look favorable. The Panthers gave up 418 yards of total offense to Youngstown State, including 311 yards passing. Pitt lost seven starters from its defense in 2016, and is starting six new players on its front seven.Add all that to the fact that the Penn State offensive line looked dominant last week, opening up nice-sized holes for Barkley and giving McSorley plenty of time to throw the ball downfield.Pitt's defensive struggles combined with PSU's offensive firepower means that it could be a long day for Pitt."We gave the offensive player of the week award to our offensive line. Specifically, if you had to single one guy out, I'd probably say Brendan Mahon played really well, played really physical, but we gave it to the whole offensive line," said Franklin. "We had 569 yards of total offense with a very balanced attack; 322 passing yards, 247 rushing yards, and the obvious stat is zero sacks. So very impressed there."The Pitt offense also looks very different from 2016, with starting running back James Conner and quarterback Nathan Peterman both in the NFL. The Panthers, as they always do, still boast a talented runner in Qadree Ollison. Ollison is a big back, just like Conner at 6-2, 230 pounds and packs a punch when he hits the hole. Ollison has almost 1,400 career rushing yards and 15 touchdowns and if he can get going, it will open a lot for the Pitt offense. USC graduate transfer Max Browne, a one-time highly touted five-star recruit only threw for 140 yards last week, but came through with the game-winning touchdown to speedy wide receiver Jester Weah to beat Youngstown State in overtime.The Penn State defense was as solid as can be last week, but I don't know how much they can really be evaluated, because of the much less-talented Zips offense. The Nittany Lions gave up just 73 yards rushing and 159 total yards of offense against Akron.The key for Penn State will be to get more pressure on the quarterback this week. Franklin explained in his weekly press conference on Tuesday that when playing a run-pass option team it's sometimes hard to get to the quarterback. That's the offense the Zips ran last week, but Pitt runs more of a pro-style offense, so defensive ends Torrence Brown, Shareef Miller, Ryan Bucholz, and Shane Simmons will all need to be in the backfield on a consistent basis. The Penn State defensive tackles will also need to clog up the middle and finish at the point of attack.Pitt's offensive line is usually a strength of its team, but they lose two All-ACC honorees from a season ago. So, the battle between Pitt's three returning starters and the "Wild Dogs" defensive front will be an interesting match-up to keep an eye on later today.Also, Franklin is looking for a better effort in the tackling department this week, and he also wants to see the defense force more turnovers than the lone interception they came up with last week."We need to create more turnovers on defense, and then we need to finish tackles. We had a lot of guys that had positions for really good tackles, tackles for a loss or minimum-gain tackles and they kind of slipped through our fingers. We have to be more consistent and we have to finish our tackles."Las Vegas has the Nittany Lions as a 22-point favorite. Franklin has been on all over Twitter this week, asking the Penn State faithful to wear white. I think they will comply and I also think Beaver Stadium will be at capacity. The atmosphere will be great for a 3:30 p.m. game and I just think the Penn State offense is too explosive, and the Pitt offense isn't explosive enough.My pick is Penn State 45, Pitt 10.