As soon as news broke in November 2012 that this university would move to the Big Ten, the speculation started. Penn State, it seemed to athletes and fans, would make an ideal rival for the Terrapins football team in its new conference.

With the first meeting between the Terps and Nittany Lions as conference foes on our doorstep — the game is set for Saturday at noon in Happy Valley — the ingredients for a budding rivalry are present. From Penn State coach James Franklin’s history at this university to the opponents’ relative proximity, the matchup has plenty of intrigue and potential for tensions to rise.

Let’s make one thing clear, though. This university and Penn State can and should forge a football rivalry, but at this point, it’s not going to be an annual bout between teams on equal footing.

No, Terps-Nittany Lions has the makings of a little brother-big brother rivalry.

Penn State leads the all-time series with the Terps 35-1-1, though the two programs haven’t played against each other since 1993. More than 100,000 fans usually pile into Beaver Stadium in University Park, Pennsylvania, for Nittany Lions home games, while the Terps rarely fill 51,000-seat Byrd Stadium. And Penn State generally wallops the Terps in local recruiting battles.

Coach Randy Edsall made it clear this week that his program is not on the same level as Penn State’s.

“Penn State has always recruited down here and Penn State always pretty much got who they wanted to get down here,” Edsall said.

But does he consider Penn State a rival?

“You got to win to have any kind of rivalry,” Edsall said. “And that’s one thing we haven’t done here at the University of Maryland.”

Look, I do think this matchup matters to the Nittany Lions players, coaches and fans. Franklin, who served as an assistant for the Terps from 2000 to 2004 and again from 2008 to 10, lured several of Edsall’s current players — including quarterback C.J. Brown — to College Park, and he understands the importance Saturday’s matchup could have as he tries to sustain Penn State’s recruiting success in the area.

Plus, the Nittany Lions need a conference rival. It’s not like the situation between the Terps men’s basketball team and Duke, in which the Blue Devils viewed the Tar Heels as their most hated opponent and saw the Terps — aside from a couple of years in the early 2000s — as an afterthought in the ACC.

The closest old-guard Big Ten team to Penn State is Ohio State, and the Buckeyes’ regional relevance matches that of Franklin’s program. The problem is, Ohio State’s already entrenched in one of the country’s best football rivalries with Michigan.

So Nittany Lions fans could shift their most bitter distaste for an opponent toward the Terps.

And perhaps the best reason for this matchup to become a rivalry is the relationship between the two student bodies. It seems like everyone on the campus here has a friend or family member at Penn State.

That’s the case for me. If you’re a student, it probably holds true for you. And running back Brandon Ross has a close friend and a cousin who go to school in State College.

Not to mention, plenty of Pennsylvanians attend this university, including a handful of football players. Brown, safety Anthony Nixon, defensive end Quinton Jefferson and backup quarterback Perry Hills are all from Pennsylvania.

“You have guys from Maryland going to Penn State, and guys from Pennsylvania come here,” nose guard Darius Kilgo said. “I know guys are excited to go back home and play and [Penn State is] excited for Maryland guys to come up there and play. It should be a good game.”

So all the trappings of a heated rivalry are in place. Perhaps Saturday will be the start of a long history of great matchups between the two teams.

For now, though, the Edsall’s squad heads to Penn State to face a program in another class, a program that’s pushed around teams from this university for decades and a program that seems likely to give the Terps a few noogies over the next couple of seasons.