Penn State University is currently in a pitched battle with Notre Dame in the Orange Bowl, with the winner moving on to the national championship game later this month.

And while the gold-helmeted Fighting Irish are a well-understod mascot, Penn State’s Nittany Lions aren’t as obvious. So, what is a Nittany Lion?

The Nittany Lion is more than just a symbol of Penn State University; it’s a nod to the mountain lions that once roamed the Keystone State. 

Known by many names across country, a mountain lion is the same animal as a puma, cougar, panther, or catamount, depending on where you are.

The fierce cat is so popular that dozens of colleges have a mascot named for it.

The Nittany part of Penn State’s mascot is unique to the school, though. It’s taken from Mount Nittany, a mountain ridge near the campus. And school legend holds that a student suggested the Nittany Lion mascot as a rival to Princeton University’s tiger. 

The Nittany Lions went in to halftime of the Orange Bowl up 10-3 on Notre Dame.