The challenge will be held from Nov. 3 to Nov. 21. According to an American Red Cross press release, donors can participate by stopping by one of the more than 40 blood drives included in the challenge, where free MSU-PSU Blood Challenge t-shirts will be given out and prizes from local businesses will be raffled off. 

When Penn State University joined the Big Ten, the American Red Cross decided it wanted to do something cool in the Great Lakes region, Kulman said.

"We do a lot of these collegiate rivalries," Kulman said. It was bound to happen here in this region.

While PSU leads the annual win scoreboard at 13-7, MSU won by a "slim margin" of 15 pints last year and are looking for an even bigger win this year, Todd Kulman, communications program manager for the American Red Cross Great Lakes Blood Services Region, said.

Since the competition began in 1994, more than 72,000 blood donations have been made, possibly impacting more than 200,000 hospital patients depending on blood transfusions, said the press release. 

"We try to collect as much as we can," Kulman said. "It's a great way to show your Sparty spirit and Sparty pride.”

While the Spartans are looking for another win, Kulman said "the real winners are all those hospital patients” who will receive the much needed pints of blood.

No matter the outcome of the blood drive, Spartan fans can look forward to the football game against PSU on Nov. 29.

The first blood drive will be held Nov. 3 in McDonel Hall from 11 a.m. to 4:45 p.m. Check out the American Red Cross website for more information about donating blood.