Links at Lunch: Big East Media Day, Training Camp, FNL Movie

Welcome to the the first day of training camp. Sniff hard enough, and one can almost smell that freshly cut stadium or grilled meat at the tailgate. Yes, football season is a mere four weeks away and the last of the conference media days is wrapping up. The overlooked stepchild of the Big Six is concluding its event, from which Big East Coast Bias co-editor Mark Ennis has an inside look at the goings-on.

More links after the jump.

• College Football News staffers break down the Big East’s best. Little surprise that media favorite to win the title, West Virginia, boasts CFN’s Offensive and Defensive MVPs.
• West Virginia is in familiar territory as the conference’s preseason favorite. Cincinnati is also in familiar territory at No. 5. Paul Dehner suggests that ho-hum prognastication for UC’s season might be a very good thing via GoBearcats.com.
• Expansion is a hot button issue at Big East media days, a recurring theme among the majority of conferences. The relationship between the Big East and UCF has run more hot-and-cold than a bad, drawn out romatic comedy subplot. Lost Lettermen’s Jim Weber writes it’s time for their climatic kiss.
• With training camps opening nationwide, now is a great time to familiarize yourself with contending teams’ rosters. Husker Corner is breaking down the positions at new Big Ten member Nebraska. Today, the running backs are on deck.
• The Huskers’ new conference mate Michigan is undergoing dramatic changes, and the brand new Crystal Ball Run takes a statistical look at why Brady Hoke could prove to be the man Michigan needed via Coaches By The Numbers.
• Former Nebraska rival Missouri is going on with its Big 12 existence (however long that may be). The Huskers are no longer on the Tigers’ schedule, but Kansas State is. The Wildcats are profiled in Zoulogy’s Big X(II) breakdown.
• Oregon is a little over a month away from perhaps its most challenging game on the 2011 slate when it faces LSU. The Ducks have plenty of history when it comes to big, non-conference games. Autzen Zoo takes a look back at some of those moments.
• The NFL lockout may have compromised Hard Knocks for this season, but those with Comcast Sports Net Mid-Atlantic can get their behind-the-scenes fill with Richmond’s new all-access series.
• Fellow FCS Georgia Southern had a surprising run through last year’s postseason. With a bevy of talent returning, expectations are high in history-rich Statesboro. SaturdayBlitz.com FCS roundtabler and Southern Pigskin Southern Conference writer Russell Varner talks 2011 Eagles.
• Perhaps the biggest news of the day, and almost assuredly the best football-related anyone will read all year…Peter Berg is working on a film adaptation of the TV version of Friday Night Lights, as reported at New York Magazine.