Links at Lunch: Must-Win in the Big East; Stanford, Okie State’s Roads to New Orleans

It’s Friday, which means Big East football is afoot. Through its ascent into annual bowler, USF has never quite adjusted to road games. Conversely, Syracuse was notoriously awful at home last season. Something has to give tonight in the Carrier Dome. The Bulls’ run of consecutive postseasons dating back to 2006 is in serious jeopary, as USF is winless in the conference and needs two more victories with Miami, Louisville and West Virginia still to come. Seemingly this is a must-win for USF, but ‘Cuse quarterback Ryan Nassib tells The Post-Standard this is, in fact, must-win territory for the Orange.

VoodooFive.com presents five keys that should dictate Friday night’s affair.

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The welcomed distraction of football diverts some attention from the Penn State scandal for those of us outside the Nittany Lion family. But is playing Saturday the right move? Erin Sorensen of HuskerLocker.com says cancelling the clash of ranked Big Ten foes is the smart move. A chief reason is safety concerns, which Nebraska AD Tom Osborne expressed per HuskerCorner.com. Indeed, the threats against Michael McQueary that the Washington Post‘s Cindy Boren report have the Lions’ WR coach staying home Saturday should raise eyebrows. There are those who believe a cancellation would only serve to further punish current, and innocent PSU players. Further, it’s a step toward normalcy as Penn State seeks to escape the darkness, per Tim Hyland.

Unless something dramatically changes, the game is going ahead as planned with Tom Bradley as head coach. Kevin McGuire introduces the longtime Lion to the masses over at Crystal Ball Run.

Folks from Penn State nation are doing their part to prevent future abuse. Victory Bell Rings has details RAINN.org teaming up with PSU for a Nittany Lion-exclusive donation campaign.

• Under most circumstances, Stanford and Oregon’s rematch of a classic from a season ago would garner the spotlight. Some joke that this isn’t even the main event in Palo Alto. But the fact remains the Cardinal are a BCS title contender, and this game might be its final true roadblock. RuleOfTree.com has some bold predictions.
• Another current unbeaten with realistic title designs is Oklahoma State. The Cowboys’ overall slate is a bit more arduous than Stanford’s. First, OSU heads into Lubbock to face the team that beat Oklahoma, Texas Tech. And of course, the Sooners loom large in the season finale. Cincy Joe of CowboysRideForFree.com examines the Pokes’ path to New Orleans.
• The “South’s Oldest Rivalry” pits Auburn against Georgia. DawgSports.com provides some background into just how rich the rivalry is. AU is surprising in its post-national championship hangover, while UGa rides in with one of the nation’s longest winning streaks. A victory seemingly puts Georgia in firm control of the SEC East. Recruiting Eagle joined SaturdayBlitz.com’s friends at CollegeFootballZealots.com to break down the match-up.
• A game flying under the national radar with big postseason implications is Wyoming-Air Force. Both teams need two more wins to attain bowl eligibility, the result of playing two FCS opponents. The Falcons will honor Hall of Fame inductee Fisher DeBerry at Saturday’s tilt, which will be without UW running Ghaali Muhammad per CowboyAltitude.com. Overcoming the loss of Muhammad is one of the keys broken down at 7220Report.com.
• Another game perhaps lacking some national attention but with big implications pits Cincinnati against West Virginia. The Bearcats plan a “red out,” further adding to the red Dana Holgorsen is currently seeing in Morgantown. A UC win wraps up the Big East’s Orange Bowl berth for all intents and purposes; HailWV.com has a breakdown of how the Mountaineers can avoid a Bearcat corination.