COLLEGE FOOTBALL \ News & notes

Pittsburgh-Cincinnati: The Big East didn’t need to add an extra game, book an empty stadium, negotiate a TV slot or split into divisions to get what the SEC, Big 12 and ACC already enjoy. No, an exceptional season by Cincinnati and a very good one by Pittsburgh, plus an astute schedule maker, gave the conference parity with some of the other top conferences without all the extra muss and fuss. Finally, after 19 seasons, the Big East is playing a football championship game. It’s a de facto one — No. 5 Cincinnati (11-0, 6-0 in Big East) already owns a share of the Big East title, and No. 14 Pittsburgh (9-2, 5-1) can claim only the other half. The real payoff to the winner of today’s sold-out game at Heinz Field is the BCS berth and all the rewards, monetary and otherwise, that go with it. There’s even an outside chance — if No. 3 Texas loses to No. 21 Nebraska in the Big 12 title game, the polls mesh and the BCS rankings concur — that Cincinnati also could play for the national title next month. That’s a lot of ifs, but also a lot riding on a single game. “Whoever set up the schedule this way in the Big East, we’ll call them geniuses because it pits the two best teams in the league over a long period of time,” Cincinnati coach Brian Kelly said. The latest game in a relatively new rivalry — the schools have met only eight times, seven of them Pitt victories — would have been even bigger if then-No. 8 Pitt had beaten rival West Virginia last week.

Nebraska-Texas: Nebraska is trying to ruin unbeaten and third-ranked Texas’ chance to play for the national championship. It’d only be payback for the 1996 Cornhuskers. Even so, such an upset would be hard-pressed to match the magnitude of the 1996 game in St. Louis, where 20-point-underdog Texas stunned the Huskers 37-27 and ended their hopes of winning a third straight national title. Jason Peter, who played defensive tackle on Nebraska’s 1994-95 consensus and ’97 coaches’ national championship teams, said he remembers that loss to Texas more than any of the 49 wins he was part of during the Huskers’ domination of college football in the mid 1990s. “There was a big emptiness in everyone’s stomach knowing what we just let slip from our fingers, our grasp,” Peter recalled. The setup for tonight’s game at Cowboys Stadium in Arlington, Texas, is similar to the situation in ’96. The Longhorns (12-0), led by Heisman Trophy front-runner Colt McCoy, have a quick-strike offense averaging 43 points a game and a defense and special teams that rank among the nation’s best. All they need is a win over Nebraska to play in the national championship game in Pasadena, Calif., almost surely against Florida or Alabama. The 21st-ranked Huskers (9-3), like the Longhorns in ’96, are playing their best football late in the season and have nothing to lose. If they win, they will have overachieved by earning a BCS bowl bid. If they lose, they’ll likely play in the Holiday Bowl and meet preseason expectations for coach Bo Pelini’s second year.

West Virginia-Rutgers: While No. 5 Cincinnati and No. 14 Pittsburgh are playing for the Big East title, No. 24 West Virginia and Rutgers are battling for an upgrade. Whoever wins gets a better bowl game. And the Mountaineers, as it turns out, will tie for second place in the conference if they win and the undefeated Bearcats beat the Panthers.It isn’t likely to be easy, even though West Virginia (8-3, 4-2 Big East) is seeking its 15th straight victory over the Scarlet Knights. But Rutgers will be at home and will ride its stout defense, which allows the fewest yards and points in the Big East. The Scarlet Knights also have something to shoot for. At 8-3 (3-3 Big East), a win might mean a bid to the Meineke bowl in Charlotte, N.C., which gets the No. 3 Big East selection. A loss likely puts Rutgers in the St. Petersburg Bowl or the International Bowl.

Associated Press