Northern Illinios finishes 15th, heads to Orange Topic

moranis
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http://sportsillustrated.cnn.com/2012/writers/pete_thamel/12/02/orange-bowl-northern-illinois/index.html?sct=hp_t2_a2&eref=sihp

12/2/2012 5:50 PM
stinenavy
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Oklahoma gets knocked from Sugar to Cotton Bowl. Will play either Texas A&M or LSU.
12/2/2012 6:02 PM
stinenavy
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And I hope Northern Illinois gets beat by 40.
12/2/2012 6:03 PM
inkdskn
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OK vs TX_AM/LSU could be good, but FLA/LOU + FSU/NI = ugh. They might be good games, but I look forward to them about as much as I loook forward to my next dentist visit. I really wish this BCS **** didn't exist. Put the best damn teams against each other in bowls, regardless of what conference they're in. Why is that so hard?
12/2/2012 6:18 PM
MikeT23
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$$$$$$
12/2/2012 6:35 PM
inkdskn
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troo

I hope NI beats the overrated Seminoles, which seems plausible to me. Suck it, ACC!
12/2/2012 6:50 PM
AlCheez
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It would be awesome, but I don't know that it's plausible.  NIU was pretty horrid outside the MAC: lost to Iowa, had to rally in the 4th quarter to beat terrible Army and Kansas teams.  Boise State and TCU they ain't.  I'm sure there's going to be a massive enthusiasm gap in this game, but I'd be surprised if that's enough.  Stranger things have happened though.
12/2/2012 6:58 PM
tripleh595
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A massive enthusiasm gap is just an excuse. Nothing more. If Florida State doesn't want to be there, then don't come & forfeit the game. How about that? They'll show up, though.. They want the $$$ for the game, so they can accept their loss (if that's what happens) & not have an excuse of not being "up for beating up Northern Illinois".

Any team that doesn't want to be in a BCS game, regardless of who they have to play.. doesn't deserve to be there to begin with. I don't care if that's Florida State, Florida, LSU, Alabama, Oklahoma or any other big school.. You want the $$ for being there, so accept that you may just get upset & deal with it without people making the "poor Florida State, they only got to play Northern Illinois" excuse. No, poor Northern Illinois.. They play in a game where they won't get any credit, regardless of the outcome.
12/2/2012 7:23 PM
AlCheez
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No, it's a reality,  I'll give NIU all kinds of credit if they get the job done, especially since I still think they are going to get handled easily, but come on - if you think one team won't be way more excited to play this game than the other one... well, I really don't know what to say.  And I'm not really even talking just opponent here - FSU had national title aspirations, their season is a disappointment for them at this point regardless.  NIU is having the greatest season they could have possibly dreamed of to wind up in the Orange Bowl.
12/2/2012 7:38 PM (edited)
sinverguenza
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The MAC has pretty decent football. The state of Ohio is deep enough to support a bunch of solid mid-level programs. NI should be able to keep it within 10, assuming there's not too much chaos left by their coach's departure
12/2/2012 7:49 PM
tripleh595
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No doubt, Northern Illinois is going to be jacked to be there & will definitely come to play.

Hawaii came hyped to play against Georgia a few years back, too. Georgia did what a school is supposed to do, they went out & clobbered a team that people felt they should clobber. They proved that you can beat a super excited team even if they aren't who you wanted to be playing OR the game you wanted to be playing in at the end of the year. I expect all other big schools to do the same. No excuses.
 
All big schools hope for the National Title game & sometimes it doesn't work out. That's part of the game. I don't feel sorry for a team that can't handle not going to the National Title game. Florida State should know their place. They're not the powerhouse that they once were. You can't just expect a National Championship game when there's been so many teams ahead of you for years. That's a horrible excuse.
 

12/2/2012 7:59 PM (edited)
gregsimon
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Interestingly although the standings and Bowl Selections are already done this week,. next week when Navy beats Army that will drop NIU in the computers a bit more, but I suppose it wouldn't knock em all the way to 17.

Official now A&M accepts Cotton bowl invite. Probably vs OU

Rest of SEC bowls:

LSU to Chik-fil-A (probably vs Clemson)
Outback = Michigan vs S Carolina
Gator = NW vs Miss St
Capital one = Nebraska vs GA
BBVA Ole Miss vs Pitt
Vandy to Music City (probably vs NC St)


Other interesting match-ups (IMO) on bowls that are official:

Tulsa vs Iowa St
UCLA vs Baylor
Ball St vs UCF
SD St vs BYU


Fiesta should be K St vs Oregon , which was The NCG as of 3 weeks ago, so that should be cool. Orange and Sugar are going to be pretty weak.
I'll be surprised if they don't take a big ratings hit.

12/2/2012 8:07 PM (edited)
kneeneighbor
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I dont hold them to the same standards. They are 18-22 year old men who are not playing for anything in particular. Hell Florida St. doesnt even get the benifit of traveling somewhere fun.
12/2/2012 7:56 PM
gregsimon
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Alamo isn't official but if it does turn out to be Texas vs Oregon St, that should be a good game.
Las Vegas is slated to be Boise vs Washington. Boise has accepted Washington isn't official yet.

Very few of the other bowls interest me at all.

12/2/2012 8:12 PM
cravedogg
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NIU played by the rules and got in but I would much rather see Oklahoma or one of the other SEC teams play Florida State.
12/2/2012 11:48 PM
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