Northern Illinois crashes BCS party
Score one for the little guy.
Northern Illinois faced long odds in its bid for a BCS bowl berth. NIU was 21st in the BCS standings heading into Friday night’s MAC championship game against Kent State. Kent State was 17th and in better position to finish 16th.
Northern Illinois turned the tables, beat Kent in double overtime and finished 15th in the final BCS standings released on Sunday. The Huskies will face Florida State in the Orange Bowl.
Northern Illinois crashing the party upset the status quo in college ball as Oklahoma (10-2), which finished 11th in the BCS standings, would’ve likely gotten the at-large bid. Georgia (11-2), LSU (10-2), Texas A&M (10-2) and South Carolina (10-2), which finished seventh through 10th in the final BCS standings, are prohibited from getting a BCS bid because the SEC already has two teams (Alabama and Georgia) playing in bowls.
Northern Illinois earned the berth because it finished in the top 16 of the final BCS standings and ahead of at least one conference champion from an AQ conference. The Huskies were ranked ahead of Big East champ Louisville and Big Ten champion Wisconsin.
BCS Matchups
National Championship: Notre Dame (12-0) vs. Alabama (12-1)
Sugar Bowl: Florida (11-1) vs. Louisville (10-2)
Fiesta Bowl: Kansas State (11-1) vs. Oregon (11-1)
Rose Bowl: Stanford (11-2) vs. Wisconsin (8-5)
Orange Bowl: Northern Illinois (12-1) vs. Florida State (11-2)
Final BCS Standings
1. Notre Dame (12-0) .9978
2. Alabama (12-1) .9441
3. Florida (11-1) .8984
4. Oregon (11-1) .8621
5. Kansas State (11-1) .8226
6. Stanford (11-2) .7683
7. Georgia (11-2) .7583
8. LSU (10-2) .7511
9. Texas A&M (10-2) .6756
10. South Carolina (10-2) .6604
11. Oklahoma (10-2) .6502
12. Florida State (11-2) .5047
13. Oregon State (9-3) .4716
14. Clemson (10-2) .4693
15. Northern Illinois (12-1) .3276
16. Nebraska (10-3) .3264
17. UCLA (9-4) .2872
18. Michigan (8-4) .2537
19. Boise State (10-2) .2513
20. Northwestern (9-3) .2327
21. Louisville (10-2) .1808
22. Utah State (10-2) .1787
23. Texas (8-4) .1519
24. San Jose State (10-2) .1346
25. Kent State (11-2) .0772
