It’s been an historic season for the Northern Illinois University football team. The Huskies are Orange Bowl bound on New Year’s Day for the first BCS bowl appearance in school and MAC conference history. And in DeKalb, Illinois, that means there’s only one thing on people’s minds.

“To make it to the Orange Bowl and to see NIU on ESPN, it was very exciting, you know,” said NIU senior Christopher Pitts.

On campus, students are celebrating — and hoping to prove the critics wrong.

“Of course we deserve to be here. It’s not our fault, we just won the games, we followed the BCS rules. There’s nothing we did that we don’t deserve a spot,” said student Kristen Andrews.

“We did what we had to do, and other teams didn’t get it done,” added freshman Ian Andrews.

“I know Florida State is actually a good team, a real good team, but I just want to prove ESPN wrong,” echoed Pitts.

At the Village Commons Bookstore, things can only be described as “crazy.” The phone hasn’t stopped ringing, as fans from all over the country look for Orange Bowl merchandise. General Manager Jody Boardman grew up in DeKalb, and she’s never seen anything like this.

“We’re excited for the team, we’re excited for the school, we’re just very excited. We’re all fans here, so we’re all watching TV, and it’s just an exciting time,” Boardman said.

Adding to the excitement is the fact that the University is offering a free ticket to any student who can make it to Miami. Stacks of reservations show just how many students hope to make the trip.

And it’s bringing the school together.

“I think that the Orange Bowl came up at the right time. At NIU, we’ve been facing scandals, killings, everything like that, so it’s going to bring a positive light to the university,” said Pitts.

Students like Andrews are hoping it will bring a victory on the field as well.

“It’s like a Cinderella story.”

On Tuesday Arkansas hired Wisconsin head coach Bret Bielema and Auburn hired former offensive coordinator Gus Malzahn.  Bielema just led Wisconsin to a 70-31 win in the Big Ten Championship last week over Nebraska and earned a berth in the BCS Rose Bowl. This is Wisconsin’s third straight Rose Bowl appearance. Bielema will earn $3.2 million annually for six years and Arkansas will pay his $1 million buyout to Wisconsin. He would like to coach the Badgers in the Rose Bowl, but I doubt Wisconsin athletic director Barry Alvarez will allow that.

Auburn made a surprise hire on Tuesday by hiring Gus Malzahn. Malzahn returns to Auburn after a one year stint as the head coach at Arkansas State.  He helped Auburn win the 2010 National Championship with Cam Newton.  Auburn has given their new leader a five year contract worth $2.3 million annually. He too is looking to coach Arkansas State in the GoDaddy.com bowl game against Kent State on January 6.

In other coaching changes, USF fired Skip Holtz, Temple head coach Steve Addazio (former Florida offensive coordinator) accepted the position at Boston College, and Idaho hired Arkansas offensive coordinator Paul Petrino.

Rumors have it that USF has interviewed Western Kentucky head coach Willie Taggart who has strong ties to the Tampa area. Another rumor surfacing is that Tennessee offered their head coaching job to Mike Gundy of Oklahoma State, but he has turned it down. Tennessee is also trying to pry Charlie Strong away from Louisville, but it appears Strong may have a nice contract extension from the Cardinals coming his way.

Also making news is that Northern Illinois coach Dave Doeren has accepted a job at NC State and will not coach the 12-1 Huskies in the BCS Orange Bowl to face the Florida State Seminoles.

Written By: Andrew Poppell

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It’s hard to believe my first semester of grad school is almost over! I feel like it just started. Seriously, where did the time go? Well as the saying goes, “time flies when you’re having fun.”

The other first-year grads and I put on a show called “63 Days” at the gallery where I work as a graduate assistant. I’ll post picutures from that show in a reflection post. For now, I’ll leave you with photos of pieces I put in the show.

12 Pounds

paper, pencil, ink, glycerin soap

7″ x 5″ x 4″

the artist’s secrets handwritten on 150 sheets of journal paper and then embedded in layers of transluscent glycerin soap, illuminated by a custom pedestal with plexiglass lightbox top.

detail shots:

CNC 2004

2″x1″x2″ each

ceramic, spray paint

handmade replicas of a store-bought, 39-cent mass-produced figurine from a thrift store. Eventually, these will be ‘donated’ to the same store the orginal figure came from. The new prices of each figure will be documented in a series of photogaphs of the store display. The title is derived from a carving found on the bottom of the original figure. There was no copyright or company symbol found anywhere on it.

detail shot:

Come Play

12″ x 7″ x 8″ each

stuffed animal pelts, foam, pins, polyfill

Several stuffed animals were cut apart at the seams, creating ‘pelts,’ which were patched together in a quilt-like manner  and made into limbless, noseless, mouthless beings.

These pieces were great experiments and explorations, however my new work is something completely different. I’m excited to find out where it’s all going to lead.

Win FREE SMACK GEAR!!!  The first 5 people who tweet one of the five reasons Mike mentioned why NIU will beat FSU win.  Answers lie within the podcast.

It’s seems as if NIU has shocked the world by earning a bid to the Orange Bowl to face the Florida State Seminoles.  ”The world” being anyone outside of DeKalb or anyone who hasn’t watched MAC football this season.  Some of the folks over at ESPN weren’t too happy about NIU going to South Beach.  Apparently they haven’t watched Jordan Lynch and the Huskies very often this year.

Order Your Smack Gear Here!

The school announced Monday that students will be offered free tickets to the Orange Bowl if they can get to the game, scheduled for January 1 at Sun Life Stadium. Northern Illinois bought 17,500 tickets as required by the Bowl Championship Series for appearing in the game.

The school told ESPN.com that it is willing to absorb the costs to allow students to get into the game if they can get to South Florida. According to ESPN, roughly 500 students had reserved tickets through the school as of Monday.

Northern Illinois students still have to absorb the cost of getting to Miami, around New Year’s Eve, which may make even the free ticket offer not enough to help the Huskies fill the stands.

The Huskies made it to the BCS by finishing ranked 15th in the final BCS rankings released last Sunday. By rule, if a team from a non-automatic qualifying conference, like the Mid-American Conference, finishes the season ranked higher than conference champions from BCS automatic qualifiers; the non-AQ team gets a BCS bid.

Because the Orange Bowl had the last selection this year, it was left with Northern Illinois to face the ACC Champion Florida State Seminoles. The seemingly one-sided matchup had some crying foul, especially Oklahoma fans.

If Northern Illinois had finished outside of the top 16 in the BCS, the Sooners would have earned a bid to play in the Sugar Bowl against Florida. That would have also sent Louisville to the Orange Bowl to play the Noles.

Still, Wisconsin made it into the BCS to play in the Rose Bowl against Stanford, despite losing five games this season. The Badgers backed into the Big Ten Championship game where they summarily slaughtered the Nebraska Cornhuskers, 70-31.

Discover Orange Bowl — Northern Illinois (12-1) vs. Florida State (11-2)

Although the NIU Huskies come here off the heels of a dominating MAC season, earning a BCS At-Large bid.  Their lone hiccup come from what turned out to be a rather flat Iowa team to open the season.  They are taking on the ACC champ, Florida State Seminoles, who had aspirations of a BCS National Championship Game bid.  But they fell short during the season.  First to menacing conference foe NC State, then to what would have inevitably been a ‘nail in the coffin’ blow from the Florida Gators.  NIU brings heart to the table.  FSU had title hopes in mind, but still looks to prove something.  FSU’s strength of schedule pulls them through.

Florida State 41-34

The Rose Bowl Game presented by Vizeo — Wisconsin Badgers (8-5) vs Stanford Cardinal (11-2)

The Wisconsin Badgers come of an average season gifted by the misfortunes of an undefeated Ohio State and tumultuous Penn State squad.  While a first glance at the Badgers record may make one scoff at the opportunity this team has, the Badgers’ thumping of the Nebraska Cornhuskers permits a right of passage to be in this game.  They are matched up against the Stanford Cardinal.  Coming off of their series with the UCLA Bruins, Stanford offers a complete football team that has been in some tough spots this season.  The Badgers have not had much luck historically in bowl games, and I don’t expect this to be any different.

Stanford 28-17

Tostitos Fiesta Bowl — Oregon Ducks (11-1) vs. Kansas State Wildcats (11-1)

In a match up of the deprived children of the BCS National Championship Game, Oregon and K-State come into Glendale sharing the same misfortunes.  While each was merely a game away from punching a ticket to Miami, these teams are relegated to the “Coulda, Shoulda, Woulda” Bowl. Offensively, these teams match up well.  The difference here will be a key defensive stand.  Oregon should have the edge here.

Ducks 45-38

Allstate Sugar Bowl — Louisville Cardinals (10-2) vs. Florida Gators (11-1)

The Big East Champs, Louisville, come into this game with a respectable record, but with a lack of true signature wins this season.  No disrespect, but the Cardinals just have not had a season geared to test them.  Also, the run game is fairly….non-existent.  The Florida Gators are here by fortune.  Finishing 3rd in the final BCS polls, the Gators land in New Orleans by fortune of geography and bowl picking order.  The Gators are as deserving to be here as any other team in the SEC.  The Cardinals are a little over-matched in this one.  With little run game and an average defense, the Cardinals should be Gator bait in ‘Nawlins.

Florida 49-10

I will take time later to go in depth for each one for quality analysis.  Also, as an Alabama fan, I will predict the BCS National Championship Game later when my emotions are not so keyed into the game.  But, for those thirsty for an answer:

Alabama and Notre Dame come off of storybook seasons.  Each team has been tested and overcame adversity.  While this is not the best Alabama team I have seen, I do like Coach Saban and the Crimson Tide with over a month to prepare for the Fighting Irish.

Alabama 31-17

Roll Tide!

-njs

BCS National Championship Game: No. 1 Notre Dame vs No. 2 Alabama 

A matchup of the two top total defenses in the country for the national title this season. Notre Dame (12-0) will take on the SEC Champion Alabama Crimson Tide (12-1). Notre Dame encountered a tough schedule this season, including wins over four top 18 teams, finished the regular season undefeated for the first time since 1988. Alabama comes into the title game looking to win their second consecutive title and third in four years.

After losing at home to freshmen sensation Johnny Manziel, Alabama finished the regular season with two blowouts, including one in the Iron Bowl against rival Auburn. Alabama then took on Georgia in an SEC Championship game that came down to a few seconds, well, more like a few yards between Georgia being here instead. A strong defensive team, finishing best in the SEC and second in the country, will be the challenged by another freshmen quarterback in Everett Golson.

Notre Dame, lead by senior middle linebacker Manti Te’o, boast the number one defense in the country. The team has struggled at times this season against much lesser teams, including being pushed to three overtimes by Pittsburgh. The Irish will look to get stud tight end Tyler Eifert mismatches against linebackers and undersized defensive backs, especially in the red zone. The aforementioned Golson will have to make plays against the speedy Crimson Tide defense not only with his arm, but with his feet.

This will be a defensive battle between the top two teams in the BCS standings. Which ever team can protect the ball and limit the others big game changing plays, will come out on top.

Rose Bowl Wisconsin vs No. 6 Stanford 

The Rose Bowl, the most historically known of the BCS games, draws a matchup of the Big Ten champion Wisconsin (8-5) and Pac-12 champion Stanford (12-2). For each team, this is their third consecutive BCS bowl game, with Wisconsin having played in the Rose Bowl the last two seasons, losing both. In 2010 they lost to number 3 TCU, followed by losing to number five Oregon last year. For Stanford, this is their first trip to the Rose Bowl after going to Orange Bowl and Fiesta Bowl. They split those two trips dismantling Virginia Tech, then losing a nail biter in overtime to Oklahoma State last year.

Stanford, after losing quarterback Andrew Luck to the NFL draft, the Cardinals had a successful season winning the Pac-12. After a mid season loss to Notre Dame, the Cardinals reeled off seven straight victories, including two wins over UCLA in back to back weeks, an overtime victory that shook up the country against Oregon and a four point win against a surprising Oregon State team.

Stanford coms in with the number 14 defense in the country and the top defense in the Pac-12. They also sport an offense that puts up 28.5 points per game. Wisconsin, who has struggled after quarterback Russell Wilson left for the NFL draft, comes in with a stout defense ranking 19th in the country. As for the Badger offense, on the season they put up an average of 30.8 points a game and come in after putting up 70 points in the Big Ten championship game against Nebraska.

Both of these teams will come in looking to stop the other on the ground. Both teams sporting top twenty defense will hope their offenses can step up big in this game.

Tostitos Fiesta Bowl No. 4 Oregon vs No. 5 Kansas State 

In a game that could be the best BCS game outside of the national title game, two high powered offenses collide in the Fiesta Bowl. The Ducks (11-1) make it to their fourth straight BCS game, including a trip to the 2010 National Championship game. The Ducks have gone 1-2 in the previous three trips to BCS bowls. For Kansas State (11-1), this is their first trip to a BCS game since 2003, when they lost to Ohio State in the Fiesta Bowl.

A battle of two of the top ten offenses in the country, combining for 91.5 points per game with Oregon putting up 50.8 to Kansas State’s 40.7. Oregon sports a balanced offensive attack lead by quarterback Marcus Mariota and running back and Heisman candidate Kenjon Barner. Undefeated during regulation this season, Oregon only stumbled in their game against Stanford, an overtime loss by three to the Pac-12 champion.

Kansas State comes into the game as the Big-12 champions this season. Lead by quarterback and Heisman candidate Collin Klein, the Wildcats hope to catch the Ducks before they reach the water. Klein, a duel threat quarterback, has totaled 3780 yards and 37 touchdowns on the season, leading Kansas State to their first BCS game since 2003.

This game is going to be a shootout. These two teams can get up the field, and both have defenses that can, and will, give up a ton of total yards and points. Both teams combined have scored 50 points of more 12 times combined with seven of those from Oregon and the other five from Kansas State.

Orange Bowl No.12 Florida State vs No. 15 Northern Illinois 

ACC Campion against the MAC Champion? If that’s the matchup you’re looking for, then the Orange Bowl is for you. Northern Illinois (12-1) come in after beating Kent State in the MAC Championship game. Florida State (11-2) travels down to Miami for the first time since 2005 against Penn State.

Northern Illinois, needing a lot of help the final weekend of the season and in the polls to get to a BCS game, got all the help they needed. Being from a non automatic qualifying conference, NIU needed to be ranked in the top 16 of the final BCS standings to have a chance to make it into one of the illustrious games. Lead by stud quarterback Jordan Lynch who has totaled 4,733 yards and 43 touchdowns, the number nine scoring offense in the nation will have its work cut out against a stingy Seminoles defense.

The Seminoles roll into the Orange Bowl on the high of their first ACC title since 2005. The Seminoles seventh ranked scoring defense will have to stop a high powered Northern Illinois team who scored 40 or more points six times this season. Lead by senior quarterback EJ Manuel, the Seminoles only faltered twice this season, once on the road against North Carolina State, the other against instate rival Florida. Florida State will need to use a balanced offensive attack against a decent NIU defense ranking  18th in the country.

This game could be a blowout if Florida State can stop Lynch and the Huskies offense. The big difference in this game might be on the leg’s of the kickers and special teams unit in what could be an interesting matchup.

Sugar Bowl No. 3 Florida vs No. 21 Louisville 

The Florida Gators (11-1) return to a BCS game for the first time since 2009 when they ran the Cincinnati Bearcats out of the building in the Sugar Bowl. Louisville (10-2) return to the BCS for the first time since 2006 when they went to the Orange Bowl and beat Wake Forest. Louisville head coach Charlie Strong is no stranger to BCS bowls having been the defensive coordinator at Florida before taking the job as Cardinals head coach.

Florida comes into the game with the momentum of a big win over the rival Florida State Seminoles on Thanksgiving weekend. The Gators come into the game with a strong defense, like most other SEC schools, ranking third in the country in scoring defense. The offense, lead by sophomore quarterback Jeff Driskel and senior running back Mike Gillislee, will look to run the ball on a Louisville run defense that’s mid pack this season.

Lead by sophomore quarterback Teddy Bridgewater, the Cardinals ended up the winners of the Big East via multiple tie breakers. The Cardinals carry the 24th ranked passing offense into this game with Bridgewater who threw for 3452 yards and 25 touchdowns this season. With a running game that’s struggled, ranking 100th in the country, the Cardinals will look to move the ball through the air early and often.

This game will come down to how Louisville can pass the ball against a stout Gator defense. For Florida, if quarterback Jeff Driskel can lead the offense, minimize the turnovers and put points on the board, they will come out victorious.

Written By: Zach Oliver

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We have all heard the Kirk Herbstreit rants about why NIU does not belong in the Discover Orange Bowl, but here is why Kirk, Jesse Palmer and the ESPN gang are all wrong.

With the new BCS Championship Series being implemented in the 2014 FBS-Football season, there is a greater need for schools to obtain a maximum amount of BCS-Points to make their teams eligible for the “New Years Madness” tournament.

Over the past few years, conferences have been realigning more and more.

Conference Additions 2010-2012
-Big Ten : Added Nebraska, Rutgers & Maryland
-Pac12 : Added Colorado & Utah
-SEC: Added Texas A&M & Missouri
-ACC: Added Syracuse, Louisville & Pittsburgh
-Big East: Added Navy, Tulane, ECU, San Diego State, Boise State, Memphis, UCF, SMU & Houston
Big 12 : Added TCU & West Virginia
Conf. USA: Added FIU, Louisiana Tech, North Texas, FAU & MTSU
The MAC: Added Temple & UMass
The Mountain West: Added Hawaii, Fresno State, Nevada, San Jose State & Utah State
The List Goes On

With so many shake-ups occurring in preparation for the new Bowl Championship Series, every team has the obligation to work “the system” in their favor.

The MAC (Mid-American Conference) a conference where I am a proud, former athlete, track & field champion, and alumni-supporter have to admit that traditionally, my conference has been seen as a “lesser conference”.

“It is a conference where after all the good players get picked, the rest of them go”

This of course is not true, “The Ice Man” George Gervin, Ben Roethlisberger, and World Series MVP Mike Schmidt are just a few proud products of the MAC Conference.

The idea that Northern Illinois University can not pull an upset against a powerhouse Florida State Seminole football program is absurd! Lets switch sports and take the NCAA-Basketball Tournament as a blueprint for “giving teams a chance” and looking at numerous examples of the over-hyped falling short to the underrated.

So let me be the one to tell Kirk Herbstreit that without the BCS system and new shocking surprises in the bowl game match-ups, how does he expect “lesser conference” teams to break the “Mid-Major Monotony”? To not accept that the richer conferences just keep getting richer? The idea that smaller market teams with no television contracts should just get excited when they get invited to a BCS contenders house over the first three (3) weeks of the NCAA-Football calendar, to get “whomped” on the scoreboard for a few hundred-thousand dollars!

EAT A CORNDOG KIRK HERBSTREIT!!!

Here comes “THE MATH”. Even if Northern Illinois gets demolished by Florida State, the MAC Conference receives at least $18 Million for having its team reach a BCS game. Lucky for the conference, their most profitably program (apprx. $20 Million in revenues this year) reached one of college football’s most prestigious honors.

Where does the money go? Simply put, strengthening the conference! Which means making it more competitive, more appealing, better at attracting better student-athletes, and at the end of the day rewarding schools for abiding by NCAA Rules and Regulations.

I strongly believe that the NCAA needs teams like NIU to eat oranges and go to big money bowl games or the NCAA will start to lose conferences.

“If the weaker conference teams see that they will not be able to obtain national championships, bowl games and lucrative incentives, they will just absorb themselves into conferences that currently do retain opportunities. That to me will weaken the fanfare and competitiveness of the game. It is never a good idea to create a great divide in an united effort because at some point, effort will cease to exist.”

For those that don’t know, I’ll recap it breifly:
According to BCS rules, a non-AQ conference champion will receive an automatic bid to a BCS bowl game if: a) they are ranked in the top 16, b) ranked ahead of a BCS conference champion.

Check and check. NIU did what they had to do.

Was Kirk and company wrong in what they said? No. At least, not in my opinion. I also feel that many people misinterpreted what they were saying. Did they say NIU was an awful team? I didn’t hear that. What I heard was them saying NIU being in a BCS game was a joke BECAUSE of that asinine rule.

Could they have went after Louisville? Sure. But they’ve talked about the automatic bids for BCS conferences in years past and it is pretty much accepted at this point. The reason much more time was focused on NIU is because it’s the first time that rule has put an undeserving team into the BCS.

And no matter which way you slice it… NIU does not belong in the Orange Bowl. Sorry NIU fans, but that’s just reality.

Now, let me move on to the other side of the argument.

NIU supporters are yelling: “It’s just as stupid that Louisville and Wisconsin are in!”

I’ll give you Louisville. But leave Wisconsin out of this. They belong. Why?

Because it is the Rose Bowl. The annual, long-standing, Pac-12 vs. Big 10 Bowl. The Rose Bowl’s rule pre-BCS and post-BCS is that the champions of those two conferences will meet (unless one or both are going for a national championship). Hence, Wisconsin winning the Big Ten Championship moves them to that historic bowl.

You can sit back and argue all you want that those BCS Bowls deserve to have the top teams in them, but when the BCS was implemented what did we hear from those same people? That the bowl tie-ins needed to stay because we love the traditional match-ups. Big Ten/Pac-12 Rose Bowl, ACC to the Orange, SEC to the Sugar, and so on. In no uncertain terms did fans around the nation make it clear that they did not want their bowl to be messed with. And the bowl committees agreed, as they wanted it to be the same as well (sans national championship of course).

Therefore, any argument that X non-AQ school getting in to those bowl games OR any of the tie-in winners not going to those are just silly. Put in NIU over Wisconsin in the Rose Bowl and see what kind of reaction you get.

Somewhere along the line the BCS became the goat. The BCS “system” is only designed to rank teams to find out who will play for the national championship. The bowl committees and conferences are responsible for the other rules concerning bowls.

Do not beat your anti-BCS drum over this. It is not its fault. Furthermore, nothing has really changed historically. Abolish the BCS and the Rose Bowl is still going to take Big Ten vs. Pac-12 champion. And furthermore again, without the BCS rules NIU isn’t going to the Orange Bowl as they would not select them. You can’t have it both ways.

The Big East has remained grandfathered in because of the rules. You have to remember that when the BCS “Six” first started the Big East was a very good football conference that had Miami and/or Virginia Tech always in the top five. Look at the first years of the BCS and they made it to the title game often. Conference re-alignment destroyed the conference.

NIU should get in ahead of Louisville, because the Big East does not have a bowl tie-in. However, neither deserve it. And the reason NIU, as I repeat myself, is getting the backlash moreso than Louisville is that the “talking heads” and fans have already complained about low ranked or unranked conference champions in years past — this was something new and fresh that hadn’t really happened before.

I completely agree that Oklahoma deserves a bid over both. Hell, if it were up to me there would be no tie-ins and the top 12 teams would play in BCS Bowls regardless of conference. That’s a pipe dream, and bowls are about interesting match-ups anyway.

As I wind down the post let me also say this: The BCS “Six” were going to get their BCS money regardless of who went. So does it matter that Wisconsin is in over Nebraska? No. And that’s to put history and the love of the Rose Bowl aside.

Kirk and others are not made because the “little guy” got in. These are the same people who were championing TCU, Boise State, and others for years. They are simply making the point that NIU’s ranking and spot in the BCS is not deserved. They are arguing that this “rule” is silly. And they are right.

As I mentioned above, bowl season is about interesting match-ups anyway. NIU vs. Florida State is fine by me. NIU vs. Arkansas State would have been just as much fun for me. NIU did nothing wrong and took advantage of a dumb rule. That’s all.

Fact remains, they do not belong in the game. But it is very much winnable.

The school announced the move Sunday — the same day it accepted an invitation to the Orange Bowl. Doeren was hired Saturday by North Carolina State to replace the fired Tom O’Brien after leading NIU (12-1) to Mid-American Conference championships in each of his two seasons.

The Huskies were 23-4 with a 17-1 record in conference play under him. Now, they’re turning to Carey, who will make his debut against ACC champion Florida State in the first BCS appearance by the school and a MAC team.

He has spent two years on the staff and moved up from line coach to coordinator after the first game this year when Mike Dunbar left the team for health reasons.

“When you have a program like this, it’s not about what you can change; it’s about what you can keep,” Carey said in a statement. “We’ve got great players and we want to keep this ball rolling.”

Northern Illinois boasts a Heisman Trophy candidate in Jordan Lynch, who has a single-season record for yards rushing by a major college quarterback with 1,771 and leads the nation with 4,733 yards of total offense. The Huskies’ rushing attack ranks ninth in the country.

“Every opportunity Rod has had to step up and make a difference in our program, he has done it,” athletic director Jeff Compher said in a statement. “Whether developing a young, untested offensive line or stepping in as the offensive coordinator and play-caller in the second game of the season, he has responded with poise and professionalism. I’m confident he will do that again as our head coach.”

(© Copyright 2012 The Associated Press. All Rights Reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed.)

Northern Illinois would be the first MAC team to play in a BCS Game. NIU’s only loss was at Iowa in the Week 1.

photo credit: http://upload.wikimedia.org

With championship Saturday wrapping up now, the BCS bowl picture got a lot clearer. With Alabama’s crazy over Georgia in the SEC Championship Game, they have punched their ticket to go to Miami in January. The Tide will meet the Fighting Irish of Notre Dame to decide who the best team in college football is. The loser of the SEC title game, Georgia, will be lucky if they can get an at-large bid. Florida State won the ACC title tonight by stopping a late Georgia Tech drive which means the Seminoles are also Miami bound but will play in the Orange Bowl. FSU will play an at-large team which could possibly be NIU or Florida depending on the final standings. In the B1G Championship, Wisconsin put up 70 against Nebraska to advance to Pasadena on New Years Day to play the Stanford Cardinal at the Rose Bowl. With Kansas State’s win over Texas, they have sealed the Big 12 championship and will go to the Fiesta Bowl in Arizona where they will also await the rankings to see what at-large team they will play.

Although Johnny Manziel and Manti Te’o did not play today, I do not believe the Heisman Race has changed much since last weekend. I still want Te’o to win the award but seeing how the voting has gone over the past couple years, I think the voters will still side with Manziel. Either way, I am more than content with the winner. I will only be disappointed if Collin Klein wins because I do not believe he has the skill set nor the record against good teams to win the award.

photo credit: http://www.chicagonow.com/

This championship Friday definitely did not disappoint. Northern Illinois upset Kent State in Detroit to potentially clinch a BCS title berth and Stanford beat UCLA for the second time in back-to-back weeks to get their ticket punched for the Rose Bowl. The Huskies of NIU beat the Golden Flashes 44-37 in two overtimes and Jordan Lynch just made his name nationally known. The junior from Chicago threw for 212 yards and a touchdown as well as running for 160 yards and 3 touchdowns. NIU needs UCLA to lose (which they did) and Texas to lose in order to get into a BCS Bowl. Stanford beat UCLA on a missed last-minute field goal to tie the game. The Cardinal are seeing roses and will play the winner of the B1G Championship in Pasadena on New Year’s Day.

photo credit: http://www.collegegolfstore.com/Stanford/StanfordLOGO.gif

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We’ll if you are a Rutgers’ fan you probably woke up this morning with a sense of anger, disappointment, and outright disgust

The Scarlet Knights had every opportunity to win that game last night, and 50,000+ watched a BCS bowl bid fade into the night illuminated by the Scarlet tones on the Empire State Building. It seemed as if the stars were aligned for Rutgers.

Louisville would not start their star QB due to a broken wrist and a bum ankle. It was determined he could not take a snap under center and head coach Charlie Strong went with Senior backup Will Stein. Strong pulled Stein in the second quarter and in Kirk Gibson like fashion Teddy Bridgewater limped out and led the Cardinals to a 20-17 win in Piscataway.

This loss hurts on many levels. As many alumni and current students left the stadium last night there was one simple question going through their heads… When are we going to get a shot at the BCS like that again? As the Scarlet Knights head to the BIG 10, no longer will they have to put aside teams like South Florida, Temple, & UCONN. Instead they get Ohio State, Michigan, & Nebraska. The paychecks get much higher, but the level of competition gets even tougher, and it could be a while before Rutgers is playing for a shot at the BCS again.

As the regular season begins to wind down the bowl scenarios are shaping out. This year will be like most, filled with controversy and frustrated teams. There are a crop of teams that fall into the mix of being “really good” but not “great”. With Notre Dame’s win at USC the Irish have locked up a spot in the National Championship Game. They will most likely take on the winner of the SEC title game between Alabama and Georgia. It’s interesting that it sets up like a mini playoff format, Notre Dame getting the bye for having the best record and the #2 & #3 seeds having a play in game for the other spot in the title game. The only irony in the whole thing is that the winner of the SEC title game will be at least a 7 point favorite against Notre Dame so go figure.

Now, in terms of this year’s Heisman candidates, I think it’s very simple. If you want your “Heisman Moment” or fairy tale story you would look to either Manti Te’o or Johnny Manziel. Both had tremendous seasons, yet both have stigmas against them winning the award. Many say that voters don’t like to vote for a defensive player; in fact you would have to go back to 1997 (Charles Woodson) to find a non quarterback or running back to take the honors. To me it makes sense that Johnny Manziel wins this year. Many say the voters don’t like to vote for a freshman, but I think it’s because of being a freshman that he deserves this award even more. Taking a team from 6-6 last season into the SEC and going 10-2 is no small task. Going in to Tuscaloosa and defeating the defending national champions is no small task. Passing for over 3400 yards, rushing for over 1000 yards and accounting for 43 touchdowns are no small tasks. Johnny accomplished all that in his first year, and in a year where there is no overwhelming favorite, Manziel has stood out, and been consistent all season long. Johnny Football could soon be Johnny Heisman.

SEC Championship Game

#2 Alabama vs #3 Georgia 4:00 p.m. CBS

Throughout the season Alabama was a shoe in to play in January for another national title. There have been a few hiccups along their journey and now they will have to win this game over Georgia with the winner taking on Notre Dame. AJ McCarron has had his share of ups and downs. A fierce comeback against LSU, followed by the devastation of losing at home to Texas A&M. McCarron will now once again be under the limelight, with the rare chance to play in back-to-back BCS title games. He will have to beat yet another great defense.

Georgia has been tremendous this season. They fell down 21 points at South Carolina, but rebounded at home to beat Florida just two weeks later, and find themselves in the hunt for the nation’s big prize. This game will come down to the Georgia offense’s ability to put points up on the board. Can Aaron Murray get the job done in a huge spot? The bottom line is this. I think Georgia is a great team in the best conference in college football, and I know that recently there has been an anti-SEC movement. You can’t argue the stats and when 1 conference is responsible for the last 6 National Championships, they probably can be considered the best. Alabama got hit by a prefect storm. I firmly believe that had they played A&M any other week they would have won, but they got caught with a little bit of an LSU hangover, and it cost them. They will be ready for Georgia, and I’m not convinced Georgia has enough to win this game.

PICK: Alabama 31 Georgia 13

Pac 12 Championship Game* Friday

#16 UCLA vs #8 Stanford 8:00 p.m.

I was surprised how big the margin was last week between these two teams, and I really thought UCLA would have kept it closer. Stanford has been red hot, and will not let their foot off the gas in this one. If UCLA has any shot they have to get Johnathan Franklin more involved, and they cannot afford any turnovers. Even if the play a prefect game I think the Cardinal still have the edge.

PICK: Stanford 41 UCLA 21

#18 Texas @ #6 Kansas State 8:00 p.m.

The season came crashing down for Kansas State in a quick 60 minutes against Baylor. Many people pointed to this game as the final step in what could have been a title game bound season. Now the Wildcats will have to make sure they win just to ensure a BCS bid. This is Collin Klein’s last chance in front of the country to make his case for the Heisman. Texas is no pushover, and I think they will play well, but I expect Kansas State to rebound and make a statement as they head to the bowl season.

PICK: Kansas State 48 Texas 27

Quick Hits

#11 Oklahoma beats TCU after a dramatic win over OK State. OU 38 TCU 21
Wisconsin ends the season on a high note with an upset with at home over #12 Nebraska 23-20.

#13 Florida State destroys Georgia Tech 44-13.

Can #17 Kent State slow down #21 NIU’s offense? I think they can — Kent State 31 NIU 28.

Follow Joe Curci on Twitter @JoeyBaboots

Who do you think will win the SEC Championship Game? Be heard in the comments below…

Don Donoher: It hasn’t been a particularly good start to the basketball season for the fans in DeKalb. The Huskies are off to a 1-5 start, with their only win coming against some school named Judson College. Is this team where you thought they would be? Better? Worse? Sub-question…Northern Illinois IS in the MAC, correct? Because from the look of their schedule, it appears they also play in the Horizon League.

Steve Nitz: Prior to the season, I put the over/under for NIU at 10 wins. Right now, I would probably go under with that number. Don’t get me wrong, I knew this team would face growing pains and struggle, but it appears there might be more growing pains than I expected. It’s going to be a long year for the Huskies, but at the same time you have to put it in perspective – NIU is starting two freshmen and two sophomores, and has six freshmen averaging more than 10 minutes per game. It also doesn’t help that sophomore wing Abdel Nader, the Huskies’ leading scorer last season, is suspended indefinitely for an unspecified violation of team rules. As for the Horizon League not, I like the fact the Huskies play in-state schools like Illinois-Chicago and Loyola. I wish the Illinois schools would play each other more.

DD: Mark Montgomery had a rough first year at the helm, coming out of the gate with a 5-26 record. I think we both can agree that no one expects the Huskies to be world beaters, but 5-26 is pretty brutal. What do you think of Mark’s job so far?

SN: To me, you can’t judge Montgomery on his first season and change, and I think the fans realize that. He inherited a complete mess when he got to Dekalb, as former head coach Ricardo Patton set the program back pretty far. This team is young, so it will be interesting to see how things look in two years. If the ship hasn’t been righted by then, maybe people will change their tune.

DD: According to Google (sorry, I am not the best researcher), there are 347 Division 1 basketball teams. NIU currently ranks 336th in scoring. Needless to say, this is probably one of the weak areas for the Huskies, no?

SN: It’s a weakness for sure. During Saturday’s loss to Loyola, the Huskies scored just 15 points in the first half, if you can believe that. A lot of this is youth, some of it may be luck. Sometimes the ball just doesn’t bounce your way.

DD: If scoring is a weakness, what is a strength (if any) that the Huskies can use as an advantage against the Flyers?

SN: I think the team has played solid defense so far – it’s the only reason they were even in the Loyola game. After that contest, Ramblers head coach Porter Moser mentioned how hard and tough the Huskies’ defense was. If there is one positive, it’s the fact NIU has played a nice defensive style being so young.

DD: Only one player scores in double figures and that is freshman, Akeem Springs. Probably not a good sign when a freshman is pacing the team at only 10.6 points a game. If the Flyers lock in on Springs, who else on the Huskies can put the ball in the hoop?

SN: Freshman point guard Daveon Balls has shown flashes, and freshmen forward Sam Mader can be a threat on the inside. I’m sure Montomgery wouldn’t mind seeing his team’s most experienced player, junior forward Aksel Bolin, score more.

DD: Fun question, can Jordan Lynch play basketball? Because he sure as hell can play football. Easily the best kept secret in college football, how have the people in DeKalb reacted to his epic season? Any word on if he will return for his senior year?

SN: For anyone who follows NIU football, it’s hard not to hear Lynch’s name mentioned constantly, and deservedly so. He’s not much of an NFL prospect at quarterback, so he will be back for his senior year.

DD: Last question, do you have a prediction for the game? What is your prediction for the Huskies season? And finally, Notre Dame is somewhat near DeKalb (probably? maybe?). What are their chances in the BCS Championship game?

SN: I’ll say Dayton wins by 15. For the Huskies’ season, I’m going to go with 8-9 wins. As for Notre Dame, it’s about three hours from Dekalb, but the way the Chicago media treats the Irish you would think it’s located somewhere in downtown Chicago.

Thank you to Steve for the interview. For appearing on today’s program, he receives an expired gift card from 1993 to Showbiz Pizza.

NIU play for a second straight MAC Title

It’s quite a bittersweet week for college football fans. Yes, we get some top-drawer matchups as all of the conference champions are decided within the space of a few hours, but it also marks the end of weekends stuffed with meaningful football until we’re well into Bowl Season.

There are four out-and-out Championship games on our screens this week (with two others we don’t get to see) and then four other in-conference regular season games that will have a direct impact on who wins three other conferences.

Champions weekend also gives a chance to see a couple of the smaller conferences in action (albeit only “as live”). One of these – the MAC Championship Game on Friday night – also brings the “BCS Buster” back to the fore and could threaten the Big 12’s hopes of having two teams in BCS bowls.

Louisville @ Rutgers (live, ESPN UK, 12.30am Friday)
The de-facto Big East Championship game that has everybody saying “Who Cares?” Theoretically, Cincinnati can also get a share of the title, but it’s one of these two who’ll go on to be killed in a BCS Bowl.

MAC Championship: #21 Northern Illinois vs #17 Kent State (as live, ESPN America, 11.30am Saturday)
Game of the Week. There are some pretty darn good teams in the MAC this year, and two of them clash here with a potential spot in a BCS Bowl at stake. It’s a shame it’s not live, but the repeat is still gonna be worth watching.

#11 Oklahoma @ TCU (live, ESPN America, 5pm Saturday)
Can the Sooners heap a world of pressure on K-State with a win in this week’s early game? TCU have their tails up after beating Texas, but an Oklahoma win will see them cheering on Texas later in the evening.

SEC Championship: #2 Alabama vs #3 Georgia (as live, ESPN America, 9pm Saturday)
…or, in other words, the National Semi-Final. The playoffs start two years early with the winner of this game guaranteed to be facing Notre Dame in the NCG. I can’t see past Bama, but it should still be a good one.

#18 Texas @ #6 Kansas State (live, ESPN America, 1am Sunday)
It would be a pretty shoddy end to the year for Kansas. A loss, coupled with an Oklahoma win, would see them slip from #1 to possibly missing out on the BCS altogether in the space of a couple of weeks.

ACC Championship: #13 Florida State vs Georgia Tech (live, ESPNUK, 1am Sunday) – TBC
Not officially on the TV slate yet, but it’s the only game on in a slot that’s reserved for college football. Like the Big Ten, this sees a monster favourite face a team that finished third in it’s division. Enticing, eh?

CUSA Championship: UCF @ Tulsa (as live, ESPN America, 6am Sunday)
CUSA has been mercilessly plundered by the Big East, and UCF are playing under fear of potential sanctions, but an evenly matched title game is always worth tuning in for, whatever the level.

Boise State @ Nevada (as live, ESPN America, 8.30am Tuesday)
The Broncos travel to Nevada playing for the conference title and a BCS rankings boost. Sound familiar? BSU got some revenge last year, but a big win in Reno would be a nice fillip before moving to the sham that is the Big East.

College Football Special/Bowl Selection Show (ESPN America, 1.30am Monday)
I don’t normally plug the weekly magazine shows, but this is different – the announcements of who’s going to which bowl. There should be some tasty matchups coming out of this, as well as the intrigue of whether the MAC Champions get a BCS bid.

Wait, you mean we’re missing…?
Not a lot this week. I mean, yes there are the Pac-12 (Friday) and Big Ten (Saturday) Championship games on Fox, but both feature overmatched opponents who’ve already played each other this season. Meh. There’s more interest in the Sun Belt clash between Middle Tennessee and ArkansasState, which is my pick for this week’s unfortunate miss.

A ThorpesSportingThoughts Original

This piece is one of four in a suite titled “Four Maps For Karibib”. They were created in 2005 on the occasion of an invitation to exhibit for the first international exhibition in the town of Karibib, located a few hours from the capital of Nambia, Windhoek. Nambibia is a sparsely-populated country just west of South Africa. With an land area twice the size of California but with less than two million people, this exhibition was a big event to its citizens. A German colony until the early Twentieth Century, then aligned with South Africa, Namibia is now an independant republic since 1990. It is still a rough and tumble place that attracts people from many countries. Our exhibition was held at a compound in Karibib owned by a Russian ex-pat Leonid Stupenkov. The event was not only an opportunity to show work of artists but a celebration that included bonfires, fireworks, roasted goat, music and dancing. It was truly an international event! In attendance were members of the media, including radio and newspaper, as well as the Russian consul and his wife. Some traveled, I was told, two hundred kilometers to join the festivities.

Four Maps For Karibib-Interior 2005 Acrylic, thread on Okwara paper

I wrote about the exhibition in an earlier Page on Webs And Threads. Here is a partial excerpt:

“ART ACTION-SEVEN FIRES” ~NAMIBIA 2005

I received an unexpected email one day in June, 2005, inviting me to exhibit my art in Namibia where a dear old friend, Armand  has lived for many years. We met in Virginia in 1979 as he was ending a long journey across America and Canada. He was about to return home to Nuremberg, Germany to continue his studies in architectural restoration and art.

Although we knew each other just a short time, it seemed like the right thing to do when I accepted his family’s invitation to visit Germany for a Bavarian Christmas and what was to be my first trip to Europe. It was to be one of the most wonderful experiences of my life. We have all stayed in touch since then, in spite of far-flung locations and busy lives.

Armand’s adventurous spirit took him to Africa, where he finally settled in Namibia in the small town of Karibib. There he has worked as a sculptor as well as created amazing mosaics and stonework. Although the digital age means that we now stay in touch more often, the email invitation came out of the blue!. After all the years of thinking about a visit to Africa, the time was right!

There were only a few weeks to prepare my work for the exhibition. I came up with the idea of folded works on paper when I noticed a folded map of California. This turned out to be the ideal solution to transporting art more than eleven thousand miles.

I simply folded the suite of four “Maps For Karibib” and put them into the zippered side pocket of my luggage. On arrival and the installation of our work, Armand strung a stainless steel wire in the stone building where our work was located. I use stainless steel spring clips to hang them like laundry. The beautiful Okawara paper did resemble fabric and visitors enjoyed walking around to see both sides of the four works.

The four works utilize the triangular “the stitch-mark” motif first developed as part of   THE THREADS PROJECT.

(CBS) It’s been a bizarre year for the Illinois football program to say the least.

And things just got weirder.

I give you this note from Herb Gould in Monday’s Sun-Times:

One co-offensive coordinator, Chris Beatty, calls first and second down, and the other, Billy Gonzales, calls third down. But all the calls are approved by the entire offensive staff, Beckman indicated. And you can be sure the head coach also has his finger in the pie.

Wait, what?

Having co-coordinators in college football is not uncommon, but I’ve never heard of two coordinators splitting up the play-calling by down. Of course, I didn’t play college football. But former Iowa Hawkeye and NFL safety Matt Bowen did.

“I’ve never heard of that in all my stops in football,” Bowen, a 670 The Score contributor, told me this week.

Bowen confirmed what I have always seen and been told about game-day coaching: The assistants have plenty of input on what can be done differently from series to series, what areas of the field are open, and what matchups can be exploited.

But two offensive coaches calling plays at the same time? No way.

So where is Beckman getting this philosophy from? It’s hard to tell. Three different members of the Toledo media contingency said they had never heard of the Rockets calling plays like that when Beckman was there. This is not surprising because current Toledo head coach Matt Campbell was/is clearly in charge of the offense and the biggest reason for Rockets’ success.

What’s not a surprise is that the Illini offense currently ranks 115th out of 120 teams.

Now, I’m usually not one to call for a coach to be fired, but I’m not sure I’ve ever seen more evidence that a head coach is in over his head.

The problem is, Illinois has dug a hole so deep, it can’t really get itself out now. There is significant pressure from boosters right now for change, but their anger appears to directed more at Illinois athletic director Mike Thomas than Tim Beckman.

And that’s where it should be.

But don’t expect change in Champaign. The school can’t really afford it right now and Thomas’ fate will ultimately be decided more by the success of John Groce and the Illinois basketball team. And given the Top 25 recruiting class Groce just pulled in, there will be patience at Assembly Hall.

Unfortunately it looks like there will just be losing at Memorial Stadium.

Twelve straight Big Ten losses and counting…

Extra Points

- Speaking of pressure, Northwestern head coach Pat Fitzgerald faces more and more criticism every time the Wildcats blow a fourth quarter lead. That’s natural, but anyone suggesting Northwestern should make a change at head coach needs to have their head examined. The truth is that the ‘Cats are just three stops away from being undefeated. They haven’t been that close to a perfect record at this time of the year since they blew that fourth quarter lead to Miami Ohio in 1995.

Think before you speak, Wildcats fans. Fitzgerald has the Northwestern program headed in the right direction. It’s a slow and steady process, but be patient.

- This Saturday, on Senior Day, Wisconsin running back Montee Ball could break the NCAA all-time touchdown record. With 77 career touchdowns, he trails former Miami Ohio running back Travis Prentice by one. The Badgers will also be looking to end Ohio State’s undefeated season, but it won’t be easy. Frankly, I’m shocked UW is a 3-point favorite, even though they are at home.

- I still think Oregon is built to avoid an upset because the offense is as close to unstoppable as I’ve ever seen in college football, but their defense is in rough shape. Safety Avery Patterson suffered a torn ACL last week and he was already filling in for John Boyett, one of their better players who suffered a season-ending injury earlier in the year. The depth chart is so thin that reports out of Oregon this week have star running back/wide receiver De’Anthony Thomas taking reps at cornerback and backup quarterback Bryan Bennett getting work in the secondary and on special teams.

Both Thomas and Bennett are extraordinary athletes and some considered Thomas a five-star corner out of college. I would think he’d be really rusty at the position and both will probably only play defense in an emergency, but it sure would be fun to see Thomas get his hands on an interception and do his thing.

- Meanwhile, there continues to be speculation that Oregon head coach Chip Kelly will make the jump to the NFL after the season. I really don’t get it. I understand why he would want to go to the NFL, but I don’t understand why an NFL team would covet him. He’s been running the same offense since he was the offensive coordinator at New Hampshire from 1999-2006. Now, you’d be surprised to know that Kelly actually uses more pro-style concepts in his spread offense than one would assume, and I know he’s a smart enough coach to adapt, but don’t we have enough evidence that spread concepts rarely work in the NFL? The argument saying “Wait until you see what he can do with NFL talent” doesn’t really apply, because NFL players can’t run what he does.

Kelly is a college football innovator right now and I think it would be wise for him to do what he does best at this level, not the next. Of course, I’d love to see him prove me wrong.

- Congratulations to Northern Illinois for winning its third straight MAC West title. They’ll play in the MAC Championship Nov. 30 in Detroit and if Purdue is wise, they’ll hire Dave Doeren the next day. And by the way, NIU quarterback Jordan Lynch is a fourth junior. Any chance he can graduate and play immediately for Doeren next year at Purdue?

Adam Hoge

Adam is the Sports Editor for CBSChicago.com and specializes in coverage of the Bears, White Sox and college sports. He was born and raised in Lincoln Park and attended St. Ignatius College Prep before going off to the University of Wisconsin-Madison where he earned a Journalism degree. Follow him on Twitter @AdamHogeCBS and read more of his columns here.