MAC champion Northern Illinois to face Florida State in Orange Bowl
Northern Illinois will play Florida State in the Orange Bowl, according to a source with direct knowledge of the selection.
On a day featuring relatively little drama regarding which teams will head to which BCS bowls, the Huskies' selection provided the biggest intrigue. They needed to finish No. 16 in the final BCS standings; they finished No. 15.
>COMPLETE BOWL SCHEDULE
From there, the only real question was which at-large team the Fiesta Bowl would select. The bowl picked Oregon to face Kansas State.
The BCS title game, as expected, will be Notre Dame vs. Alabama.
Florida will play Louisville in the Sugar Bowl and Wisconsin will play Stanford in the Rose Bowl.
Northern Illinois, from tiny DeKalb, will be the darling of this bowl season. The Huskies will enter the game 12-1 after beating Kent State last Friday night for the MAC championship. The Huskies have a star in quarterback Jordan Lynch, who has accounted for 19 rushing and 24 passing touchdowns this season. Lynch is receiving some buzz as a fringe Heisman Trophy candidate.
The Huskies will be heavy underdogs against Florida State, which won the ACC by edging Georgia Tech in the ACC title game on Saturday.
