SB Nation - Northern Illinois Huskies

Ranking The 2009-2010 Bowls: Part 1

Mark Kieffer — Sun, 13 Dec 2009 21:10:59 -0000

Everyone and their grandma has been ranking the bowls......Except for me. So I figured that I should jump in on all the fun, and talk about the 2nd season of College Football: "Bowl Season".

Now, I am in the camp of those who think there are just way too many bowl games. I'm not going to lie. It takes quite a bit to get me hyped up for a bowl game. To be honest, almost every year I set out to try and watch every bowl game, and every year I end up watching a handful of bowls, but mostly college basketball.

This year, I'm not making any promises like that, especially when it's quite possible I'll be going down to Tempe for the bowl game. At the same time, I will make the effort of watching a handful of games, and I figured I would share my process of elimination with you, by doing a countdown of bowl games that I am looking forward to most.

In Part 1 of this three part series, I'm going to countdown the 14 bowls that I find the least exciting. I'd characterize this group by saying that I could watch some of these games, but I'm certainly not rearranging my life to watch them. I can safely say that if I somehow did not watch a single game from this group, I wouldn't be too disappointed.

#34: New Orleans Bowl (Southern Miss vs. Middle Tennessee State), 12/20/2009, 7:30pm CST, ESPN

I have absolutley no reason to get excited about this game at all. I thought Southern Miss would be a better team than they were, but they ended up being just another 7-5 midmajor. If you're hardcore, on paper these teams look pretty even in regards to scoring. It could be a close game. Accuscore has Southern Miss as a 54% favorite. Whatifsports.com has Southern Miss, just edging the victory as well. Fortunatley for me, the Vikings play the Panthers on that Sunday night, so I will be watching that as well.

#33: New Mexico Bowl (Fresno State vs. Wyoming), 12/19/2009, 3:30pm CST, ESPN

There have been years in the past, when I've flicked on the game, because it's the 1st one in the season, and it's been a bit of a novelty. Usually, I can't watch past the 1st quarter. This year, I will probably try and attempt the same thing, but will end up doing something else. Not a knock on Fresno State which is a decent team, but moreso on Wyoming. On paper, this has the makings of a blowout. With Fresno State, you have one of the best offenses in the nation, averaging 436 yards/game and about 34 points scored. With Wyoming, you have one of the worst offenses, averaging 298 yards/game, and about 17 points scored.

#32: Little Caesar's Bowl (Marshall vs. Ohio), 12/26/2009, Noon CST, ESPN

What ranks this game here as opposed to last, is probably the fact that Marshall has a new head coach from the regular season now. Since there is a "craziness" possibility to this game, I may watch the first few series.

#31: Hawaii Bowl (Nevada vs. SMU), 12/24/2009, 7pm CST, ESPN

The biggest thing this game has going for it, is that there is no College Basketball at all that night, no other College Football that night, and no NBA either. There is a Chargers vs. Titans game on the NFL Network, but that's it as far as sports go. People wanting their sports fix might be tuning into this one. Or maybe they will do something with their families on Christmas Eve (for those that celebrate it).

#30: GMAC Bowl (Central Michigan vs. Troy), 1/6/2010, 6pm CST, ESPN

This actually is a decent matchup among mid-majors. It really is. The biggest problem with this bowl is that it's sandwiched right between the Orange Bowl and the BCS Championship Game. I might watch some of it, as I wait for the Iowa State vs. Duke game, but that's about it.

#29: St. Petersburg Bowl (UCF vs. Rutgers), 12/19/2009, 7pm CST, ESPN

I know Rutgers is 8-4, but they went 3-4 in the Big East. Also, this is practically a homegame for UCF. Just not a lot about this game to sell me on.

#28: EagleBank Bowl (UCLA vs. Temple), 12/29/2009, 3:30pm CST, ESPN

Can't say much about this one, other than I'm probably not going to watch it.

#27: International Bowl (South Florida vs. Northern Illinois), 1/2/2010, 11am CST, ESPN2

I don't think I've ever watched the International Bowl and this matchup isn't really changing the chances of that happening for me.

#26: Armed Forces Bowl (Houston vs. Air Force), 12/31/2009, 11am CST, ESPN

The thick of the CUSA schedule exposed Houston as a paper tiger, it could be a close game. It is an interesting matchup in Houston has the best pass offense in the nation, while Air Force has the best pass defense in the nation. There's not enough there for me to take an interest, especially if I'm in Tempe getting ready for the Insight Bowl.

#25: Alamo Bowl (Michigan State vs. Texas Tech), 1/2/2010, 8pm CST, ESPN

Michigan State is a disappointment this year. I think many thought they had an outside shot to compete for the Big 10, and instead they finish 6-6. To add insult to injury, they also suspended 8 guys and kicked 2 off the team for some off the field drama. There's no reason why Texas Tech shouldn't roll this team by 21.

#24: Meineke Car Care Bowl (Pitt vs. UNC), 12/26/2009, 3:30pm CST, ESPN

On paper, Pitt should roll UNC. I just wonder how they will play coming off that disappointing loss to Cincy. It seems like when a team gets snubbed or loses a tough championship game like that, they don't come in ready to play.

UNC is just manic with their play. Some weeks they look great and beat Virginia Tech, while others they are losing to NC-State. Overall, I see the makings of a potentially sloppy game

#23: Humanitarian Bowl (Bowling Green vs. Idaho), 12/30/2009, 3:30pm CST, ESPN

Watch the weather forecast for this one. If it's a clear, calm day, it's going to be a shootout with my man Freddie Barnes tearing it up, and I'm going to want to watch it! If it's blizzard conditions, or just a day condusive to running the ball a lot, this bowl belongs in the #34-30 range.

#22: Music City Bowl (Kentucky vs. Clemson), 12/27/2009, 7:30pm CST, ESPN

C.J. Spiller is the reason to watch this game. If you haven't seen him play before this would be a good spot to see him as I have a feeling he'll have a big game in this one. Kentucky has a bad rush defense. That said, I see this as a Clemson romp, so I'm not exactly expecting a good game from this one.

#21: Papajohns.com Bowl (South Carolina vs. UConn), 1/2/2010, 1pm CST, ESPN

South Carolina really perplexes me. Spurrier is supposed to be this offensive genius, but South Carolina seems to have had sucky offenses since he took over. I'm rooting for UConn in this one. With everything they've gone through this season, how nice would it be to see the Huskies get a bowl victory?

In Part 2 of this series, I will count down the next tier of bowl games in terms of what I'm looking forward to. Look for that on Tuesday. In the meantime, feel free to join in on the conversation.

3rd Annual Rock M Nation Bowl Pick 'Em Contest

The Beef — Sat, 12 Dec 2009 04:00:18 -0000

UPDATE: BUMPED BACK TO THE TOP OF THE PAGE. PICKS ARE DUE AT NOON TOMORROW.

That's right loyal readers...the Bowl Pick 'Em Contest is back for its third season.

It is simple to participate. Simply reply to this thread with your picks. You will need to pick both against the spread, as well as the over/under, so you will have two picks per game. The spreads are LOCKED, so a movement in the line will not be taken into account. The spreads are courtesy of bookmaker.com because...well...that's the one I could find (and unless otherwise noted) They also represent where the lines were when they opened, which was a week ago (had to wait for Army/Navy to be played to determine Eagle Bowl and Texas Bowl line)

Our winner from last year is FSUncensored, who went 39-27 to win by three games over The Cool Alonzo and myself. All time, MU 1839 (our first winner) holds the best two-year record at 18 games over .500 (74-56). Of the "couples" category, The Beef and Tailgate Queen came out 3 game ahead of Bill C and Bill C's wife last year, tying their annual battle at 1-1. Overall, the contest generated a won-loss record of 1066-1244 for a not so good percentage of .461. Over the two years, we currently sit at 1711-1879 for a winning percentage of .477. Yes...I've kept track.

Picks are due by noon on Saturday, December 19th (since the first games are later that evening). Picks are lined up after the jump.

As for prizes...1st prize will get you the Rock M Nation T-shirt of your choice, unless RPT (who somehow is the keeper of the purse strings around here) decides we want to pony up some additional swag.

Anyway, we had a good time with this last year with 35 participants (up from 20 the first year) and somehow I am thinking we are going to have a FEW more than that :-) Come one, come all (and that certainly includes non-Rock M regulars...anyone from SB Nation is welcome to participate)...make me work hard at this. If you were here last season and have changed names, just let me know and I will do my best to give you your two or three-season score when all is said and done as well. I will also be adding a couple set of special picks. We will have the "coin-flip" picks, where each pick will be decided by heads or tails. I will also compile the "Consensus" picks, which will be the most popular pick on each game, to see how RMN did as a community (in the majority at least).

New Mexico

Fresno State -10 1/2 vs. Wyoming

Over/Under - 55 1/2

St. Petersburg

Rutgers -2 vs. UCF

Over/Under - 44 1/2

New Orleans

Sothern Miss -3 1/2 vs. Mid Tenn St.

Over/Under - 59

Las Vegas

Oregon State - 1 1/2 vs. BYU

Over/Under - 60 1/2

Poinsetta

Cal -3 vs. Utah

Over/Under - 53 1/2

Hawaii

Nevada -14 vs. SMU

Over/Under - 73 1/2

Little Caesers

Ohio -2 vs. Marshall

Over/Under - 50

Meineke

Pitt -3 vs. UNC

Over/Under - 44 1/2

Emerald

USC -9 vs. BC

Over/Under - 45 1/2

Music City

Clemson -7 vs. Kentucky

Over/Under - 52 1/2

Independence

Georgia -7 vs. Texas A&M

Over/Under - 64

Eagle Bank (LSVC odds)

UCLA -4 vs. Temple

Over/Under - 46 1/2

Champs Sports

Miami (FL) -3 vs. Wisconsin

Over/Under - 56

Humanitarian

Bowling Green PK vs. Idaho

Over/Under - 68 1/2

Holiday

Arizona -1 vs. Nebraska

Over/Under - 41

Armed Forces

Houston -5 vs. Air Force

Over/Under - 61

Sun

Oklahoma -9 1/2 vs. Stanford

Over/Under - 56 1/2

Texas (LVSC odds)

Mizzou -6 vs. Navy

Over/Under - 54

Insight

Minnesota -3 vs. Iowa State

Over/Under - 48

Chick-Fil-A

Va Tech -4 1/2 vs. Tenn

Over/Under - 50 1/2

Outback

Auburn -8 vs. Northwestern

Over/Under - 54 1/2

Gator

West Virginia -2 1/2 vs. Florida St.

Over/Under - 60 1/2

Capital One

Penn State -3 vs. LSU

Over/Under - 44

Rose

Oregon -3 1/2 vs. Ohio State

Over/Under - 51 1/2

Sugar

Florida -10 vs. Cincy

Over/Under - 55 1/2

International

South Fla. -6 1/2 vs. No. Illinois

Over/Under - 50

PapaJohns

South Carolina -4 1/2 vs. UCONN

Over/Under - 53

Cotton

Ole Miss -3 vs. Okie State

Over/Under -  50 1/2

Liberty

Arkansas -7 1/2 vs. East Carolina

Over/Under - 63 1/2

Alamo

Texas Tech -7 vs. Michigan St.

Over/Under - 60 1/2

Fiesta

TCU -7 vs. Boise St

Over/Under - 54

Orange

Ga Tech -4 vs. Iowa

Over/Under - 51

GMAC

Central Mich -4 vs. Troy

Over/Under - 64

BCS Champ

Alabama -5 1/2 vs. Texas

Over/Under - 45

USF might not make it to Toronto because of passport issues. Seriously.

Mike Breese — Fri, 11 Dec 2009 23:09:05 -0000

More photos » by David Duprey - AP

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This link passed through my rss reader and I thought it was a joke when I first looked at it. I thought to myself that maybe it was just the students that were having trouble obtaining passports.

The Hillsborough county passport office saw the running of the bulls Thursday. More than 150 University of South Florida students and staff applied for expedited passports. The football team hopes to travel to Toronto at the end of the month after being selected for the International Bowl in Toronto.

"We did not know until Sunday, when the decision was made, that that was where we were going," said Patrick Burnham, assistant director of USF football operations. "A lot of the kids, and even myself, don't have a passport, so we are down here (at a passport office) trying to get everyone legal and ready to cross the border."

The passport process typically takes about six to eight weeks, but the clerk's office agreed to expedite the process. The clerk's office shipped the applications to Miami for final approval. There is still no guarantee the team will have the passports in time.

Just think if the Huskies show up in Toronto with no opponent to play. What an embarrassment that would be!

TBO rings in:

Coach Jim Leavitt got word Sunday afternoon they were heading to the International Bowl in Toronto and had to have his team's applications out by Thursday at the latest in order to cross the border.

That hiccup meant the U.S. passport office at the Hillsborough County courthouse was one busy location Wednesday and Thursday while clerk's office officials processed 178 passport applications for USF players, coaches, cheerleaders and band members. From Tampa the passports go to the Miami passport office for final processing.

So you know what bowl you're going to on Sunday night, yet you wait two-three days to get the passports...OOOOK.

Then here comes the kicker quote one more time:

The average turnaround time to process a passport is eight weeks, Circuit Court Clerk Pat Frank said. Expedited passports can take up to four weeks to process.

Although the applications are in the mail, there is no guarantee that the players will have them in time, Frank said.

"We're not showing favoritism, we're doing customer service," said Frank, and added that her office has never processed the volume of passports they did over the last two days. "This is a unique situation and if its legal and we can help, that's what we'll do."

T-Minus 22 days until kickoff. Good luck Bulls with that whole shindig. The International Bowl is one of only 3 MAC tie-ins, so Northern Illinois was prepared. The Huskies will be attending the game no matter what, so feel free to join us.

[Note by Mike, 12/12/09 12:07 AM CST ] I guess you don't need the passports to actually get into Canada, but the Bulls could be stranded there if their documents don't arrive on time. Still hilarious.

Postseason Huskie Hardware Roundup

Mike Breese — Thu, 10 Dec 2009 06:43:47 -0000

We on award tour with Chad Spann my man

Goin each and every place with a ball in his hand

Off-tackle, left, right, to the endzone

We on award tour with JO and Eddie A

Driving and pushing the big uglies to the ground

Run-block, cut-block, pass-block, pancake

We on award tour with Corporal Coffman

Switch him to D-Tackle, he's still the best

Swim move, bull rush, tipped pass, sack lunch

All-MAC Teams (As voted on by the Coaches)

Phil Steele's 2009 Postseason All-MAC Team

Team Awards (Voted on by the players)

Offense

C Eddie Adamski - 1st Team (Coaches, PS), Co-Top OL

LG Jason Onyebuagu - 1st Team (Coaches, PS), Most Inspirational Player, Co-Top OL

RB Chad Spann - 1st Team (Coaches), 2nd Team (PS), Offensive MVP, Overall MVP, Top RB

RB Me'co Brown - 3rd Team (Coaches, PS)

LT Trevor Olson - 3rd Team (PS)

WR Landon Cox - 4th Team (PS), Top WR, Frank Cahill (WR) Award

Defense

DE Jake Coffman - 2nd Team (Coaches), 1st Team (PS), Defensive MVP, Co-Top DL, Jawan Jackson (Walk-on) Award

DE Brandon Bice - 2nd Team (Coaches), 4th Team (PS)

DT D.J. Pirkle - Co-Top DL

DE Sean Progar - 2nd Team Freshman All-American (PS), Freshman of the Year

SS Tracy Wilson - 3rd Team (PS), Top DB

LB Cory Hanson - 4th Team (PS), Top LB

Special Teams

K Mike Salerno - 2nd Team (Coaches), 3rd Team (PS), Special Teams POY

PR Tommy Davis - 3rd Team (Coaches), 4th Team (PS)

The Daily Diesel might need to get a passport

Mike Breese — Wed, 09 Dec 2009 07:50:04 -0000

I'm sure the main concern on every fan's mind is: Does Diesel need a passport to get to Toronto? The answer: Diesel planned for this and got his passport weeks ago. So did the rest of the team. Step on it people. Huskie Wire | Get your passports soon

NIUHuskies.com Bowl Central <------------This hub has everything. Bookmark it.

Official International Bowl website

The official release: Huskies Bowling Again; Northern Illinois Headed to International Bowl

The NIU Alumni Association is having a pregame party at 9:30 AM. Register here to get your tickets for both the reception and the game.

Official Travel Packages:

Rest assured, the announcing team will be Pam Ward-free

International Bowl: Northern Illinois v. South Florida (ESPN2, Noon)- Mike Gleason, John Congemi, David Amber

For the fiscally responsible, this year is a good deal Huskie Wire | NIU's ticket allotment

In a change from years past that might make a major impact on expenses, Northern Illinois will not have to buy its allotment of tickets for this year's International Bowl. Whatever amount of revenue NIU can generate from selling its 10,000 ticket allotment, it gets to keep. That revenue will be used to help defray other bowl expenses.

For last year's Independence Bowl, NIU had to buy a 12,000 ticket allotment, which cost $420,620. It was allowed to keep the revenue from tickets sold, which ended up being about 2,000. That resulted in $38,880 for the school but didn't do a lot to alleviate the expense of the tickets it had to buy first.

We're not the least interesting bowl this year!

USF Perspective

How NIU came out on top this Bowl Season, without even playing yet

Mike Breese — Tue, 08 Dec 2009 18:08:17 -0000

via grfx.cstv.com

View full size photo »

In life, there are winners and losers. Northern Illinois is a winner. A winner with a 7-5 record against some of the worst teams in the nation. A winner that is quite possibly the 3rd or 4th best team in the MAC. A winner that still has a lot to prove. A winner that is now set up in the best possible situation to succeed this bowl season. Was this by luck or by destiny?

The Opponent: Out of all the MAC bowl games being played, USF is the only opponent from a BCS conference with a winning record. Of course 3 of those wins came from I-AA/Western Kentucky, but who's counting. Temple isn't even sure if they're playing a 6-6 Army or a 6-6 UCLA yet. It's nice to know your opponent early. We do a fare share of our recruiting in Florida, so this game could turn some heads.

The Location: Toronto is the most interesting location yet (sorry Shreveport) for a bowl game. Although you need a passport, it's probably easier to get to and only 8-9 hrs away if you choose to drive. There's going to be a lot more NIU fans there than USF fans, I can tell you that. The close proximity is definitely a treat for the fans of the Huskies and an excuse for people to visit the great city of Toronto. Plus, the legal drinking age is 19!!!

The Timing: We'll be playing January 2nd at 11 AM Central. What game is going to be seen by more people: The New Year's Outback Bowl between Northwestern and Auburn at 10 AM when you're extremely hungover? Or completely sober people the day after on Saturday, craving as much college football as they can get? As one of the later bowl games being played, we also get to maximize our practice time before the game. In my opinion, the International Bowl is the 2nd best game to go to in the MAC just because it's played after Jan. 1 (GMAC is Jan 6th).

The Losers

Central Michigan: So they win the MAC Championship, now what? Congratu*****LATIONS. You get to go to Mobile, Alabama to take on the Troy Trojans, champions of the Sun Belt. To solve the question that people have been wondering for ages: What conference is better: The MAC or the Sun Belt? What's that...Troy lost to Bowling Green in their season opener? Nevermind...

via www.everydayshouldbesaturday.com

Ohio: In the process of beating NIU & Temple to win the East, you got pretty beat up and failed to execute enough to beat Central Michigan. Now you get to go to a post-apocalyptic city in Detroit to take on a 6-6 Marshall team that just fired their coach to decide which team wears an uglier shade of green.

Bowling Green: The Freddie Barnes-led BGSU Falcons travel to the blue turf in Boise for the 2nd time in 2 years. This time to take on the 2nd best team in the state in the Idaho Vandals. I should shut up now since those guys beat us at home. But Boise for the holidays? No thanks.

South Florida: For some reason, the USF Bulls are going to a bowl game 1,400 miles away from Tampa, when they could have gone to the St. Petersburg Bowl, only about 25 mi away. The St. Pete's Bowl invited Rutgers instead. Can somebody explain that to me? Their fans are going to have a very, very tough time getting to the game.

The International Bowl: In the past, they've been able to rest on their laurels that a Big East team from the Northeast would go to their game (Cincy, Rutgers, UConn). I've already heard that the game is having financial/contractual troubles and may fold in the near future. Hopefully the citizens of Toronto show up in droves. This matchup is not going to help ticket sales improve whatsoever. Rutgers would have been a good choice!

BCS Teleconference Hijacked, Public Relations Mess Continues

Jerry Burnes — Mon, 07 Dec 2009 03:00:15 -0000

Just place this in Glendale, Ariz. right now.

View full size photo »

Need any more proof that the BCS system is in need of a change?

During the teleconference with the BCS director, executive director and the five bowl reps, prank callers from an unknown radio show hijacked the phone lines.

No word on what was expressed yet, but you can be sure Executive Director Bill Hancock was a little embarrassed.

The attack on the BCS by fans has reached new heights thanks to social networking sites such as Twitter and Facebook. The BCS Facebook page and Twitter account (@INSIDEtheBCS) have been bombarded by upset fans.

Since being promoted Hancock felt it was needed to become more public with the social networking sites. Here's a few excerpts collected by HuffingtonPost.com:

"... not getting enough venom via the traditional media?"

"You are like a black, ichorous boil on the sporting world that should be lanced with rusty nails."

"We hate you. Signed, Everyone."

"We especially hate you. Signed: Utah."

As the seasons wear on it's obvious less fans are grabbing onto the "regular season is a playoff" concept the BCS has tribed for years now. The TCU-Boise State Fiesta Bowl matchup can't help things any.

The BCS has backed off playoff talks unitl the 2014 season is over, when the contract with ESPN runs out. I bet a new contract is in place before then. The best thing for the BCS right now is that the Boise States, TCUs and Utahs of college football simply go away and lose. Wouldn't hurt them any if Congress decides to back off.

Maybe Hancock will start feeding Ken Griffey Jr. and Derek Jeter steroids under the table next time December rolls around.

Fact is, Hancock has opened up a can of worms that will be hard to control. I'd like to see how he answers, and how the BCS itself answers, to this latest embarrassment handed to it by the fans.

It's Hancock who has opened up the BCS to more criticism than ever. There's only one way to answer to it: give the majority of the fans what they want.

The majority might still support the current system, but the tide is turning, and the majority voice is drifting out of tune.

Time for the BCS to control the mess it has created, not just with the college football postseason, but with the public relations circus currently on hand.

Vote Sam Hurd to the 2010 Pro Bowl!

Mike Breese — Sun, 06 Dec 2009 14:45:00 -0000

More photos » by Eric Gay - AP

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Did you know that Sam Hurd is NIU's 2nd leading receiver of all time with 2,322 yds from 2002-05? Ever since he signed on to the Dallas Cowboys in 2006 as a free agent, he's been a hardworking fan-favorite.

I just got an e-mail about an online campaign through facebook, myspace and a few Texas newspapers to get Sam Hurd into the 2010 Pro Bowl as a special teamer. Right now, he's only behind some dude from the Vikings by a few thousand votes. Check out this article: Sam Hurd reaches out to the fans (ESPN)

Here's what you can do:

Vote at: http://www.nfl.com/probowl/ballot?icampa..._topheader
Click on Special Teams, then click on Special Teamers, finally look to the right at the NFC Special Teamers and you'll see Sam Hurd/Dallas Cowboys

Vote early and vote often!

Watch for him against the NY Giants in the afternoon game today, along with another former Huskie in Doug Free manning the right side of the offensive line for Dallas.

Finally, some recruiting news: RB Giorgio Bowers Commits!

Mike Breese — Wed, 02 Dec 2009 17:17:45 -0000

RB Giorgio Bowers

Rich Central (IL) Olympia Fields
5'9" 205 lbs
40 time: 4.52 secs
Bench reps: 23
Vertical: 34"
Shuttle: 4.56 secs

Recruited by: PJ Fleck

Other offers: Akron & Bowling Green

2009 stats: 170 carries for 1,171 yds and 11 TDs

Awards: 3x All-Conference, 2x All-Area, All-State Nominee.

Rivals Profile: 3-stars, 5.5, #27 player in Illinois
Scout Profile: 2-stars, #171 RB
TAKKLE Profile
ESPN Profile: 2-stars, 68

RB Bowers talks Huskies ($)

Youtube:

It's been a long time since we've heard even a spec of recruiting news since Bolingbrook LB Mike Hellams committed to the Huskies WAY back in June. Since then, he'd been sidelined by a shoulder injury for most of the season and a DB from Indiana decided to change his commitment from the Huskies to...Ball State?

Anyways, Kill's been a combination of keeping things under wraps in terms of recruiting and he's been very careful who he gives a scholarship to. This is because this upcoming 2010 class is going to be very small, due to the scant number of scholarship seniors that are graduating. I'd say that we only have around 10-12 scholarships left to hand out in addition to these recent commits.

Watching film of Giorgio Bowers, I can see why Kill was the first to offer him and stuck with him until now. He reminds me a LOT of Chad Spann not only his size (5'9" 200ish) with his leg strength and ability to break tackles. His squat and bench numbers are ridiculous and he's just that 'I'm not running out of bounds' mentality. The one thing that sets him apart is his agility. He's got all the moves and quickness to be an every-down back, which is perfect for the spread offense that NIU likes to run. He's definitely a playmaker and adds depth to the shallow group of proven playmaking running backs (Spann and...)

He doesn't quite have the breakaway speed judging from film and his 40 time. Rivals lists 4.59 and Scout has 4.52, so we'll just say 4.55 range. That's actually not a bad 40 time, considering his size and how often kids verbally make up more speedier times just to get more recruiters looking. The only other flaw that I see is that now he's too much of a stand-up runner, but that can be corrected. He'll likely redshirt his freshman year, so he can step on the field as soon as Spann graduates after the 2010 season.

His only other D-I offers were from Akron and Bowling Green. Although he is a workout machine, I think a big reason he didn't get more offers is just because wasn't from a winning program and didn't play against top competition. 6A Olympia Fields was only 4-5 this year and only 2-7 in 2008.

Probably the biggest recognition he's gotten is that EdgyTim ranks him as a 3-star player on Rivals and the #27 player in Illinois. Good job by PJ Fleck recruiting two top-30 players from Illinois to play for the Huskies so far this year. The two we were focusing the most of our attention on early, we got.

Welcome to the Huskies Giorgio!

NIU vs. Idaho III to be avoided at all costs

Mike Breese — Tue, 01 Dec 2009 16:41:32 -0000

More photos » by STEPHEN BRASHEAR - AP

Sorry Nathan, you won't be able to drop 270 and 3 TDs on us again.

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Watch out people, John Sahly is working the phones and he's got Roady's Humanitarian Bowl Director Kevin McDonald on right now:

"If we can avoid it, we will," McDonald said. "And that's nothing to say about NIU. If a deal with the MAC gets made down the line (for a future bowl tie-in), NIU is the type of team we would want to have."

The bad news for the Huskies is because they played Idaho on Sept. 26 (a 34-31 NIU loss at Huskie Stadium), Bowling Green would provide a fresher matchup.

"I've been talking to a lot of people and, right now, I think we're going to have Idaho," McDonald said. "We're looking at NIU and Bowling Green, but [we] probably lean a little more towards Bowling Green because NIU has played Idaho."

The Huskies and Vandals also went head to head in Moscow, ID way back in 2007 when we won 42-35 for one of only 2 wins that season. Idaho has improved and so have we, so that loss earlier this year will have to be avenged at a later time. My hope: never. The all-time record between UI and NIU is 3-3. Talk about one of the all-time great rivalries!

The attendance for the Idaho game: 16,320. And that was the week after we beat Purdue! I think maybe 8 Huskie fans would make the trip to the northwest for this one.

Bowling Green is no stranger to the blue turf as they played against Boise State in Boise and lost 7-20 in 2008. They're more familiar with traveling there, which may have some correlation. The Humanitarian Bowl is also looking to bring in a MAC team starting in 2010, so why not start right now to get things all acclimated.

So where does this leave us?

This pushes NIU more toward the EagleBank Bowl, the International Bowl or the Little Caesars Pizza Bowl, depending on any negotiations among MAC teams and the three bowls (GMAC, Little Caesars and International) with MAC tie-ins.

Well, I'm just relieved that Boise, Idaho and Albuquerque, New Mexico are out of the travel destinations that I might be booking this holiday. Whew! Bring on D.C., Toronto or the short drive to Detroit.

Poll

Which bowl will NIU be going to now?

EagleBank Bowl (D.C.)

45 votes

International Bowl (Toronto)

20 votes

Motor City Bowl (Detroit)

19 votes

Staying home due to BCS apocalypse

6 votes

90 votes | Poll has closed