Herbie is correct! NIU is a good team and the MAC is a good, fun conference to watch. However, what a joke for them to get a BCS bowl bid. Kudos to the best in the business, tell em' Kirk!

KH is the most knowledgable person to have such a biased attitude toward the big ten that is a joke

who the heck is Herb....what has he done to even have an opinion. other than shoot his mouth off about many things he isn't aware of like his person???

As a graduate of NIU, I am concerned about the Orange Bowl bid, not because of the game itself but because of the contentiousness it has caused. Football is a fun game to play or watch but it is just that, a game. Herbstreit's comments on Sunday night were unprofessional and uncalled for. The system is the way it is and this is a LEGAL issue. To avoid a Congressional investigation of the NCAA and the AQ conferences concerning anti trust issues, the BCS rules were set up. Nowhere does it say that the top teams will always be selected. A selection like NIU, while a total surprise, indicates two things: ONE - the inclusion of an occasional mid major to the BCS picture gives the appearance of a move toward parity in college football and holds off a damaging court battle that the NCAA can't afford. TWO - putting my alma mater at #15 indicates a desire by those casting their votes in the polls to protest the control of D1 football by about 30 or 40 teams rather than all 124. This controversy has nothing whatsoever to do with football but has everything to do with competitiveness. As long as the strongest schools get the exposure and the money, they will draw the best players and parity will not be achieved. Think of what would happen if there were no NFL draft: the top 5 or 6 richest teams would acquire all the best players, parity would be lost and the game would suffer as a result. For the good of D1 college football, an occasional mid major needs to have a chance to perform on the big stage - its not that big of a price to pay and it sure as heck beats a Supreme Court ruling that would possibly resuly in the reorganization of the NCAA and the AQ conferences.

Wisconsin is there because They are the Big 10 Champions. They may be there by default because of Ohio St and Penn St. being on probation, but they are still "Big" Champions after taking Nebraska to the woodshed.
The rose Bowl must take the Big 10 Champion plan and simple. Louisville is in the same position, they are the Big East Champions. like it or not it is what it is.

I think it is crappy that the Bowl system is the way it is, but hey congrats to NIU. In no way do I think they, FSU, Wisconsin & Louisville should jump Georgia, LSU, TAM, Oklahoma for bowls. But that is they way the bowl are laid out. At least we are going to a playoff system, although I beleive it should be 8 teams and not 4!!

A choice like NI to play a mojor bowl kills any excitement for everyone except the NI folks. How many people are going to spend big bucks to go see this matchup. It's a lose lose for Florida State. FS wins "so what". They lose "OMG". TV ratings will stink also. The system is broken. Everyone knows that. See the small schools want it both ways. They want to play in weak conferences against subpar teams yet they want a piece of the big pie when bowl season comes around. If that is your goal then get into a major conference and play someone. Who do you think you are ND?

Herbstreet is right. Fans should be treated to bowl games between the best teams in the country. Because a team defeats Rio Grande River Valley Prep School doesn't prove anything. Leave out Georgia? Leave out Oklahoma? Texas A&M? Who on NIU's team has been nominated for the Heisman? Kirk Herbstreet is not biased, he is just being realistic!

Interesting that the starting quarterback for the San Francisco 49ers is Kaepernick is from Nevada...also, Aaron Rogers was at Butte Junior College before he went on...I took 4 high school football players to the UCLA/Nebraska game last fall - I am a Bruin - after the game I got them down on the field so they could see there is not that much difference between themselves and the players in size..it is the level the intensity they play to. One of the boys will play D 2...one of the others could play for the Bruins..but because we live in a small town in northern california and he is from a poor rural family he was never pointed towards college. To watch him play is amazing. I am sure that Northern Illinois will hold up their end of the bargain just fine. Unless we go to the 65 team format like the NCAA Basketball tourney how else can we justify so many teams in Division 1? If you must be in the group of about 20 that everyone talks about then why not let them have their own league? Otherwise the small fry need their shot..be it Northern Illinois or Boise State...

Alabama is one of the best teams in the country....taking advantage of their opportunity after the loss to the aggies. I would not bet against the tide!!

They have the record and the talent to win.we will see at the end of the game. sorry your team didn't make it.

I'm personally happy as heck about it, and I'll be rooting for NIU to win. Anything that exposes this BCS for the rigged, high-money, big-names-only TV ratings-driven sham that it is. A real real playoff is what we deserve and until we get it I'm all for the "busters" messing things up. Nobody thought Appalachian State could beat Michigan until they did it; point being, it should always, always be settled on the field, no matter what a computer says.

Boo hoo Herbie, OU lost twice at home and barely beat OSU in overtime at home. Do your homework. These tradition rich schools get a free ride on past glory years, this is supposed to be about what you accomplished in 2012. Oh yea there so called hardship case from Fresno State who won the TCU game got jailed right after the game.