johnnyzip84

NIU to offer students free Orange Bowl tickets

It’s an interesting proposal. Thanks for posting. I’m not saying I’m ready to buy this concept, but I’m not so fast to dismiss it either. I’m not sure the fact that very few college athletes make it as professional athletes is a very strong argument. After all, what percentage of students who major in psychology/communications/history wind up doing anything related to psychology/communications/history? I would nominate another possible path for student-athletes who have no intention of ever turning professional as a player. A “coaching option” might be a reasonably useful choice for some.

DT Bruce Hector of Tampa, Fla is supposedly decommting from USF after Skip Holtz got the axe. Go get him TB!

Student apathy has been a problem forever at UA. I don't see it changing overnight, but maybe in subtle ways over time as the program continues to grow. On a side note, I saw numerous people leaving that basketball game during the overtime period with the outcome still in doubt. What is up with that?

Hmmmmmmm No doubt about it!

I fully expected some complaining, but the weeping and gnashing of teeth I just witnessed on display for a national TV audience was pathetic. I'm not arguing that NIU might not be the 15th best team in the country. But for every seemingly minor injustice the teams in the MAC have had to face over the years, the placement of an "unworthy" NIU team in the Orange Bowl does not even begin to balance the ledger. Herbstreit, Pollack and Palmer point to NIU having no signature wins. Where I believe they miss the boat is in the across-the-board improvement seen in the MAC this year. The computers identified this improvement, because they're not swayed by history, tradition, politics, or reputation. NIU did not lose a MAC game this year, something I don't believe Louisville or Wisconsin could have accomplished. In the end, FSU may blow the Huskies out, and all these blow-hards will say their I-told-you-so's. But until then, I'm enjoying this buffet of schadenfreude to the last bite. Go Huskies! Go MAC!!!!

No doubt! We can't call you a jinx anymore Listening to KD describe MTSU after the game, I agreed with everything he said. Paraphrasing, he called the Raiders physical, athletic, deep and disciplined. Harney is going to have to become a better defensive rebounder if he wants more minutes. While Tree made some mistakes down the stretch, he also caused foul trouble for several MTSU players. I really like the isolations with him, but he needs to be a little more patient at times and kick it out when it's not there. Overall, I'll take it. This is a nice win. Go Zips!!

This is terrific! Congrats to the Huskies and I hope they travel well to Miami. With Lynch and many others coming back next year, I also hope we avoid them on the schedule for a change!

You're welcome I thought so as well. Here's to hoping the Zips play well for 40 minutes today, because MTSU should provide a difficult opponent.

Here is the view from the MTSU web site. The Blue Raiders are unbeaten on the road so far in this young season. Nevertheless, the Zips are a 5 point favorite.

Huh? Dave Doeren was the NIU coach last year as well (his 1st at NIU).

Now PLEASE go far away, Coach Hazell! And take Archer and Nix with you!

Both coaches have left themselves open for some 2nd guessing. It's hard to get a gage on which team is in control right now. A turnover might decide it.

Welcome to the Marathon MAC Championship Marathon! From what I've seen from Hazell, I'll bet he goes for 2. Edit : I lose!

:lol: :lol: :lol: :lol: :lol: :lol: :lol: :lol: :lol:

Are you kidding me? Here we go.

It's not over just yet. Some questionable, overly conservative play calls by NIU past midfield will haunt the Huskies if K.E.N.T. somehow pulls a rabbit out of the hat.

I remember him being a very good special teams player during his 1/2 season with the Zips, so it's not a big surprise. Freakin' Ianello no doubt drove him off.

Georgio Bowers sighting......wow what a hit!!!!!

Even though my head was leaning toward routing for K.E.N.T., I knew deep down I couldn't be sure who my heart would be rooting for until the game started. Predictably, my heart is pulling mightily for NIU! Go Huskies!!! Pile it on in the 2nd half!!! BTW, if the MAC can't figure out how to slow down NIU's Neanderthal offense next year, maybe it hasn't made the strides I had thought.

That is a pretty good read, but he stole my "University of Phoenix sponsoring sports" idea

A wise conference would consider inviting North Dakota and Noth Dakota State for THIS REASON alone. It doesn't hurt that the Bison, in particular, play REALLY good football.

Good summary. I should clarify that if the Toothless Fairy (we are talking about Portage County) came to me and said, "if NIU can completely stomp K.E.N.T. (like 65-0) tomorrow night, I'll see to it that Boise loses to Nevada and make sure all the other outcomes are favorable for a Husky BCS appearance" I would jump on that in a heartbeat! I guess the bottom line for me is that I would like to see a MAC team in a BCS bowl. My LEAST favorite option is K.E.N.T. (by far), but I still want to see a MAC team in a BCS bowl. Even though the BCS is transforming into something else with the 4-team playoff, I'm not sure we'll see a MAC team get another opportunity to play in this type of game (whatever they call it in the future) any time soon.

No kidding. Is life imitating art (OK, art is a bit of a stretch)?