Kudos to the NIU Huskies, who are truly embracing the spirit of “taking on all comers.” Next season (as the 2017 slate is already “this season,” making 2018 “next year”) Florida State football welcomes the MAC standard program to Tallahassee. It’s a rematch of the 2013 Orange Bowl, which was historical for several reasons.
It marked the first appearance by a Mid-American Conference school in a Bowl Championship Series game. It will also be the final appearance by a MAC school in the BCS, as that cartel is now extinct and replaced by the playoff system.
It was the first game of the Rod Carey era for NIU, as he took over the reigns of the program that New Year’s Day evening in Miami. The Huskies were led by Jordan Lynch, who would become the MAC’s first ever Heisman finalist the very next season, and they kept it close for awhile.
The Seminoles owned the line of scrimmage and dominated the total yardage battle, but led just 17-10 with 9:55 to play in the third quarter before eventually pulling away to a very comfortable 31-10 victory. That Florida State football team was ranked #12 and they would go on to win the national championship the very next season.
It was also the infamous Kirk Herbstreit “NIU doesn’t belong” hot take game which forever made him public enemy #1 in Huskie Nation.
The visit to Doak Campbell Stadium replaces a home contest with Idaho previously set for that weekend. The Huskies are also scheduled to play at Iowa (Sept. 1) and at BYU (Oct. 27) and to host Utah (Sept. 8) in non-conference action in 2018. Facing a Florida State football team in The House that Bobby Bowden built is a tall order for anybody, but as you can see from the previous sentence, NIU have set themselves up for a very challenging non-conference slate “next season.”
It’s what you got to do in order to keep progressing as a program.
Paul M. Banks runs The Sports Bank.net and TheBank.News, partnered with FOX Sports Engage Network. and News Now. Banks, a former writer for the Washington Times and NBC Chicago.com, contributes to Chicago Tribune.com, Bold, WGN CLTV and KOZN.
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