Discover Orange Bowl

Discover Orange Bowl

Tuesday January 1st, 20:30 ET (01:30 GMT)
Sun Life Stadium, Miami, Florida
(15)Northern Illinois Huskies vs. (12)Florida State Seminoles

The Orange Bowl is one of the oldest postseason Bowls in the season and has been played annually since 1935 and featured the ACC Championship winners and an at-large BCS team. This year the Seminoles face the Northern Illinois Huskies who won the Mid-American Conference. This is the first time a team from the MAC has appeared in a BCS Bowl, and has a chance to finish in the top ten BCS rankings. Last year's game was a traditional match-up between the ACC Champions West Virginia and Big East Champions Clemson.

Northern Illinois dropped their season opener to 4-8 Iowa, and haven't lost since. They finished 8-0 in conference play and defeated (25)Kent State in overtime to book their place in this game. Junior quarterback Jordan Lynch has accounted for almost all of the Huskies offense this season, rushing for 1771 yards and 19 TDs and throwing for 2962 yards and another 24 touchdowns, finishing with more total yards than Heisman winner Johnny Manziel. That being said, they've face almost nothing in return, Lynch has had some help, with Leighton Settle grabbing 5 touchdowns and 453 rushing yards and senior receiver Martel Moore gaining 1054 receiving yards to go with his 12 touchdowns. Most of the team's numbers are askew due to the poor quality of their opponents so although they rank 33rd in total yards allowed with 356.7 per game, they would have struggled if they had Florida State's schedule and although that's to their benefit. They need to massively raise their game to be successful in this game.

Florida State also benefited from a relatively easy schedule to post 11-2. Losing to NC State and the Gators was a disappointment, especially as they blew a 16 point halftime lead in losing to the Wolfpack and a 7 point 4th quarter lead going down to the Gators. Offensively they are built around the pass with QB E.J Manuel throwing for over 3100 yards and 22 touchdowns. Manuel's favorite target is Rashad Greene, the pair have hooked up for 696 yards and 5 touchdowns and Greene has been important in returning punts, averaging 15.4 yards per return and 2 touchdowns. The Seminoles have spread the load when it comes to running the football, Chris Thompson, Devonta Freeman and James Wilder Jr. all gained at least 500 yards and helped the team to 37 rushing touchdowns. Defense has been big for the Seminoles, especially against the run and they rank 5th nationally, behind (2)Alabama, BYU, (6)Stanford and (1)Notre Dame. Impressive company to keep and defensive end Bjoern Werner has been the leader for the team. In my mock draft, I have him picked 2nd overall by the Jaguars. The 6'4” German born monster has 13 sacks including 3.5 against Florida and 18 tackles for loss. He has the ability to run over the Huskies' offensive line and stop Jordan Lynch in his tracks.

FOR NORTHERN ILLINOIS TO WIN
Get the ball to the outside quickly, if they allow Bjoern Werner to get his hands on Jordan Lynch, it could be a long night for the Huskies. He has excelled in open field this year and if they want to pull off the upset, they have to stay away from the NFL-bound defensive end. The Huskies need to spread the ball around the field and take some of the heat off their star, allowing Moore and Tommylee Lewis to make plays.

FOR FLORIDA STATE TO WIN
The running game is key, and the variety on offer to the Seminoles will allow them to dominate this game. If the Huskies can stop one back, Florida State have two more. Werner and the defensive should be able to contain Lynch's offense as they haven't played against anything as quick or powerful as this Florida State squad. The only question is whether they have the motivation to turn up and play in this game, and a large support traveling the 500 miles from Tallahassee will provide plenty vocal backing.

VERDICT
It's a great story that Northern Illinois have made it into a BCS game, but when all is said and done, they're not as good a football team as the Seminoles. There is no way Jimbo Fisher will allow his team to be complacent and Werner is more than good enough to get to Jordan Lynch and keep him quiet. If Florida State can take a two score lead into halftime, they have enough to get the job down and finish the underdog Huskies just like Apollo Creed couldn't.

ADVICE
Florida State -13
Over 58.5 points

DRINKING GAME
1 drink: Any reference to Cinderella
2 drinks: Bjorn Werner forces a fumble
Finish it: Jordan Lynch proposes to his girlfriend after the game like Ian Johnson