As is customary ’round these parts, we present to you a college football coach singing at Wrigley Field. Today’s victim: Rod Carey of Northern Illinois, who made the traditional pilgrimage for area coaches to last night’s Cubs baseball match (that’s what they’re called, right?) against the Rockies.
Wrigley Field! http://t.co/VsYFDbtitQ—
Rod Carey (@niucoachcarey) May 14, 2013
The song, and its surprising qualities, after the jump:
@SIHolly @SIPeteThamel The Saturn snow can't stop Jordan Lynch and the O-Line from practicing. http://t.co/Wfy5PTmHTl—
NIU Huskie Athletics (@NIUAthletics) March 05, 2013
DeWayne Walker set the coaching carousel spinning once more with his late departure from New Mexico State. (AP)
Tommy Tuberville’s sitting by the phone* and Jimmy Sexton’s got that particular sparkle in his eye. It can mean only one thing: The coach firin’ season is upon us once more. We’ll be tracking the carousel of progress, right here, for as long as it takes to stop spinning. Raise a glass to times past, won’t you? * Well, not anymore, but never tell us we don’t have the gift of very specific prophecy through throwaway jokes.
• Who’s out: DeWayne Walker, who jumps to the NFL with less than two weeks remaining between now and Signing Day. And not even for a coordinating gig: Walker will coach defensive backs for the Jacksonville Jaguars. Walker released the following statement through the athletic department: “I really appreciate the opportunity that Dr. Boston and New Mexico State gave me to be a Division I head football coach. Unfortunately, I did not get the program as far as I would have liked from a wins and losses standpoint. But, we do have a better locker room, better kids and a better foundation for the program moving forward. There are a lot of people that I want to thank for their support and will be reaching out to those individuals in the coming days. They have helped me in moving the program forward. I am excited about starting a new chapter in my coaching career, as is my family. I wish New Mexico State great success in the future and wish everyone the best. Go Aggies!” • Who’s in: Doug Martin — the one who played at Kentucky, not the one who played at Boise State. Although if Martin The Younger is really so opposed to his excellent nickname, we’re gonna refer to Martin The Elder as coach Muscle Hamster instead. It’s been a whirlwind courtship for Martin and the Aggies: He was announced as offensive coordinator on January 17, temporarily promoted to interim head coach on January 24 and will be officially announced as DeWayne Walker’s successor on Monday, February 4. Martin’s previous head coaching experience consists of a seven-year stint at Kent State, from 2004-2010. Read More…
The story of one college football postseason game, as told through social media.
I guess let’s get pumped for the Discover Orange Bowl. youtu.be/Hqpk_oD8q74
— teamcatlab (@teamcatlab) January 1, 2013
As a MAC grad, never eating oranges again. RT @bfeldmancbs Orange Bowl to NIU: “We didn’t even want you here.” My blog cbsprt.co/U5Op2A
— John Breech (@johnbreech) January 1, 2013
Orange Bowl reps should stick to buying off athletic directors with free Caribbean cruises. They do that well
— Dan Wetzel (@DanWetzel) January 1, 2013
Best directions of the season, from the guy at the entrance of the Sun Life Stadium parking lot: “Go four speed bumps down and turn left.”
— Holly Anderson (@SIHolly) January 1, 2013
Jordan Lynch and the BCS-busting NIU Huskies did not slide into glass slippers filled with oranges after all. (AP)
For more on Florida State’s Orange Bowl victory over Northern Illinois, check out Pete Thamel’s take and our Laff Riot Twitter wrap.
MIAMI – ”We made some plays, too,” Rod Carey said. “We didn’t make enough of ‘em.” Northern Illinois’ new coach neatly summed up the Orange Bowl, for those who missed it. Florida State defeated his upstart team tonight, 31-10. The Huskies kept it close in the first half and briefly made things interesting in the third quarter. But as the final score indicates, the Seminoles were just too much for this year’s unlikely BCS buster. [BOX | RECAP]
Still, consider the tens of thousands of fans and press and staff who attended tonight’s Orange Bowl game, and wonder just how many set foot in Sun Life Stadium expecting a Huskies win. It can’t have been many. We were not among those who came in believing in an upset. But we don’t show up at these things because we know what’s about to happen. We show up because of what might happen.
And Northern Illinois was about the unlikeliest BCS-buster imaginable from Week 2 of the 2012 season on, seeing as the Huskies lost to Iowa at home in Week 1. Our big-game interloper hopes were pinned in September on the likes of Ohio, with its creamy-dreamy schedule and an upset of Penn State to its credit, and Louisiana Tech, with its score-anywhere offense. We didn’t even think NIU would win the MAC. (Of course, we also predicted South Florida would make an appearance in this very game. Isn’t August fun?)
The Huskies did their best to remain under the buster-radar early on, scraping by the likes of Army (one-point victory) and Kansas (seven-point victory), while the Bobcats staged a largely listless season after that first win in Happy Valley. By mid-October, we had (temporarily) written off the idea of seeing any non-AQ squad in a big-money game. So many teams would have to lose, at the same time, to give NIU the required ratings boost. It was so, so unlikely — until it happened, and off we all went to Miami.
The 2013 Orange Bowl is just hours away. We’re sure you have so many questions. We’re here to help. (For an X’s and O’s breakdown, click through to Pete Thamel’s game preview.)
• What’s all this, then? We have come at last to the final fruit bowl of the season, the most important fruit bowl of the season and the only citrus-themed game that doesn’t get mixed up with any other citrus-themed games. It’s also the only currently operating game with a plush fruit mascot — one that’s seen its share of gridiron action:
• Where will this game be played? This is where it gets tricky again. Not at the Orange Bowl. With the exception of the 1999 game, the Orange Bowl has been played at Sun Life Stadium since 1996. Is this the stadium that used to be named after Jimmy Buffett’s beer? It sure is, and if this is not your favorite Orange Bowl fact we cannot be friends. Sun Life Stadium also houses the Miami Dolphins and Miami Hurricanes.
• When is it on television? Coverage begins at 8:30 p.m. ET on ESPN, with internet favorite Joe Tessitore, internet un-favorite Matt Millen and sideline reporter Maria “MVP” Taylor. I have never heard that nickname for Maria Taylor before. We bestowed it on her the day before yesterday, right after she gifted the internet with this photo of Matt Millen admiring a portrait of Drake.
• Whom does it feature? The ACC champion, unless that team is otherwise occupied by the national title game.
• What about this year? The Florida State Seminoles meet the BCS-bustin’ Northern Illinois Huskies.
• Does the bowl have a social media presence? It is real, and it is salty:
Our continued best wishes to Tulane’s Devon Walker for a complete recovery. (AP Photo/Tulane University)
• Actual good news, actually. Devon Walker is getting out of rehab and will spend the winter holidays continuing his recovery at home with his family. Here’s his statement: ”I am so happy to be going home where I can reunite with my family and friends. My family and I are very grateful for the support we continue to receive. Some days, when I think that I just can’t do this anymore, remembering my many friends and supporters (both old and new) who are praying for me gives me the strength to go on. I know that my fight is just beginning. Please continue to pray for my recovery. Thank you very much.”
• And now, humans in plush cow suits playing drums in the general direction of Dabo Swinney. The Chick-fil-A Bowl is your one-stop destination for events of this kind.
• Coach-firin’ follies. Are increasingly giving way to coach-hirin’ follies: Missouri offensive line coach Josh Henson will replace the departed Dave Yost as the Tigers’ offensive coordinator.
• Roster blotter. Stedman Bailey will pass on his senior season at West Virginia in favor of the NFL draft … also turning pro: Tennessee’s Justin Hunter, per Justin Hunter … Louis Nix will return to Notre Dame, with the intent of taking a little Senior Day stroll with his mom … Cincinnati’s Brendon Kay has been granted a sixth year of eligibility … and stop us if you’ve heard this before, but a Montana player is transferring. No, again. No, again again.
• Oh, NOW you don’t like the BCS. Not before. Just now. Northern Illinois is bound for the Orange Bowl as the first team from the MAC to earn a BCS bowl bid. We, as you might imagine, are delighted. Others are not. In other words, it’s just like every other BCS selection reaction ever.
Herbstreit calls NIU’s BCS berth “A sad state of college football.”
— Stewart Mandel (@slmandel) December 3, 2012
Herbstreit on #BCS selection show: “To put Northern Illinois in the BCS is a joke.” — Mark Schlabach (@Mark_Schlabach) December 3, 2012
Say what you will about NIU, its bid was automatic, just like Wisconsin’s and Louisville’s. NIU ranks ahead of both in every poll. — Matt Hinton (@MattRHinton) December 3, 2012
“I can’t believe they let NIU into the sacrosanct Orange Bowl.” <—someone who has never watched the Orange Bowl — edsbs (@edsbs) December 2, 2012
Rule that got NIU in was established to help defend BCS from anti-trust lawsuit. ESPN acting like it’s a football decision — Dan Wetzel (@DanWetzel) December 3, 2012
Is there any other sport in America where people DESPISE the underdog? Any sport in the world? — Stewart Mandel (@slmandel) December 3, 2012
Again, according to every current human poll and a consensus of the BCS computers, NIU’s not even the worst BCS bowl team this year. — Matt Hinton (@MattRHinton) December 3, 2012
To steal a @billsimmons metaphor, a lot of the NIU whining seems like people who are also mad the house doesn’t win more in blackjack.
— John Infante (@John_Infante) December 3, 2012
For takes longer than 140 characters, see Samuel Chi’s “Deal with it” and Matt Hinton’s “Blame the Big Ten and Big East.” The final regular-season BCS standings can be found here; the tell-all Coaches’ Poll results are here. For our full bowl schedule, click this way.
It’s unlikely that Jordan Lynch and NIU can slide into a BCS bowl, but when have we ever liked sure things? (AP)
Quick hits from Friday night’s college football conference championship games. For more on Week 14, check out our Championship Saturday Snaps, coverage of Louisville-Rutgers, Oklahoma-TCU and the epic clash between Alabama and Georgia, plus our complete Top 25 review.
• No. 19 Northern Illinois 44, No. 18 Kent State 37 (2OT). Jordan Lynch put on a show in Detroit, and NIU’s defense played the part of showstoppers in the 2012 MAC championship game. The Huskies won their second consecutive conference title, in their third consecutive conference title game appearance, but this is MACtion, dahling. And MACtion would never, ever wind up without a flourish.
Down 10-0 late in the first quarter and looking slightly discombobulated, the Huskies executed a bit of gridiron theater we might have expected out of the early-season Golden Flashes, back when they were returning fumbled punts the wrong way down the field and tackling their own teammates for safeties: They attempted a fake field goal attempt that was interrupted by their own timeout call, effectively icing their own kicker, who wasn’t even planning to kick. Problem? Not for a team with Lynch, who returned to the field after the break, converted fourth-and-three on his own two feet, then continued running for 14 additional yards. Viva MACtion!
Dri Archer and Kent State could be playing for a possible BCS berth. (Diamond Images/Getty Images)
Sports fans, you have two conference championship games to savor on the eve of the last college football-filled Saturday of the regular season. We’re sure you have so many questions.
Shouldn't the MAC Championship be played on Tuesday or Wednesday? Wouldn't that be keeping it real?
—
Tom Fornelli (@TomFornelli) November 26, 2012• What information do I, the discerning sports fan, require in order to consume this game? The Huskies and Golden Flashes are scheduled to kick off at 7 p.m. ET at Ford Field in Detroit. The game will be televised on ESPN2 and streamed on WatchESPN.
• What’s at stake here? A possible BCS bowl trip, though as ever with teams from non-AQ leagues, the shot is an outside one. Stewart Mandel has the Golden Flashes in the GoDaddy.com Bowl in his latest projections (oh, the ad campaign they’ll make for that one) and the Huskies returning to Detroit for the Little Caesars Bowl.
But there’s victory in this already, for one side: Wherever Kent State goes, it’ll be the program’s first bowl game in 40 years.
• For whom are we to be watching? The Golden Flashes have a nasty running threat, particularly in the return game, in Dri Archer and another back, Trayion Durham, who cannot be left unattended. Archer is the nation’s top kick return threat, averaging more than 38 yards an attempt. He also leads the MAC in scoring and is the FBS’ fifth-ranked all-purpose runner heading into Week 14.
The Huskies have Jordan Lynch, and a bunch of other guys, and not to diminish their efforts at blocking for him or catching his passes, but Jordan Lynch is sort of overshadowing everything else at the moment. Right now, NIU’s quarterback is averaging more than 134 rushing yards per game, and he needs to gain just 92 tonight to set a new NCAA record for most rushing yards by a quarterback. Racking up 250 passing yards at Ford Field would also make him the first 3,000-1,500 player in FBS history. Friday MACtion, don’t let us down.
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