HISTORY: When I first heard, in 1997, there was going to be a Bowl in Boise, Idaho I immediately assumed they had a dome...they don't. Oddly enough the University of Idaho plays in the Kibbie Dome, but this game is on the blue turf at Boise State which again is outdoors...in Idaho...in December. The warm weather Conference USA had an agreement with this Bowl for the first 5 years of its existence, but after going 1-4 with 3 losses to Boise State and Idaho followed by a 49-24 destruction of Louisiana Tech in a driving snowstorm in 2001 league heads decided to see if maybe the Sun Bowl had an opening.
Miraculously, though, this event has soldiered on managing to lure the likes of Clemson, Tulsa, Virginia, Maryland, Georgia Tech and even Miami (FL) up to these frozen environs. Problem is it's hard to book return engagements with teams whose Alumni and student body would much rather be passing the poi in Honolulu or flopping the nuts at The Bellagio than waiting post-game for their testicles to re-descend at an EconoLodge in the middle of nowhere. Thus this Bowl has been reduced to pitting a non-Boise State WAC representative vs. the MAC runnerup which you will see below is not a recipe for success. This game is sponsored in part by Penske Truck Rental in 2010, but as Mr. Tuttle said on Seinfeld I can't believe this matchup is "Penske material".
NORTHERN ILLINOIS: Folks on the NIU campus are saying, "we wish we were going to Detroit", a phrase uttered about as often as "see ya at Mel Gibson's Seder" or "gee, I wish Taxi had featured Simka more." Ostensibly this is because the MAC Champ goes there for the more lucrative GoDaddy.com Bowl, but is more likely due to the fact that Ford Field is indoors while temperatures at Bronco Stadium in Boise Saturday are expected in the upper 20s with a 30% chance of snow.
Of course, folks might not have to worry about this problem much longer if the "Jinx of Northern Illinois" claims another victim. You see the Huskies are to Bowl games what Jeff George was to NFL coaches, what Ted McGinley is to prime-time TV shows (http://www.tvguide.com/keywords/jts-ted-mcginley/) or what Yoko Ono has been to all things musical...that is a Killer. NIU has played in 5 Bowls in school history and three are now defunct including putting the Coup de Grace on the Silicon Valley Bowl in 2004 and the International Bowl less that 12 months ago (the California Raisin Bowl trudged on for another 8 seasons before succumbing in 1991).
It's not all the Huskies fault though. Problem is that corporations want to sponsor Bowl games where executives can schmooze with coaches, play some golf and go on a Charlie Sheen-like three day bender much more than they want to, say, create jobs or provide quality health insurance for their employees. Therefore close to 60% of FBS schools go "bowling" these days and somebody has to fill those spots. Back in 2003 it looked like the MAC could be the second- and third-tier bowls savior with stars like Roethlisberger, Gradkowski, Cribbs, Michael Turner, Greg Jennings and Lance Moore filling out their top team's rosters. Unfortunately the MAC turned out to be the Montreal Expos of College Football churning out young coaching talent like Urban Meyer (Bowling Green), Brian Kelly (Central Michigan) and Gary Pinkel (Toledo) only to see them hightail it to greener pastures once the BCS schools and their checkbooks came to call. Even perennial power Marshall took a powder in 2004 jumping to the CUSA to be replaced by Temple (woo-hoo!).
So now the Humanitarian Bowl is stuck with the MAC runnerup each year and that's not a good thing because simply put the MAC sucks. This year Northern Illinois lost to 5-7 Iowa State and snuck by the 3-8 mighty Fighting Sioux of North Dakota at home by 6 yet still managed to manhandle the MAC like Naomi Campbell does a personal assisstant topping 50 points four times only to stumble in the Conference Championship to Miami (OH).
That's not to say this game can't be at least mildly interesting. Snow, blue turf and a RB named Chad Spann who ran for over 1200 yards with 20 TDs could provide some interest. The game kicks off 5:30 (ET) between the expected low scoring New Mexico Bowl and fistful of Vivarin requisite New Orleans Bowl so I'm sure I'll need something entertaining to keep me sane.
FRESNO STATE: With his Fu Manchu moustache, intense demeanor and Bulldogs slouch cap pulled down low over his eyes FSU coach Pat Hill resembles no one so much as a long-haul driver cruising the truckstop for a teenage runaway to lure into his sleeper cab with a six of Genny Cream and a pack of Kools. Yet the college coaching ranks version of the American Chopper Dad (https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEidlo-8oJsZH3FK4MGl3JnTl938guX7HR_VlIqeehnSIid3KBBIWvHpkAgizInOXvSBXXl9Imr-h3iuCrZavl3kciLp7b2vTDKHtebea6Ur8YXjB7FQKSl-8u6hu6A1ev7zg4Lt8wDiMak/s400/PatHill.jpg) has put together a steady if of late unspectacular program in Southern California. Hill came to Fresno with a "take on all comers" attitude that manifested itself in the motto "Anyone, Anytime, Anywhere" which coincedentally was also the phrase tattooed on my ex-wife's inner thigh. And for awhile there it looked as if Fresno might be a major player on the National scene when in 2001 under the QBing of #1 pick overall David Carr the Bulldogs opened the year with wins over Colorado, #10 Oregon State and #23 Wisconsin rising to #8 in the polls before being upset by Hawaii late in the year and limping home 11-3. Since a 2005 near upset shootout against #1 USC Fresno has returned to good not great status. Beating the teams they're supposed to and getting pummeled by Boise State on their way to a minor Bowl each year.
This year was more of the same as FSU finished 8-4, but took it on the chin from #21 Nevada, SEC member Ole Miss and Boise State who delivered their annual drubbing 51-0. Still Fresno finished the year on a high note downing Bowl-bound Illinois and has been to this Bowl twice, winning both times over ACC opponents. So if you're looking for a place to invest that Christmas Bonus you could do worse than backing the coaching truckdriver and his Bulldogs.
The Northern Illinois Cheerleaders prepare for Boise in December. Sorry I wasn't Photoshop savvy enough to get The Donger (right) out of the picture.
And for the guy who requested a BYU girl here's one along with a male cheerleader who's leaving no stone unturned in the search for Joseph Smith's mythical Golden Plates
