I have watched NIU twice earlier this season and I'm still very unimpressed with NIU right now against Toledo. There's nothing special about this team whatsoever. They're playing at home in a huge game against Toledo who started a third string QB and the Huskies look very, very average. I feel very confident in a win next week.

Buffalo can be bowl eligible by winning out (Akron, Kent, @UMass), so they have some extra incentive with their backs against the wall.

NIU's defense is looking pretty average tonight.

Tonight in Dekalb might feel balmy compared to next week in Athens. Looks like it may be below freezing at kickoff.

Just saw the weirdest commercial during the game- an ad promoting dating Asian women-WTF?!?

Anyway, I'm impressed with NIU. They're beating Toledo, who's putting up a real good fight with a 4th string QB who's doing very well all things considered. NIU has to be considered the favorite when they play us next week, considering they'll be playing to win the MAC West.

Akron just lost any edge they could possibly have in the bowl discussion tonight. Ohio defeated Buffalo and Akron so either of those schools finishing 6-6 is inconsequential to our bowl chances.

I only saw the 4th qtr tonight: We can beat NIU.

From seeing all of our games and bits and pieces of other games this year; A down year for the MAC. I haven't seen a single decently team such as we've seen in prior years with NIU, CMU, Ohio. CMU comes closest this year.

Haven't seen a single above-average qb in MAC this year.

Bonus question for Casper71: How come Toledo's 4th string qb would probably start for us?

Northwestern was a solid win for NIU. Northwestern has just two FBS wins, but both were strong wins (Penn State, @ Wisconsin). All of Northwestern's six (6) losses were to teams at or above 0.500. And four (4) of those losses were by one possession.

Unfortunately NIU can't say much other than that. Going into yesterday's game NIU was 0-1 against teams with winning records. Both of NIU's losses were by multiple possessions (including a 38 point loss to Arkansas). NIU's win breakdown:

- 1 FCS win
- 1 win against a team 7 games under 0.500 (U5H)
- 2 wins against a team 6 games U5H
- 1 win against a team 5 U5H
- 2 wins against a team 3 U5H (Northwestern is one of these teams)

After last night NIU is now 1-1 against teams with winning records. And 1-0 against teams with winning records that were forced to play their 4th string QB* for the entire second half.

*That's just a poke at NIU. In reality Toledo's 4th string QB looked great; quite possibly NIU did not have the game plan in place to handle his running game.

For comparison OHIO's breakdown going into this week:

- 0-4 against teams with winning records
- 1 FCS win
- 1 win against a team 7 games U5H
- 1 win against a team 6 games U5H
- 1 win against a team 3 games U5H
- 1 win against a team 1 game U5H

Could OHIO have picked up a couple more wins if they scheduled (hindsight) a team 6 games U5H and 3 games U5H instead of teams with winning records?

All of OHIO's five (5) losses have come to a team at or above 0.500 (at this point in the season).

If there's one eight (8) win team in the country benefiting from smoke and mirrors, it may just be NIU. Even after last night, we just don't know.

espn.com shows NIU-Ohio and UMass-Akron, both to be played next Tuesday, as appearing on ESPNU. ESPN and ESPN2 will be showing college basketball (State Farm Classic and Marquette-OSU). It looks like they will choose which football game to broadcast on the U, and it must be ours.

That would mean with 6 losses they should be ineligible, but I haven't seen anybody rule them out. I think with 6 wins they go to the back of the line along with Georgia Southern.

The thought that at 8-2 NIU is not a good football team is laughable.

I get that NIU didn't (in the sense that you mean it) pick their schedule this year.

Since you mention what you would hypothetically be doing if OHIO had NIU's schedule...

Replace UK with UNLV... OHIO win.
Replace WMU with EMU... OHIO win.

That would quite reasonably make OHIO 7-3 right now. I'm not going to say OHIO would beat Northwestern, because who knows how that one would shake out. Northwestern turned the ball over 3 times via fumble in that game. NIU was +2 in the turnover margin. Yet they only scrapped by with an 8 point victory.

You appear pretty confident that NIU is a better team than OHIO. Care to agree to any arrangements for the not hypothetical match up taking place on Tuesday PhiTau?

ESPN is usually slow flagging teams as bowl-ineligible when they've got 2 FCS wins on their record. If they are still alive for the MACC, as C Money brought up, they could still get to 6 qualifying wins* and qualify for a bowl game. Otherwise I think you're right: they can only go via waiver a la Georgia Southern.

*The actual rule basically says that you have to win at least 50% of your games, and no more than 1 win against an FCS team counts. So if a team played no or only 1 FCS team finished the season at 6-7 (playing their 13th game either as a result of a conference championship game OR a game in Hawaii) they would be ineligible, even though they had 6 wins. The NCAA has given out waivers to 6-7 teams who won their conference-division in the recent past.

Yeah but we have better attendance and will sell more tickets so if we win both the marketing factor and the on the field factor we're going to get in for sure. Before it was 50/50 now as long as we get to 6 we're guaranteed to get in.

Yeah, I took a lot of pleasure at their predicament too