In the preseason polls, Northern Illinois received one vote in the AP Top 25, and two votes in the USA Today Coaches poll, ranked behind such illustrious teams as South Florida (3-9), Virginia (4-8), Missouri (5-7), Southern Mississippi (0-12!), Utah (5-7), Arkansas (4-8) and Auburn (3-9).
After losing to Iowa in Week One, Northern Illinois did not receive a single vote of any kind in those polls. In fact, the Huskies did not receive any votes in either major poll until week eight of the USA Today poll, when they finally started getting votes again.
The margin of error when you are from a non-AQ conference is beyond slim; the line is so razor thin it is nearly imperceptible. That's not really an opinion; I can take it one step further and say that even within the AQ leagues there is a perception of difficulty, and if you are from the SEC or even the Pac-12 this year you will get more leeway for certain kinds of losses than a school from the ACC and the Big East would.
Northern Illinois doesn't have that luxury, and everyone wants to point to the fact that they lost to Iowa in week one as an excuse to validate the argument against leaving the Huskies out of the Orange Bowl. Fine. It was a one point loss in the last two minutes. Show me all of the other undefeated teams that there are in the country. Oh, wait, there's only one—and they'll be playing in Sun Life Stadium on Monday night, anyway.
Northern Illinois, who apparently even the Orange Bowl doesn't want, are there because of a rule that was instituted years ago. It's not like Northern Illinois rigged the system. They are the beneficiaries of a rule that was put in place that, quite frankly, the powers that be probably did not expect to ever be trigged at its lowest threshold like it was this season.
If a team from a non-AQ conference finished in the Top 16 of the final BCS standings, and finished ahead of a team from a BCS conference, then said non-AQ school would take up an at-large slot.
Blame the Big East for being the home of putrid football. Blame Rutgers for not taking care of its own business, although I wonder if it would've made a difference, given that Rutgers and Louisville were both not ranked in the next to last BCS standings. Blame the FBS for being such a hot mess, with a bloated disgusting postseason that is rife with payola, favoritism and corruption with an emphasis on the almighty dollar.
Just don't blame Northern Illinois for a rule that they simply managed to trigger by doing what we all ask of our teams—winning.
