By Woodrow Carroll
The ranks of the upper echelon of college football presently numbers 134 programs. Those football programs, in theory, could win a National Championship. Those are the schools found in the FBS (Football Bowl Subdivision) category. Of course, we all know that in reality only a select handful of gridiron giants in the form of Michigan, Alabama, Ohio State, and Texas, among a few others, each former National Champions, will emerge as this season’s champion.
The quest for NCAA National Championship got down to serious business last weekend with four first-round games. Four contests that reduced the field from 12 to eight quarter-finalists.
The previous weekend’s games were mostly one-sided, decided by 10 points or more. Notre Dame beat Indiana, 27-17, last Friday evening followed by Penn State’s 38-10 beat down of SMU Saturday. Then it was Texas, 38-24, over Clemson and Ohio State’s, 42-17, drubbing of Tennessee to close out first-round action.
Do the rich get richer? Well, all four winners last weekend have laid claim to one or more National Championships in the past. And, two of the losers from last weekends activity, Clemson and Tennessee, know what it’s like to be crowned National Champion.
And least we forget, the likes of Oregon and Arizona State, two teams still remaining in the championship hunt, each have come close to finishing No. 1 only to fall short.
Among the eight survivors left in the hunt for the National Championship, the real outlier would have to be Boise State. And in recent seasons, the Boise Broncos have gained a national following of their own for that matter. Boise State will take on Penn State at 7:30 p.m. Tuesday, Dec. 31 in the Fiesta Bowl. To many who follow the bowl scene, Boise State’s, 43-42, overtime victory over Oklahoma in the 2006 Fiesta Bowl was the contest that put the Boise Broncos on the college football map in the minds of many.
While we are all rather familiar with the likes of the 12-team field selected to contend for the National Championship, the ranks of the FBS schools has grown in recent seasons. Some rather unknown programs have come to the front in the FBS ranks. One such program is the Jacksonville State Gamecocks. (You might keep in mind that Illinois’ foe in the Citrus Bowl is South Carolina. And, South Carolina operates under the Gamecocks moniker, too.)
While Florida may have the Jacksonville Jaguars of the NFL, Jacksonville State University is in northeast Alabama. Jacksonville State is presently a member of Conference USA and does battle with the likes of Kennesaw State and Sam Houston State among other league foes.
Jacksonville State did very well this season. The Jacksonville Gamecocks captured Conference USA honors with a final league record of 7-1. Jacksonville State was then invited to face Ohio U. in the Cure Bowl.
In a game that featured two conference champions, the MAC Champion Ohio Bobcats (11-3) turned back a late Jacksonville State (9-5) rally to win the Cure Bowl, 30-27.
While Boise State makes its way to the Fiesta Bowl, and possibly beyond, the Northern Illinois Huskies ended up in Boise for their bowl game, the Famous Idaho Potato Bowl. And, for the second time in the bowl’s history, Northern Illinois prevailed over Fresno State Monday.
Northern Illinois needed two overtimes before coming away the 28-20 winner over the Boise Bulldogs. The Northern Illinois Huskies’ victory allowed Northern to finish up with an overall record of 8-5 and make it two straight bowl victories. Northern Illinois bested Arkansas State 21-19 in last season’s Camellia Bowl.
In 2010, Northern beat Fresno State, 40-17, when the contest was called the Humanitarian Bowl.
Clearly, the high point of the 2024 season for Northern Illinois was the victory at Notre Dame. And, to close out with a bowl game victory? Not bad!