Herbstreit provides ammo to NIU, Iowa

IOWA CITY - Kirk Herbstreit provided the sound bite heard ‘round the DeKalb Oasis, and nobody was smiling on Northern Illinois' campus.

Herbstreit, a former Ohio State quarterback and prominent ESPN college football broadcaster, ranted for more than six minutes about the Bowl Championship Series when the pairings were unveiled last December. He railed on a system that prevented Texas A & M, Oklahoma and Georgia from competing in a major bowl, while it allowed the mid-major Huskies earn an Orange Bowl bid.

“All of us want to see those teams in games that matter, in BCS bowl games,” Herbstreit said on camera. Then with disdain and in slow motion he blurted, “And you're giving us ... Northern Illinois?”

Herbstreit also turned his guns on the opponent that beat Northern Illinois: Iowa. The Hawkeyes knocked off the Huskies 18-17 in the 2012 season opener but ended 4-8. Northern Illinois, the Mid-American Conference champion, finished the regular season 12-1.

“I love MAC football, don't get me wrong,” Herbstreit said at the time. “But to put them in the BCS is an absolute joke to the rest of these teams who are more deserving. It's the eyeball test, the resume. Iowa is the worst team in the Big Ten. They lost to Iowa. I can't even believe we're having this discussion.”

The wounds fester for both clubs this week as they compete against one another Saturday in the season opener. Northern Illinois, the first MAC team to make a major bowl appearance, lost its Orange Bowl match-up against Florida State 31-10. Iowa dropped its final six games to finish with the school's worst mark since 2000.

Lack of respect is an underlying motivator for both programs entering this season. The Huskies have won at least 11 games in each of the last three seasons. Despite returning quarterback Jordan Lynch, who finished seventh in the Heisman Trophy balloting, Northern Illinois failed to enter the rankings for either the Associated Press or the USA Today/Coaches Poll.

“I don't think you have to do anything for our guys to have a chip on their shoulder,” said Northern Illinois Coach Rod Carey, who served as the Huskies' interim coach in the Orange Bowl. “Listen, you're in the MAC and just by default you've been told you're not good enough for this, you're not going good enough for that at some point in the recruiting process. I don't think there's any part of what happened last year going forward into this game for this team.

“This is a brand new team, and same with Iowa. It's a brand new venue for us, going to Iowa City, which is a great venue, great fans. I don't think that (lack of respect) plays any part of it.”

Iowa faces a similar lack of respect. Few predictions have the Hawkeyes exceeding last year's 4-8 record or reaching a bowl game. While speaking at his annual kickoff luncheon to benefit UI Children's Hospital, Iowa Coach Kirk Ferentz took an ornery jab at the prognosticators.

“I've been a little bit exposed to what the experts are saying right now, and I'm just hoping like hell they're not right,” Ferentz said, “and they stay true to their past and prove to be very inaccurate for the most part. That's what I'm hoping for. We still have to play a season right? The games do count, the 12 games.”

There's still a possibility Northern Illinois could qualify again for the BCS, ahead of some deserving, high-major schools. It also could happen in 2014 when the College Football Playoff is implemented. If they do it this year - or any year - they'll deserve it despite what is written or said, BCS Commissioner Bill Hancock said.

“Stigma, it's hard to say what media might do and how they might react,” Hancock said.

Whether Herbstreit sounds off on Northern Illinois or any other MAC school should they qualify, who knows. But nobody will be surprised.