The Northern Illinois Huskies played against Louisiana Tech Bulldogs last night in the Independence Bowl in Shreveport, LA. The Huskies lost a very early lead. They had scored during the first quarter after a 53 yard drive, taking the lead 7-0. But on the ensuing kickoff, the Bulldogs scored a touchdown and tied it up. It was unfortunate for NIU that their special teams couldn’t keep it down. The Huskies had dominated the first quarter, with 125 yards against 23 for LA Tech. But once the Bulldogs had taken back the momentum, they didn’t look back. In the final quarter, NIU came back and scored a field goal. The game ended 17-10 and that was it. It is the first bowl win for LA Tech since 1977.

The Fighting Irish just couldn’t seem to get it going this season. After skidding and sputtering their way to a 7-6 regular season record, the Irish were granted a bid to face Hawaii in the Hawaii Bowl. A match between two near .500 teams seems like it would carry little weight for either team. Pride, however, fueled the Irish to victory. For the first time in 15 years, the Fighting Irish have won a postseason game, ending a 9 game bowl game losing streak. Read more about the game at ncaafootball.com.

The New Orleans bowl was played this weekend. Southern Miss played against Troy. It was supposed to be a good game, since Southern Miss pulled their team out of a big hole earlier this season. They had had a long losing streak but they got back into the hunt. They made it to the New Orleans Bowl and they were behind in that too. They were losing late by 10, and found a way to come back. They came back to tie the game and won in overtime, 30-27. This is a Cinderella season for Southern Miss and it ended just as it had been!  Congrats to them.

We’ve entered what is known as the “eye of the hurricane” for NCAA football. The air stills and sound disappears for a short week or two…and then the postseason college bowl game storm descends on the nation. For two full weeks, the nation is privy to the most exciting college football action available. For the full schedule of the BCS postseason, check here.

The Heisman Trophy winner was announced on Saturday and the name we heard was Sam Bradford, the Oklahoma quarterback who took it.  The Florida player, Tim Tibow, was also in line to win it for the second time in a row, but he didn’t make it. Interestingly, these two teams will face off against each other in a few weeks, on January 8, for the BCS national championship. Bradford led the Sooners in coming back from a lackluster beginning of the season to qualify for the national championship. He is a sophomore, so there will be some impressive moments to come. Keep an eye on this guy!

The finalists for the Heisman trophy have been announced and it’s not surprising to see the three most game-changing quarterbacks make the cut. Tim Tebow of the Florida Gators, Sam Bradford of Oklahoma, and Colt McCoy of Texas comprise the available candidacy for the Heisman trophy. The last time the finalists were all quarterbacks was in 2001, when Eric Crouch of Nebraska won. No doubt Tim Tebow has some leverage in the race after leading his Gators to a comeback victory last week against then number 1 Alabama.

The bowls have been decided.  There are so many bowls that I wont mention them all here, but I’ll give you a rundown of the big ones. At the Alamo Bowl, a game that is close to my heart, Missouri will take on Northwestern on December 29th. #5 USC will be battling the #8 Penn State team in the Rose Bowl this year. These two teams are some of the good ones this year, though it’s not the only big hitters. The other big ones are in the other BCS bowls this year. In the Cotton Bowl, Texas Tech will be going up against #25 Mississippi. #4 Alabama and #6 Utah face off in the Sugar Bowl. The Fiesta Bowl has #10 Ohio State and #3 Texas battling it out. #1 Oklahoma and #2 Florida will take part in the really big show in the National BCS Championship Game on January 8th. 

In a rout that was reminiscent of the days of old, Rutgers put on a clinic against opposing Louisville Cardinals. Though the game had no postseason impact on either team, there was still a large amount of pride at stake for these Big East rivals. And Rutgers delivered. Scoring 49 first half points, the Scarlet Knights easily dominated the Cardinals. Quarterback Mike Teel even tied the Big East Conference record of 7 TD passes while throwing 21 of 26 for 447 yards. While Louisville answered with two second half TDs, it was simply too little too late. Rutgers 63, Louisville 14.

#1 Alabama and #4 Florida take each other on in the SEC Championship this coming week. The teams are ranked #1 and #2 in the AP polling and so it’s easily possible that winner of this game will play in the BCS Championship in about two weeks. The Alabama Crimson Tide have a 13-0 record and can keep their perfect record now. The Florida Gators have won several SEC Titles in the last few years and are hoping to keep that streak alive. Both of these teams have had great years, though Alabama is one of the more surprising teams of the year. It will be a good game. Watch the Alabama team try to hold Florida to just a few points. But watch the Florida offense to try to score many points, as they have outscored their most recent opponents by 414-97.