NIU - Getting Some Attention in Mid-November

Here's Rivals.com's take on NIU football going into the Ohio game this Saturday. Lookin' good!

Mike Huguenin
Rivals.com College Football Editor

Generally, second- and third-place teams in the Sun Belt Conference and fourth- and fifth-place teams in the Mid-American Conference don't garner much attention.
But fans need to start paying attention to the likes of Middle Tennessee, Louisiana-Monroe, Louisiana-Lafayette, Northern Illinois, Kent State and Ohio University because it seems extremely likely that three or four of those teams will be bowl-bound this season.
The ACC, Big Ten, Mountain West and Pac-10 could have trouble filling all their bowl slots, and in the quest to fill those open spots, bowl officials are going to have to turn to non-affiliated teams with winning records (not 6-6 marks). Those teams are going to come from the MAC and Sun Belt.
The Sun Belt has one tie-in, with the New Orleans Bowl. Troy looks as if it will win the league for the fourth season in a row. But Middle Tennessee (7-3), Louisiana-Monroe (6-4) and Louisiana-Lafayette (5-5) still have a lot at stake. MTSU has a shot at finishing 9-3, but regardless of how the Blue Raiders finish, they are in great shape for a bid because they already have seven wins. ULM and ULL - which play each other Saturday - also would have legitimate chances at a bid if they can get to seven wins.
The Mid-American has three tie-ins, with the Little Caesars Pizza (formerly the Motor City), International and GMAC bowls. The two division champs are guaranteed bowl spots. Right now,Central Michigan (8-2) in the West and Temple (8-2) in the East are in the driver's seat in their respective divisions. Ohio U. (7-3), Northern Illinois (7-3), Bowling Green (5-5) and Kent State (5-5) still have legit division title hopes, with Ohio and NIU - which play Saturday - also in good shape for the league's third bowl bid. One of those plus BG and Kent State - assuming each can get to seven wins - also will be in the mix for any "leftover" bowl slots.
In the Rivals.com bowl projections this week, we had spots open in the EagleBank (an ACC slot), GMAC (ACC), Little Caesars Pizza (Big Ten) and Humanitarian (Mountain West) bowls.
Northern Illinois starting RB Chad Spann has an injured shoulder and may miss Saturday's key game against Ohio U. He will be a game-time decision. Spann is fifth in the nation with 16 rushing touchdowns and is a major reason NIU has won four in a row for the first time since 2006.