No surprise: Notre Dame vs. Alabama in BCS title game

Big surprise: Northern Illinois moves into the top 16 to earn a trip to the Orange Bowl.

By Chris Dufresne

December 2, 2012, 6:50 p.m.

The final Bowl Championship Series standings on Sunday produced a lot of expected news and one big surprise.

Notre Dame and Alabama, in what everyone knew was just a formality, finished first and second in the final standings and will meet Jan. 7 in South Florida for the BCS title.

The surprise was Northern Illinois, the Mid-American Conference champion at 12-1, sneaking into the top 16 to earn an automatic bid to a major bowl. The Huskies will play Florida State in the Orange Bowl.

Northern Illinois finished No. 15 in the final standings. The Huskies defeated Kent State in Friday night’s MAC title game and then took advantage of losses by Nebraska, Texas and UCLA to jump from No. 21 into the BCS lineup.

BCS rules stipulate a team from a “non-qualifier” conference earns a bid if it finishes in the top 16 ahead of a major conference champion. Northern Illinois actually finished ahead of two “AQ” champions in Louisville (Big East) and Wisconsin (Big Ten).

Northern Illinois’ huge BCS comeback knocks powerhouse Oklahoma out of a BCS game and into the Cotton Bowl.

It was a historic day for the MAC, which earned its first BCS bid and pulled off one of the greatest final-weekend comebacks in BCS history.

In 2007, Louisiana State rose from No. 7 to No. 2 on the final weekend to earn a trip to the title game, which it won.

Here’s the BCS top 10: Notre Dame, Alabama, Florida, Oregon, Kansas State, Stanford, Georgia, Louisiana State, Texas A&M and South Carolina.

The SEC placed six teams in the BCS top 10. UCLA finished No. 17 and San Jose State ended up No. 24.

The final BCS lineup is now official:

BCS: Notre Dame vs. Alabama

Rose: Stanford vs. Wisconsin

Fiesta: Oregon vs. Kansas State

Sugar: Florida vs. Louisville

Orange: Northern Illinois vs. Florida State.

The rest of the bowl games include:

GoDaddy.com, Jan. 6: Kent State vs. Arkansas State

BBVA Compass, Jan. 5: Pittsburgh vs. Mississippi

Cotton, Jan. 4: Oklahoma vs. Texas A&M

Comments (2)

Add / View comments | Discussion FAQ

Medusa at 7:09 PM December 02, 2012

If you are going to the Rose Bowl, and buy tickets near the end zones, expect to stand the entire game.

Wisconsin students pride themselves on 1) getting tickets near the field, at the bottom of the stadium, and 2) standing the entire damn game. They stand from start to finish, through timeouts, half-time, replays, reviews, whatever. And since you can't see over the person ahead of you if they are standing, you have to stand..... the entire game.

There is nothing polite or admirable about thw Wisconsin student's manners. They will not sit, whether requested by you, stadium security, or by the elderly gentleman hoping his wife can see the game.

Manners would be more admirable than stoic standing, but they can't distinguish between 25' in a snow storm, and 65' in California sunshine. So, if you purchase tickets, be prepared to stand during the entire game.

Steve Schollnick at 7:05 PM December 02, 2012

please visit wlaeauction.com

Comments are filtered for language and registration is required. The Times makes no guarantee of comments' factual accuracy. Readers may report inappropriate comments by clicking the Report Abuse link next to a comment. Here are the full legal terms you agree to by using this comment form.