Tank Carradine and Bjoern Werner can make life hell for a QB, they will do so against NIU |
The 12 Days of BCS will provide you with everything you need to know for the five BCS games starting on New Year's Day. Each day will be a different subject finishing on New Year's Eve.
#12 Florida State vs. #15 Northern Illinois
I'm going to put this out there, I know absolutely nothing about this Northern Illinois team. However, I do know something, the MAC is one you should never sleep on. Yeah, they don't produce the sort of stud NFL players that the SEC does, but they're a fun group of teams who like to score and score some more. Northern Illinois fits that billing almost perfectly, sitting 9th in the nation in scoring with almost a 41 point per game clip, which should be interesting against the Seminoles defense.
We all know that the 'Noles won the ACC basically by default after beating Clemson at home. Virginia Tech was a disappointment this season and no one else in the conference made any real noise. But that doesn't mean FSU isn't a good team. Their defense is one of the best in the country and I expect them to make the right plays to put E.J. Manuel in position to win this game. The question is can Manuel make those plays? He is obviously equipped with the tools to do so, but he by no means has shown us the consistency to say he'll led this FSU team a blow out victory over Northern Illinois.
NIU's defense only allowed 19 points per game, which ranks 18th in the country. You also can't forget they're playing with a chip on their shoulders. No one believed they earned their spot among the BCS' elite and they will be looking to prove that they belong. Florida State already once played down to their competition losing to an underrated North Carolina State team earlier this year and it wouldn't surprise me if they cough this one up too.
I see this game being annoyingly close for Florida State, with their dominant defense controlling the tempo. The Noles defensive line will be just too overwhelming for this untested Huskie squad. Manuel won't be pretty in the win for FSU, but he'll make enough plays for the more talented Noles to get their win.
Seminoles 27, Huskies 17
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