Northern Illinois (12-1, 8-0 MAC) vs. Florida State (11-2, 7-1 ACC)
Tuesday, Jan. 1, 8:30 p.m. ET, ESPN

The History: The Orange Bowl has been played annually since 1935, making it the second-oldest bowl game, along with the Sugar Bowl and the Sun Bowl, behind the Rose Bowl. Played in Miami, Fla., the Orange Bowl has been sponsored by Discover since 2010 after FedEx sponsored the game for 21 years before that.

Northern Illinois Scouting Report: The Huskies squeaked their way into the BCS party by finishing in the top 16 of the BCS standings after their 44-37 double overtime win against Kent State in the MAC Championship Game. Quarterback Jordan Lynch has thrown for 2,962 yards and 24 touchdowns this season and rushed for 1,771 yards and 19 touchdowns. To put it mildly, he’s decent.

Florida State Scouting Report: The Seminoles … [Read More]

Stanford (11-1, 8-1 Pac Ten) vs. Virginia Tech (11-2, 8-0 ACC)

January 3, 2011 8:30 PM

History: Like all bowl games, this one started as an attempt to get tourists from the north to head south for the holidays and to bring their money with them.  Initially called the “Palm Festival Game”, the second matchup saw ‘Da U lose to Duquense. In 1935, once the game became rebranded under the current name, Miami continued their hospitality by falling to Bucknell. The 1964 Orange Bowl game between Texas and Alabama was the first college bowl game to be televised in prime time. Oh, and it’s being played in Land Shark stadium. Good times.

The game is most known for being a home game for Miami, and has hosted some classic matchups between the Big 8 and Florida schools, including the string of clashes between Miami and Nebraska which often determined the … [Read More]