The X’s and O’s of the Orange Bowl predictions aren’t shared by many expert handicappers, but here at Bankroll Sports, we are giving up all of our insight and telling you all of the keys to the game for the Northern Illinois Huskies vs. Florida State Seminoles. The Orange Bowl picks are some of the hardest to make this year of all of the bowl games, so don’t miss out on all of our Northern Illinois vs. Florida State predictions!

2013 Orange Bowl: Northern Illinois Huskies vs. Florida State Seminoles
2013 Orange Bowl Location: Sun Life Stadium, Miami Gardens, FL
2013 Orange Bowl Date/Time: Tuesday, January 1st, 8:30 p.m. (ET)
2013 Orange Bowl On TV: ESPN

Click Here For The Rest Of The 2012-13 Bowl Game Schedule And Other Bowl Game Previews

Key #1: The Seminoles have to want to win this game
It’s tough to question whether a team wants to show up and play in a BCS bowl game, but even here, at the highest level of bowl games, you get teams that just fail to show up from time to time. The truth of the matter is that this is the only way that FSU is even getting remotely challenged. Yes, the team is banged up on defense, but we have seen the Noles sleepwalk through the season. NC State picked them off. Florida did, too. Virginia Tech and Georgia Tech came close. And why did that happen? It’s either because the Seminoles were severely overrated, or they just had a hard time getting motivated for games. Remember that the garnet and gold were the only team in America favored by at least a touchdown in each and every one of their games this year. If Head Coach Jimbo Fisher can’t get his boys up for this one though, it could end up being an embarrassing day for Florida State.

Orange Bowl Odds at BetRevolution Sportsbook
Northern Illinois Huskies +13.5
Florida State Seminoles -13.5
Over/Under 58.5
Click Here to Bet Your Orange Bowl Picks!

Key #2: Jordan Lynch has to figure out how to get something going offensively
This really is the key for the Huskies in this one. For as inconsistent as Florida State’s offense has been this year, the defense has really consistently been pretty darn good. This is going to be the biggest challenge that the Huskies have ever seen defensively, and it is the biggest game of Lynch’s career. His stats speak for themselves; we don’t care what the level of competition is. If you throw for nearly 3,000 yards and rush for nearly 2,000 yards, even if it is in the MAC, you’ve still done something pretty remarkable. The question that we have for Lynch and the Huskies, though? Can you do it against an FBS team? Remember that the two worst offensive performances of the year for NIU came against the Iowa Hawkeyes and the Kansas Jayhawks. The argument could be made that that was all because it was early in the year, but the argument could also be made that the MAC really is just an overrated conference that has to right to stack up with the big boys. We’ll see the answer to that on New Year’s night.

Key #3: EJ Manuel has to go out with a bang
QB EJ Manuel is going to go down as one of the most efficient quarterbacks that Florida State has ever seen, but few are likely to ever remember him for all that much, aside from the fact that every loss the team suffers is considered to be on his back. Statistically speaking, this was the best year that Manuel has ever had, as he threw for 3,101 yards and 22 TDs against 10 picks and rushed for 284 yards and three more scores. More importantly, he stayed healthy all season long, which really helped matters as well. That being said, the senior is playing in his final game, and he doesn’t want to be remembered in Tallahassee as the man that lost to Florida and then lost the only BCS bowl game that the team has been at in quite some time. Manuel has thrown at least one pick in four straight games, and that just doesn’t cut it for a team that has such a remarkable defense. The offense has to at least do something for the Noles, and with RB Chris Thompson out of the fold and a running back by committee approach not always being the most effective, it could be up to Manuel’s arm to make the few big throws to win this game.

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The MAC Championship Game will be contested on Friday night at Ford Field, and we are set to make our Ohio Bobcats vs. Northern Illinois Huskies picks for one of the biggest games on the schedule! Check out the MAC Championship keys to the game!

MAC Championship Game: Ohio Bobcats vs. Northern Illinois Huskies
MAC Championship Game Location: Ford Field, Detroit, MI
MAC Championship Game Date/Time: Friday, December 2nd, 7:00 p.m. (ET)
MAC Championship Game Television Schedule: ESPN2, ESPN3.com

Key #1: The Bobcats have to put a harness on Harnish
QB Chandler Harnish is one of the most athletic players in the entire country, and he is going to be the one player on the field that the Bobcats truly have to contain. If Harnish gets going with his legs and his arm, this NIU offense is absolutely impossible to stop. Harnish accounted for 2,692 passing yards and 1,351 rushing yards this year, and he has a total of 34 TDs to his credit. He hardly ever turns the ball over either, as he only has five picks on the campaign. The Bobcats have the speed in their front seven on defense to be able to at least keep Harnish under wraps, but the problem is that he can beat you with his arm as well in a big time way, and he isn’t afraid to spread the ball around to a slew of receivers. Ohio only ranked No. 62 in the nation against the pass at 226.7 yards per game.

Key #3: NIU special teams have to at least be remotely special
Though the Huskies do score a slew of points, they have a big time problem on special teams. Kick and punt returning isn’t a problem, but when it comes to the kicking game, there are some issues. P Ryan Neir is only averaging 35.3 yards per punt this year, and his long boot is only 54 yards. Meanwhile, K Mathew Sims has had problems kicking the ball from any sort of distance. He is only 3-of-6 in kicks that are longer than 38 yards on the season, and he hasn’t hit one from further than 44 yards. We tend to think that Ohio’s defense will at least make this sophomore kicking in his first big time game work for his points, and if that turns out to be the case, the Huskies could be in some real trouble.

If you’re a fan of NCAA football picks, you’re going to love the Humanitarian Bowl this year! Two of the more underrated mid major clubs in the country lock horns on Boise State’s Smurf Turf, as the Fresno State Bulldogs, who have already been crippled once on this field, take on the Northern Illinois Huskies. This is the second bowl game of the year and is one that you certainly won’t want to miss out on. But will it be the MAC or the WAC that is celebrating when this toss up is over with? The oddsmakers can’t figure out who to favor in this one, but we certainly can help you pick out a winner! Check out these keys to the game you must consider before making your Humanitarian Bowl picks!

Key #1: Northern Illinois has to act like a team that wants to be here
The Huskies finally have their new man, as former Wisconsin Badgers Defensive Coordinator Dave Doeren is going to be taking over at the conclusion of this game. However, the man in charge now is linebackers coach Tom Matukewicz, as he has been leading the team in preparation for the Humanitarian Bowl. The departure of Head Coach Jerry Kill to the Minnesota Golden Gophers came as a bit of a surprise to many, but perhaps it shouldn’t have been for the Huskies. They just barely had cracked the Top 25 after going 8-0 SU and 7-0-1 ATS in MAC play, and they clearly play in an inferior conference to Minnesota. Now, without a real leader, the Huskies have to unite and come back from the devastating loss in the MAC Championship Game to the Miami Redhawks as well. We tend to believe that NIU has the better team in this game, but if it doesn’t play like it wants to be here in Boise, it is probably going to end up on the short end of the stick.

Humanitarian Bowl Odds at JustBet
Northern Illinois Huskies -1
Fresno State Bulldogs +1
Over/Under 58.5
Click Here to Bet on Your Humanitarian Bowl Picks! 

Key #2: Ryan Colburn and the rushing game must keep Fresno State balanced
Northern Illinois had one of the most balanced defenses in the entire country this year, holding teams to just 328.2 yards per game and ranking No. 35 or better in every major defensive category. At times this year though, the Bulldogs didn’t stay as true to themselves both with the pass and with the run. It seemed as though when RB Robbie Rouse was in the game, he was the one getting the football. Rouse touched the ball 205 times in just ten games this year, and he accounted for over 1,200 yards of offense and ten of the team’s 41 offensive TDs. When Rouse wasn’t in there though, there was no confidence in any other running back and QB Ryan Colburn was stuck putting the ball in the air a ton. Colburn threw for 2,529 yards this year, but his numbers were all over the board to get there. He put the ball up 33 or more times four times this year, but he also threw 26 or fewer times eight times. Needless to say, this type of inconsistency just isn’t going to cut it, especially when you know that the best opponents you have played have killed you this year. In these games against the Hawaii Warriors, Boise State Broncos, and Nevada Wolf Pack, Colburn threw for just 176.0 yards per game and completed an average of just 13.7 passes per game. That won’t cut it against Northern Illinois. Both Colburn and Rouse have to keep their acts together at the same time, or stopping this Huskies defense is going to be impossible.

Key #3: Chandler Harnish must be forced into some mistakes
QB Chandler Harnish did a fantastic job all season long taking care of the football. The junior only threw five picks for the campaign, and he hasn’t thrown a blunder since the end of the game against the Ball State Cardinals back on November 20th. He also has seven TDs in that stretch. A 20/5 TD/INT ratio for the season was the best for any signal caller in the MAC and one of the best in the entire country, and Harnish should be proud of that. The only thing that gets him in trouble at times is when he tries to do too much with his legs but cannot figure out how to get all the way to the perimeter to break loose. Harnish has a great running back to rely on in RB Chad Spann, and stopping Spann is going to be virtually impossible as it is for a rush defense that was really worked over by a few teams this year. Harnish had five games this year with at least 70 yards on the ground, including three with at least 110. If he has that type of momentum and isn’t making mistakes, this offense for Northern Illinois is very, very tough to stop. There’s a reason these guys scored an average of 47.8 points per game in the regular season in conference play this year.