Arkansas State Red Wolves linebacker Nathan Herrold (40) , quarterback Ryan Aplin (16) , head coach Gus Malzahn and mascot Howl pose with the Sun Belt Conference championship trophy after defeating the Middle Tennessee Blue Raiders at Liberty Bank Stadium. Arkansas State defeated Middle Tennessee 45-0. (Nelson Chenault-USA TODAY Sports)
This is one is for the little guys.
The non-BCS conference schools — led by Northern Illinois — will have their fun this bowl season and delight viewers. Not everything can be on the scale of Alabama-Notre Dame or Oregon-Kansas State, but to the hardcore college football fan, that will not matter.
While Northern Illinois carries the flag for the non-BCS schools – which Boise State has hoisted before – by playing in the Orange Bowl against Florida State, its brethren will show the country they also belong on the national stage.
Here are the top five remaining bowls featuring non-BCS teams worth noting:
1. GoDaddy.com Bowl – Kent State vs. Arkansas State, Jan. 6: Better yet, call it the Transition Bowl. Kent State (11-2) will play its last game under Darrell Hazell, who will coach at Purdue next season. Arkansas State (9-3) will be led by on an interim basis by defensive coordinator John Thompson, who is coaching in place of Gus Malzahn, Auburn’s new coach. The Golden Flashes upset then-No. 15 Rutgers 35-23 and lost to Northern Illinois 44-37 in two overtimes in the MAC championship game. Arkansas State won its last seven games in Malzahn’s first and only season. Keep an eye on Kent State running back Dri Archer, a junior who ranked fifth among FBS players in all-purpose yards, averaging 189.2 yards per game.
2. Sheraton Hawaii Bowl – Fresno State vs. SMU, Dec. 24: Fresno State’s talent outweighs SMU’s questionable status as a bowl team at 6-6. Viewers can observe Fresno State’s future NFL talent, including one of the country’s most underrated quarterbacks — Derek Carr, the younger brother of former NFL starter David Carr. Carr, a junior, threw for 3,742 yards with 36 touchdowns and only five interceptions. The Bulldogs (9-3) also feature senior tailback Robbie Rouse (1,468 rushing yards) and senior safety Phillip Thomas (leads nation with eight interceptions). SMU coach June Jones’ return to Hawaii, where he coached the Warriors into prominence, should also be interesting. Junes left Hawaii on bad terms, criticizing the athletic department’s lack of response to his demands for increased pay for assistants and enhancements to the facilities.
3. Little Caesars Pizza Bowl – Western Kentucky vs. Central Michigan, Dec. 26: The program Brian Kelly and Butch Jones built (Central Michigan) faces the program that Willie Taggart brought back from the dead. The Hilltoppers lost 26 consecutive games before beating Louisiana-Lafayette in 2010. They have gone 7-5 in each of the last two seasons under Taggart, who has left to take the job at South Florida. The controversial Bobby Petrino is Taggart’s replacement and his name will probably be mentioned more than his predecessor during the broadcast. Central Michigan won its last three games to become bowl eligible at 6-6. Western Kentucky has one of the best running backs in the nation in junior Antonio Andrews, who is sixth in the FBS with 134 yards rushing per game.
4. Military Bowl – San Jose State vs. Bowling Green, Dec. 27: This game carries on the theme of a program emerging from the depths of college football and losing its head coach to a better opportunity. It’s unfortunate that coach Mike MacIntyre can’t finish what he started San Jose State, which was 1-12 in his first season in 2010. He is already off to Colorado. The Spartans are 10-2 with one loss being a 20-17 setback to Pac-12 champ Stanford in their opener. They also beat bowl-bound San Diego State, BYU and Louisiana Tech. San Jose State quarterback David Fales, a junior, is No. 3 in the country in passing efficiency, completing 72.1 percent of his passes (best among FBS players) for 3,798 yards with 31 touchdowns and nine interceptions. It will be worth watching how Fales operates against Bowling Green’s defense, which ranks ninth nationally, allowing only 15.8 points a game. Bowling Green is 8-4 after winning seven of its last eight games.
5. R+L Carriers New Orleans Bowl – East Carolina vs. Louisiana-Lafayette, Dec. 22: The Ragin’ Cajuns (8-4) almost beat No. 3 Florida on Nov. 10, losing 27-20 after the Gators returned a blocked punt for a touchdown with two seconds to play. Louisiana won its last three games after that loss and finished 8-4. Louisiana quarterback Terrance Broadway, a Houston transfer, gets the chance to play close to his native Baton Rouge. Broadway completed 65.4 percent of his passes for 2,526 yards with 16 touchdowns and eight interceptions. He also ran for 661 yards with eight touchdowns. The Ragin’ Cajuns return to the New Orleans Bowl after beating San Diego State 32-30 in a thriller there last year. East Carolina (8-4) gets its last opportunity to beat an FBS team with a winning record this season.
