Outside of our yearly predictions, this is probably the most exposure we’re going to give the Orange Bowl.
It’s not that we don’t love the underdog -- we do quite a bit -- but we’re also realists here at CFT. Florida State and Northern Illinois just doesn’t elicit a lot of excitement. So, we need some help. A quote for some bulletin-board material. Luckily, NIU quarterback Jordan Lynch provided some on Wednesday.
Lynch was not lacking confidence when he spoke with the Sporting News about Florida State’s top-10 defense.
“They’re fast, they’re physical, but they haven’t seen anything like our offense,” Lynch said. “We plan on wearing them down. In the fourth quarter, we plan to have them on their knees—and then just keep pounding away.”
Lynch didn’t back off his comments when asked about them later in the day. He wasn’t alone, either. NIU defensive end Sean Progar said FSU would be “surprised” by the Huskies’ team speed and new coach Rod Carey added “What’s he [Lynch] supposed to say? ‘Hey, we’re just hoping we get a first down, a yard or two?'"
Now, to suggest in hyperbolic fashion that Florida State has never, at any point, seen anything like NIU’s offense is just plain wrong. And, besides, talk means zilch when everyone still has to strap on the pads and go out on the field and hit someone.
Of course, FSU could come out and effortlessly send NIU back home with a loss somewhere in the neighborhood of a 50-point margin. Or, as the Seminoles have been known to do from time to time, they could come out flat and Lynch, college football’s third-leading rusher, could make it a game and possibly lead the upset.
That’s the best part: Lynch and NIU will have a chance to back up their words on the field in five days. But by then, words won’t mean anything.