Northern Illinois vs Utah State LIVE Radio Broadcast: Jordan Lynch Looks to Cap College Career With Poinsettia Bowl Win
ByThe Mountain West meets the Mid American as the Utah State Aggies face the Northern Illinois Huskies (23) in the 2013 Poinsettia Bowl.
Heisman finalist quarterback Jordan Lynch will lead the Huskies in trying to set the school record for wins in a season for the second year in a row. Last year, they finished 12-2, losing to Florida State in the Orange Bowl and this year, the Poinsettia Bowl is their chance to win their 13th.
CLICK HERE to listen to a live radio broadcast of the 2013 Poinsettia Bowl.
The San Diego County Credit Union Poinsettia Bowl will be held in Qualcomm Stadium, home to the NFL's San Diego Chargers.
The 27 points the Huskies scored in the Mid American championship game loss to Bowling Green matched their season-low. Lynch and company have scored an average of 46.1 points per game, good for ninth best in the country.
"(That) game doesn't define us -- we're not going to let it," coach Rod Carey told reporters, according to ESPN. "We've got another game. We still have a lot to play for."
For Lynch, it is one last audition with the Huskies for any interested NFL scouts. After this game, the quarterback may choose to play in the Senior Bowl, then will have his pre-draft workouts.
In his junior and senior years combined, the seasons he spent as a regular starter, Lynch has thrown for a total of 5,814 yards, ran for 3,696, accumulated 48 touchdowns through the air and 41 on the ground.
"It's hard to get selected from a non-[automatic qualifying conference]," Lynch told reporters. "One of the biggest things is you have to win games, have a winning team and your stats have to separate you from the bigger schools."
Utah State's defense gave up an average of 17.3 yards per game this year, the seventh-lowest total in the nation. They also did not appear to have any shot at playing the post season following the loss of their starting quarterback to injury and a meager 4-3 start. The Aggies rallied to win five in a row, before losing the Mountain West title game to Fresno State.
"It's a tremendous group of young men," Matt Wells, Aggies coach and the Mountain West coach of the year, told reporters. "The thing that I'm proud of is they continue to move this program little by little, step by step.
"We've just got a lot of fighters, kids who continue to play."