Boise State @ Northern Illinois preview

SAN DIEGO COUNTY CREDIT UNION POINSETTIA BOWL STORYLINES

1. Two teams that had loftier expectations will share the gridiron when Boise State squares off with Northern Illinois in the San Diego County Credit Union Poinsettia Bowl on Dec. 23 at Qualcomm Stadium in San Diego. Boise State was looking to repeat as the Group of Five's representative in a New Year's Six bowl but the Broncos underachieved with three losses in Mountain West play and stand at 8-4. The Huskies had similar aspirations after five consecutive seasons of 11 or more victories but are now attempting to avoid their first six-loss season since 2009.

2. Boise State is averaging 37.8 points behind freshman quarterback Brett Rypien, who was in line to redshirt in his first season on campus until sophomore Ryan Finley suffered a season-ending ankle injury. The nephew of former Washington Redskins quarterback Mark Rypien was ready for the challenge and passed for 2,973 yards and 17 touchdowns while winning Mountain West Freshman of the Year honors. Northern Illinois has done some quarterback shuffling of its own as junior starter Drew Hare (Achilles' tendon) and redshirt freshman backup Ryan Graham (leg) both were injured and freshman Tommy Fiedler is currently slated to make his second career start.

3. Huskies sophomore cornerback Shawun Lurry stands just 5-8 but he is a player quarterbacks are learning to avoid as he leads the nation with nine interceptions and is averaging 30.3 yards per return. "It just comes from practicing hard every day and taking practice seriously and the (defensive) line putting pressure on the quarterback," Lurry recently told reporters. "When they do that, the quarterback just throws the ball up in the air and I’ll be in the right area sometimes and I get it." The Broncos (22) have even more interceptions than Northern Illinois (21) and feature senior safety Darian Thompson, who had five picks this season and is the Mountain West's all-time leader with 19.

TV: 4:30 p.m. ET, ESPN. LINE: Boise State -8

ABOUT BOISE STATE (8-4, 5-3 Mountain West): Sophomore running back Jeremy McNichols is tied for the national lead with 23 touchdowns (18 rushing, five receiving) and has rushed for 1,244 yards while posting seven 100-yard performances. Junior receiver Thomas Sperbeck leads the Mountain West in receptions (82) and receiving yards (1,334) - with the latter total breaking the school single-season mark set by Titus Young (1,210 in 2010). Thompson and senior cornerback Donte Deayon (17 career interceptions, four this season) head the secondary while junior defensive end Kamalei Correa has a team-leading five sacks for a unit with 28 takeaways.

ABOUT NORTHERN ILLINOIS (8-5, 6-2 Mid-American): The Huskies figure to give junior running back Joel Bouagnon (1,269 yards, 18 touchdowns) a heavy workload to help take pressure off Fiedler, who was 12-of-28 for 152 yards with one touchdown and three interceptions in a 34-14 loss to Bowling Green in the MAC title game. Junior receiver Kenny Golladay (71 receptions for 1,122 yards and 10 touchdowns) is a big-play threat on offense while MAC Special Teams Player of the Year Aregeros Turner - a junior - averages 25.2 yards with one touchdown on kickoff returns. Senior middle linebacker Boomer Mays (108 tackles) and senior defensive end Perez Ford (five sacks) join Lurry as the headliners on a defense that forced 27 turnovers.



PREDICTION: Boise State 37, Northern Illinois 33