There is a popular tee-shirt sold on the campus of Northern Illinois University that lists the scores of the Huskies three victories against Bowl Championship Series (BCS) schools and next to the those winning totals each of the conferences (Atlantic Coast, Southeastern and Big 12) logo’s are crossed out with a big red “X.” At the bottom of shirt, the phrase “Talking smack in the MAC-Huskies climbing the polls” is plastered in big letters.

The MAC or Mid-American Conference is the conference to which NIU belongs and after the BCS standings were released Monday, the Huskies are in fact “climbing the polls.”

The BCS is a computer system that factors in wins and losses, other poll rankings, strength of schedule and quality wins to determine who should play in the four BCS bowls, including the Nokia Sugar Bowl which will match the two top teams for the national championship

Confused yet?

It’s okay if you are dumbfounded, but just keep this in mind, NIU is ranked 10th in the BCS, ahead of such perennial powers as Nebraska, Michigan State and Louisiana State. The Huskies are undefeated at 7-0 and have beaten Maryland and Iowa State in DeKalb and Alabama in Tuscaloosa. Yet, even if Northern wins out they have no realistic chance to go to New Orleans for a chance to win the Sears National Championship trophy.

This travesty is all because the Huskies strength of schedule. Although Northern defeated two ranked teams in Maryland and Alabama in a span of three weeks, the Huskies also faced Division I-AA Tennessee-Tech and MAC bottom feeders Ohio and Central Michigan.

According to the first BCS standings, there are only 17 schools in the 117-team NCAA with easier schedules than NIU. Unless all of the top teams lose twice and NIU goes undefeated in the regular season, Northern wont be playing a football game past the Dec. 26, Motor City Bowl held in Detroit of all places. Doesn’t seem like a great reward for an undefeated team having to spend the holidays in “the crime capital of America” while teams farther down in the polls and with more losses will be headed to Hawaii, Florida and El Paso, Texas.

While NIU may get the shaft come post-season time, one certainty is that Northern is finally starting to get the respect they deserve by the media.

It started out with Fox Sports Net showing their season opening game against Maryland live. After NIU’s 20-13 overtime win, the thriller was the top story on ESPNs “SportsCenter.”

Next came the front page articles in the Chicago Tribune, Chicago Sun-Times and Daily Southtown.

Even the USA Today featured a story on Huskies’ flanker P.J. Fleck and tailback Michael Turner. NIU must know they’ve made it when Max Kellerman talks about the team on “Around the Horn.”

With all of the recent press the school has received, one of NIU’s most famous athletes believes the school is almost like a completely different university than when he played. LeShon Johnson, NIU’s all-time single season rushing leader with 1,976 yards in 1993, was quoted in the The Northern Star as saying “it seems like a different place from when I went here. It seems like a big-time college football feeling. I’d do anything to play here again.”

Unfortunately for the Huskies, “The Cowboy” has used up all of his eligibility, but Northern’s head coach Joe Novak shares the same feelings as Johnson.

“No question it has a different feel than when I first got here (in 1996)”, Novak said. “My first couple of years we used to draw maybe a 1,000 fans, now we have crowds of 28,000 and have sold out three games.”

This week’s MAC showdown against Bowling Green will be televised on ESPN2 and Chris Fowler, Kirk Herbstreet and Lee Corso will broadcast their “College Gameday” show live from Ohio.

“It’s really neat to have them at the game,” Novak said. “It’s great for our conference, but we’re going to Bowling Green to play football.”

While the media has gotten caught up in NIU’s success, Novak is quick to point out that if it wasn’t for the foundation former players like Chris Finlen, Thomas Hammock and Tim Vincent set, the 2003 Huskies would not be possible.

“No question we’re in the position we are now because of our former players,” Novak said. “Guys I inherited helped set the foundation for Northern football. I told all of our former athletes that if we go to a bowl game, I want all of them back on the sidelines with us.”

Lets hope that bowl game comes this year, and if the Huskies are deserving it should be one of the BCS bowls regardless of their strength of schedule. I’m not a supporter of a playoff system, like what Eastern football fans are familiar with, but the BCS needs to recognize the accomplishments of mid-major schools.

It would be a shame if this Cinderella can’t go to the ball..er bowl..because of a flaw in the system and not because of their play on the field.