With a 16-0 loss to Navy last Tuesday, the NIU football team saw its bowl bid dashed away in the crisp November night. Northern Star staff writers Jerry Burnes and Mike Buda debate whether or not the 6-6 Huskies are still deserving of making the postseason.

Jerry Burnes: The so-called “experts” seem to have ruled NIU out of a bowl game. It was simple — win and you’re in, and they lost. But I ask the bowls and Mid-American Conference to take a look at the Huskies’ resume. The team is 6-6, including 5-3 in the MAC, losing to the three top teams in Central Michigan, Western Michigan and Ball State. Two of those games were lost by three points. Their other three losses came to Navy (7-4) by 16, Tennessee (5-7) by four and Minnesota (7-5) by four. Keeping the losses they had in mind, I’d say they’re deserving.

Mike Buda: They would be deserving if those close losses had ended up in the Huskies’ favor. If NIU had gotten the job done in those games, they could be looking at a 10-2 record and we wouldn’t be arguing about this. In the game against CMU, the Huskies were given a chance in overtime to win, but blew it. If not for Chandler Harnish’s injury at Tennessee, NIU would have probably won.

JB: It is true that close games usually come back to bite the losing teams in the rear, but let’s compare NIU to teams going bowling already. I’ll stay in the MAC with Buffalo, a 7-5 (5-3) team out of the awful MAC East, with two non-conference wins over sub-.500 teams in UTEP and Army. Minnesota had a great season and the Volunteers are still an SEC team. The other 6-6 team I want to look at is Notre Dame. The Irish won no quality games, nor did they keep the quality games close. Oh yeah, they lost to 3-9 Syracuse.

MB: It all comes down to scheduling. NIU agreed to its schedule, and it has to deal with the decisions that it made. The Huskies had a difficult schedule, and they can’t really do anything about other teams’ schedules. The final records pretty much show who will make a bowl game, and NIU’s record isn’t exactly turning heads. And for Notre Dame making a bowl game, it’s Notre Dame, of course they’re going to get a bowl game.

JB: I’ll save my real thoughts on Notre Dame for later. I do know this: unless Ball State can pull a miracle at-large bid, NIU is going to have to prepare for the spring game, say goodbye to the seniors and get ready to invade Detroit in 2009.

MB: Don’t count on seeing the Cardinals in a BCS game, so the Huskies should just pack it in for winter. It’s time to hibernate anyway.