DeKALB | NIU football fans, put on your USC colors this week.

The Huskies best chance to get a bowl game lies with USC beating UCLA on Saturday. A win would most likely put USC in the national championship game.

With this, the Poinsettia Bowl would become NIU’s best chance to extend its season since Pacific 10 bowl-eligible teams with 7-5 records or better would fill bowl game tie-ins. The Huskies also have a chance to go to the MAC’s third bowl game tie-in, the International Bowl.

Since NIU is 7-5, the at-large spot in the Poinsettia bowl is ripe for the Huskies taking due to a new NCAA rule stating bowl-eligible teams with better records must get picked first for at-large spots.

The Birmingham Bowl, now called the Papajohns.com Bowl, is out of the equation for NIU.

Note the ACC, Big Ten, SEC and Pacific 10 have filled or will fill their bowl tie-in games. The Big 12 and Big East will also, but their scenarios become a little complicated if Notre Dame is thrown into the equation.

The first two scenarios below assume USC will beat UCLA Dec. 2 and play in the national title game. Also, remember that these scenarios may be affected by conference championship game outcomes and final BCS standings.

Poinsettia Bowl

All NCAA Division I conferences have enough bowl-eligible teams to fill bowl game tie-ins.

Even if Notre Dame doesn’t go to a BCS game, the Huskies’ 7-5 record would trump bowl-eligible 6-6 teams.

Oddly enough, the only team that has a chance to contend against NIU in this scenario is Troy.

Troy is 6-5 and plays Florida International on Dec. 2.

Remember, NIU beat Troy 34-21 in 2004 at the Silicon Valley Classic bowl game. The SVC bowl was replaced last year by the Poinsettia Bowl.

International Bowl

NIU’s best chance still lies with the Poinsettia Bowl, but its odds to be chosen for the International Bowl are based on the following.

Motor City Bowl executive director Ken Hoffman told the Kalamazoo Gazette Friday that taking Central and Western Michigan for the Motor City Bowl is a viable option since it is held in Detroit.

The Motor City Bowl scenario depends on where bowl-eligible Big East teams end up.

The Big East currently has five guaranteed bowl game tie-ins and six bowl-eligible teams. This assumes the Big East champ goes to a BCS game.

However, two other bowls, the Gator and Sun Bowls, can pick from Big East teams, Big 12 schools or Notre Dame. Obviously, if Notre Dame goes to a BCS game, then it’s out of this equation.

If a Big East team is not available for the Motor City Bowl, then this bowl would have an at-large spot. The Motor City Bowl would fill this spot with any bowl-eligible team from any conference based on record.

In this case, the Motor City Bowl could take 8-4 Western Michigan. NIU could then fill the MAC’s tie-in at the International Bowl.

What if USC loses to UCLA?

If UCLA upsets USC on Saturday, then one of UCLA, Oregon or Arizona State would be 7-5 and become an at-large team looking for a bowl.

This is because the PAC 10 would have more bowl-eligible teams than it has bowl tie-ins.

Therefore, NIU, and possibly Troy, would have to compete against one of these teams for a Poinsettia Bowl berth.