Illinois

WE RULE! All together now: Come on you Huskies, Fight you Huskies And win for NIU Or, as fellow Northern Illinois University alumnus Ned Colletti put it Monday morning, "Long overdue. " The Huskies didn't need to change uniform numbers to pull a fast one on the opposition, didn't deflate footballs, or inspire their players by belittling one of the school's sports information directors, as friend Frank Pace pointed out. But here we are in a BCS game, and where are USC and UCLA?

The final Bowl Championship Series standings on Sunday produced a lot of expected news and one big surprise. Notre Dame and Alabama, in what everyone knew was just a formality, finished first and second in the final standings and will meet Jan. 7 in South Florida for the BCS title. The surprise was Northern Illinois, the Mid-American Conference champion at 12-1, sneaking into the top 16 to earn an automatic bid to a major bowl. The Huskies will play Florida State in the Orange Bowl.

Well, sometimes the little guys do win. Northern Illinois has earned a Bowl Championship Series bowl bid, according to several media reports. The champions of the Mid-American Conference will play Florida State in the Orange Bowl. It will be the MAC's first appearance in a BCS bowl. Northern Illinois took advantage of a whirlwind of weekend losses to finish in the top 16 of the final BCS standings, which will be released later today. Northern Illinois' bid knocks out Oklahoma, the presumed at-large bid from the Big 12. BCS rules stipulate a team from a "nonqualifier" conference earns a bid if it finishes in the top 16 ahead of a major conference champion.

Aren't you going to miss the Bowl Championship Series? (Don't email answer that). The college football selection system for bowl games that has been ordered to the junk heap after next season might have a couple of surprises left in it. Nebraska's blowout loss to Wisconsin in Saturday's Big Ten title game created a slight opening for Northern Illinois to snatch the last BCS bowl spot away from powerhouse Oklahoma. Northern Illinois, the champion of the Mid-American Conference with a 12-1 record, can earn the bid if it finishes in the top 16 of the final BCS standings, which will be released at 5:30 PST Sunday.

Ask anybody in the quarter horse business. They'll tell you. Rita Crundwell was one of the greatest owners anybody had heard of. The 59-year-old woman from Dixon, Ill., had hundreds of horses. She'd fielded dozens of world champions. When friends of her longtime veterinarian, Tim Strathman, introduced him to other horse folks, they'd just say: He's Rita's . "She was kind of like Madonna; she only had one name," Strathman said. "Everyone involved in the horse industry knew who Rita was. " Yet when the American Quarter Horse Assn.

CHICAGO - Illinois Gov. Pat Quinn and Chicago Mayor Rahm Emanuel say they will push the state Legislature again to try to pass a measure creating a special driver's license for illegal immigrants. This time, the Democrats who control state government say they hope to get the help of Republicans who were stung by a lack of Latino support in the national election earlier this month. Quinn and Emanuel, along with Senate President John Cullerton, a fellow Democrat, expressed their support for such licenses Tuesday.

Something has to give after an opponent finishes the half by hitting its final 11 shots, right? Well, only slightly. Illinois managed to overwhelm USC on Monday in nearly every department, winning, 94-64, at the Maui Invitational, handing the Trojans their first loss of the season. It was more points than USC allowed in any game last season. Brandon Paul led Illinois with 26 points, hitting six three-pointers, added six rebounds and two steals. For USC, Eric Wise had 13 points, J.T. Terrell 11 and Jio Fontan 10. USC reserve center Omar Oraby, who had a combined  21 points and 12 rebounds in the first two games, was limited to two points and one rebound in five minutes of action and did not play in the second half.

LAHAINA, Hawaii - USC's trip to Hawaii has been less than picturesque. But the Trojans are better off than Texas after beating the Longhorns, 59-53, in overtime Tuesday at the Maui Invitational in a game in which neither team shot well. "Both of us were in desperate mode," USC Coach Kevin O'Neill said. "It was a rock fight. " Dewayne Dedmon made a layup and a free throw with less than two minutes to play to put USC up for good. Sheldon McClellan banked in a putback with 25.9 seconds left to get Texas within two points, but J.T. Terrell made two free throws on the next possession to secure the win. "At least we competed," Coach Rick Barnes said, clearly still smarting from his team's 13-point loss to Division II Chaminade on Monday night.

USC tonight VS. ILLINOIS When: 9 PST. Where: Lahaina Civic Center, Lahaina, Hawaii. On the air: TV: ESPN2; Radio: 710. Records: Trojans 2-0, Fighting Illini 3-0. Update: The Fighting Illini got a head start on their island experience, beating Hawaii, 78-77, Friday night on a buzzer-beating three-pointer in overtime. Illinois erased a 16-point second-half deficit, but Hawaii's Vander Joaquim made a jumper as time expired in regulation to tie it, 66-66.

One timeout. Then another. And one more. USC Coach Kevin O'Neill was doing his best to stop the fast-building momentum from Illinois, trying to jump-start the Trojans on Monday night. He called three timeouts, including two in about the span of a minute, and the game was not even 10 minutes old. He may have had plenty of words. But the Fighting Illini, apparently, had all the answers. Illinois was well on the way to handing USC its first loss of the season, leading, 57-26, at the half, as this edition went to press, in the Maui Invitational at the Lahaina Civic Center in Lahaina.