Humanitarian Bowl 2010 Fresno State vs. Northern Illinois: 10 Things to Know

The Humanitarian Bowl is a relatively new addition to the bowl season but is still the longest-running cold weather bowl game. The first game was played in 1997, when Cincinnati beat Utah State 35-19.

Since then, the game has been played every single year.

Last season, Idaho beat Bowling Green 43-42 in a thriller. This year, the teams competing for the title will be Fresno State and Northern Illinois.

The game will be played on December 18th this year at 5:30 PM ET and broadcast on ESPN.

Read on to learn a little bit more about these two football teams.

Fresno State Bulldogs

This will be Fresno State's third appearance in the short history of the Humanitarian Bowl.

In their previous two contests, the Bulldogs are undefeated. The first game was against Virginia in 2004, and the Bulldogs won in overtime 37-34.

Their second game was against Georgia Tech, another ACC team. In that 2007 version of the Humanitarian Bowl, Fresno State took out its opponent 40-28.

Northern Illinois Huskies

The Huskies have never played in the Humanitarian Bowl, so they have a chance to win in their first appearance and hold an undefeated record in the bowl's history.

Fresno State Bulldogs

The Bulldogs have played in 19 bowl games in their program's lengthy history. They've won 10 and lost nine of those contests.

In 1946, they played their first postseason game at the Raisin Bowl, which they lost 13-12 to Drake.

This will be Fresno State's fourth straight bowl game. The last two were both appearances at the New Mexico Bowl, and both saw the Bulldogs lose, first to Colorado State and then to Wyoming.

Under current head coach Pat Hill, the Bulldogs have been to 10 bowl games.

Northern Illinois Huskies

The Huskies have played in 10 bowl games in their school's history. Of those games, they've only won three while falling at the hands of their opponents seven times.

Northern Illinois' first postseason appearance was at the 1946 Turkey Bowl, where they lost 19-7 to Evansville.

The Huskies lost their last three bowl games, the 2006 Poinsettia Bowl, the 2008 Independence Bowl and the 2009 International Bowl. The most recent of those saw Northern Illinois lose 27-3 to South Florida.

Fresno State Bulldogs

The Bulldogs finished the season with an 8-4 record, but their 5-3 record in the WAC left them in fourth place.

Their year started out with back-to-back wins against Cincinnati and Utah State, but they seemed to lose to all the good teams they played as the season progressed.

Mississippi was the first team to beat Fresno State, doing so by a score of 55-38. Then Hawaii, Nevada and Boise State all beat the Bulldogs in conference play.

The Boise State loss was particularly bad, as it was a 51-0 shutout.

Fresno State did recover to finish the season on a high note, as it won its last two games against Idaho and Illinois.

Northern Illinois Huskies

The Huskies started off the season by losing two of their first three games. Their 23-17 win against North Dakota was bookended by a 27-10 loss at Iowa State and a 28-22 loss at Illinois.

Northern Illinois went on a lengthy winning streak from there, leaving them 10-3 at the end of the season and in first place in the Western division of the MAC.

They did, however, close their season with a loss in the MAC Championship Game after being stunned by Miami of Ohio on a late touchdown.

Fresno State Bulldogs

The Bulldogs are a middle-of-the-pack offensive team that employs a balanced attack, both stretching out defenses with the pass and keeping them honest with the run.

Led by Ryan Colburn, the aerial attack has gained an average of 214.3 yards per game, the 67th most in the country.

On the ground, Robbie Rouse has paced the running game. He's helped the Bulldogs gain 157.0 yards per game, the 55th highest average in the nation.

As for points scored, Fresno State has averaged 30 points per game, which places them 45th among all college football teams.

Northern Illinois Huskies

Thanks to a dual-threat quarterback and an excellent running back, the Northern Illinois offense is quite good, especially when they run the ball.

Quarterback Chandler Harnish and running back Chad Spann have helped the Huskies gain an average of 264.8 yards per game on the ground. That gives them the seventh most rushing yards per game in the country.

The passing attack is much less fearsome. Harnish has led the team to average 181.2 yards per game through the air, placing them 89th in the nation.

It's all added up to 37.8 points per game, the 13th best in the country.

They definitely have the potential to explode offensively, as they've scored over 50 points four times this season, including a 71-3 win against Eastern Michigan.

Fresno State Bulldogs

Fresno State cannot exactly be easily mistaken for a defensive powerhouse.

So far this year, they've allowed 55 points to Mississippi, 49 to Hawaii, 34 to Louisiana Tech, 35 to Nevada and 51 to Boise State.

All in all, the Bulldogs have let their opponents score an average of 29.2 points per game against them. That points allowed average places them 79th in the country.

Northern Illinois Huskies

As impressive as the Northern Illinois offense has been this season, their defense has been just as good.

The most points the Huskies have allowed this season has been 30 in a 65-30 victory against Toledo.

In fact, Northern Illinois has allowed its opponents two touchdowns or fewer in four different games this season.

When you add it all up (and then divide by the number of games played), the Huskies are allowing on average 19.1 points per game, the 19th fewest in the nation.

Fresno State Bulldogs

Ryan Colburn has been the starting quarterback for the Bulldogs this year, and he's put up some pretty good numbers. Interestingly, the second-year starter's quarterback rating of 143.71 is identical to his rating last season.

The senior has completed 61.8 percent of his passes, as 199 of his 322 attempts have found their targets. Those completions have resulted in 2,529 yards and 21 touchdowns. Colburn has also thrown nine interceptions this year.

Colburn doesn't have the greatest legs in the country though. In 86 attempts, he's run for 97 yards and three touchdowns.

Fresno State's quarterback started out hot this season, throwing for four touchdowns in two of his first three games, but he cooled off at the season's end before bouncing back with three touchdown passes in the last game.

Northern Illinois Huskies

Chandler Harnish, the junior from Bluffton, Indiana, is starting for his third straight year this season. The quarterback possesses a great set of legs and a strong arm.

Harnish has completed 64.7 percent of his passes in 2010. His 172 completions in 266 attempts have gone for 2,230 yards and 20 touchdowns. The junior has only been picked off five times this season.

On the ground, Harnish has run 127 times for 764 yards and five touchdowns.

Harnish has thrown a touchdown pass or run for a score in all but one of his 13 games this season and is coming off a three-touchdown game against Miami of Ohio.

Fresno State Bulldogs

The Bulldogs' primary ball carrier in 2010 has been Robbie Rouse. The sophomore from San Diego, California may be only 5'7", but he's having quite a season.

Rouse has carried the pigskin 191 times for 1,097 yards and eight touchdowns this year. He's also caught 14 passes out of the backfield for 117 yards and two touchdowns.

Rouse's best game came in the loss to Nevada, when he carried the ball 26 times for 217 yards and two scores. He also added a receiving touchdown in that game.

The Bulldogs' top receiver this year has been junior Jamel Hamler. Hamler has hauled in 47 passes for 725 yards and five touchdowns. Three of those five scores came in a victory over Louisiana Tech.

Northern Illinois

In addition to Chandler Harnish's abilities, the Huskies have also used Chad Spann, a senior from Indianapolis, out of the backfield.

Spann has rushed 243 times, picking up 1,293 yards and finding the end zone 20 times.

Before the loss to Miami of Ohio, Spann had scored in every single game since Week 1. He even has three separate games where he scored three touchdowns and another three where he "only" scored two.

Harnish has also spread the ball pretty evenly between four different receivers.

Willie Clark has been the best, catching 38 passes for 514 yards and seven touchdowns. Nathan Palmer has 27 receptions for 492 yards and six scores. Then there is Martel Moore, who is second on the team with 36 catches. Moore's catches have gone for 437 yards and four scores. Finally, Landon Cox has caught 31 passes for 395 yards and three touchdowns.

Fresno State Bulldogs

Senior linebacker Ben Jacobs has led the Bulldogs this year with 80 tackles, 35 of which were solo takedowns.

Behind him in the tackle standings is Kyle Knox, a junior linebacker with 74 tackles.

The Bulldogs also boast two great sack artists in Logan Harrell and Chris Carter. They have had 10.5 and 10 sacks respectively from their spots on the defensive line.

Phillip Thomas, a sophomore, has led the team in interceptions with three. He's brought them back for a total of 90 yards.

Northern Illinois Huskies

Just like with Fresno State, Northern Illinois' top tacklers have both been linebackers this season. Senior Alex Kube leads the team with 77 tackles, while sophomore Devon Butler isn't far behind at 71.

Jake Coffman has led the team in sacks, recording six throughout the year. Those sacks have resulted in losses of 43 yards for the Huskies' opponents.

Tyrone Clark, a sophomore linebacker, has picked off four passes this season, returning one of them for a touchdown. Chris Smith and Rashaan Melvin, both members of the Northern Illinois secondary, have also intercepted opposing quarterbacks multiple times.

Fresno State Bulldogs

Junior Kevin Goessling has been the kicker for the Bulldogs this season, and he's having a very good season.

Goessling has made 20 of his 24 field goal attempts on the year and has also knocked 40 of his 42 extra-point tries through the uprights.

Andrew Shapiro has been the punter for Fresno State in 2010. The sophomore isn't playing too well, averaging just 37.8 yards per punt on his 56 attempts.

Two freshman receivers have been returning kickoffs for the Bulldogs this year. Jalen Saunders has taken back 32 kicks for an average of 23.1 yards per kick, while Isaiah Burse has averaged 26.3 yards per return on 17 opportunities to prove himself.

Rashad Evans, a sophomore wide receiver, has taken back more punts than anyone else. Evans has returned 23 punts for an average of just 8.6 yards per return.

Northern Illinois Huskies

Senior kicker Michael Cklamovski is having a season to forget for the Huskies. Not only has he made just 15 of his 25 field goal attempts, but he's also missed five extra points while making 51.

Another senior, Josh Wilber, has served as the punter for the Huskies this year. He's only punted 37 times in 2010, but they've gone for an average of 40.4 yards per kick.

Tommy Davis has been the return man in most situations for Northern Illinois. He's taken back 20 kicks, averaging 23.7 yards per return and scoring one touchdown. The sophomore defensive back has also returned 18 punts for an average of 7.9 yards per return.

Despite losing head coach Jerry Kill to Minnesota immediately after losing to Miami of Ohio in the MAC Championship Game, Northern Illinois has too much talent on its team to lose to Fresno State.

The running game should be unstoppable, while the defense can handle whatever the Bulldogs throw at them.

This could be the first blowout of the 2010-2011 bowl season.

Prediction: Northern Illinois Huskies