NIU players: Orange Bowl loss doesn't diminish season

The Huskies had been outmatched by a bigger, stronger, faster Seminoles team, which was considered to be a national title contender at the start of the season. For Carey, it was tough to talk about the 12 consecutive wins, second Mid-American Championship title in a row or the school’s first BCS berth.

“Well, talk to me [Wednesday] and I’m sure I’ll have it in better balance. I hate to lose, and I know these guys (hate losing), too,” said Carey, who made his debut as coach after taking over for Dave Doeren the day NIU earned its Orange Bowl berth. “I told you when we first all talked when I got the job, I wear my emotions on my sleeve and I’m upset. I give them a lot of credit. Florida State is a great team and Jimbo (Fisher) does a great job.

“They are a well-coached, well-oiled machine. They beat us, no doubt about it. That doesn’t change the fact that I don’t like to lose.”

Ever since the Huskies’ Orange Bowl berth was made official, the team had many doubters, most prominently ESPN analyst Kirk Herbstreit, whose negative comments about Northern Illinois irked Huskie fans from the start.

NIU certainly didn’t play its best game in south Florida, but the Huskies were in the contest well into the third quarter.

After recovering an onside kick following Martel Moore’s 11-yard touchdown catch from Jordan Lynch, the Huskies drove into the red zone down by seven points.

The Huskies’ hopes of an upset diminished when Florida State safety Terrence Brooks picked off Lynch on a pass he probably should have just thrown away.

With the final score, NIU’s critics certainly won’t go away. The Huskies don’t seem to care.

“People are going to say what they want regardless; we are not worried about that,” said receiver Tommylee Lewis, who caught a team-high five passes for 61 yards. “We came out and played our game and fought hard. FSU was the better team today and came out with the win.”