Random Northern Illinois thoughts on a cold, winter day:

Thought No. 1: Who needs this new-fangled, fancy BCS football playoff in 2014? Earlier this month, sports columnist Dave Ruthenberg of the News & Eagle (Enid, Okla.,) figured out the 2012 national champion without polls, computers, politics and – even better – fallible humans.

Ruthenberg’s winner? The 2-10 Eastern Michigan Eagles. No kidding. It might be the oldest media trick in the book (Bud Nangle showed us this one decades ago). Logic city. If P, then Q. Ruthenberg’s own stream of BCS consciousness: Eastern Michigan beat Western Michigan, which beat Connecticut, which beat Syracuse, which beat Louisville, which beat Florida, which beat Texas A&M, which beat Alabama. Go EMU. I can hear Kirk Herbstreit griping now.