The Famous Idaho Potato Bowl

The Bulldogs & Huskies will play nicely in the Humanitarian Bowl

On December 18, 2010 the Fresno State Bulldogs (8-4, 5-3 WAC) will battle the Northern Illinois Huskies (10-3, 8-0 MAC) at the Bronco Stadium in Boisie, Idaho.

This will be an exciting game worth watching and can be seen on ESPN, or heard on ESPN radio. Each team has their own strengths on the field with amazing arms and powerful blocks. With the Fresno State Bulldogs sitting at 8 - 4 and the Northern Illinois Huskies sitting at 10 - 3, it's any players game.

Fresno State Bulldogs is going to be a team to be contended with in this game. One of the players to watch on the filed is Bulldogs MVP Chris Carter. He is the Bulldogs Senior Defense end, and leads the team in sacks with 11 this year, as well as being in the top 10 in the country. Ben Jacobs will help Chris on the field being a linebacker to watch with his 80 tackles and massive size.

If running is needed during this game, Robbie Rouse will be there to handle the task. He is the first sophomore to run over 1,000 yards in Bulldog history, and is sure to make even more history during the game on December 18th. The only thing left to look at is the kicker, and Kevin Goessling delivers with his follow through on 32 of the last 36 attempts. Even through a few individual team members stand out, the team as a whole will do their best to run over the Huskies on the field with Pat Hill directing them in the right direction.

Northern Illinois Huskies will do all they can to make their presence known on the field in this game as well. Chad Spann will be a force to be reckoned with on the field. Spann, senior running back, won the Vern Smith Leadership Award. Tied for the National Lead, he has 20 touchdowns, 226 carries for 1,239 yards as well as setting the team record for 20 rushing touchdowns.

The defense on the field will be hard to get by thanks to Jake Coffman. He will offer interceptions, sacks, and blocks at every turn just as he has this entire season. Tommy Davis, defensive back, will also be on the field offering a strong game against the bulldogs. His ability for kickoff return touchdowns will be something to be seen during this game.

The hardest thing, however, for the Huskies will be playing with out their coach. Jerry Kill has decided to leave the Huskies for Minnesota, and will not join the team for the big game on December 18, 2010. The team has yet to decide who will fill his shoes for the game, but the team will do their best to use their strengths on the field no mater who on the sidelines.

The Famous Idaho Potato Bowl Overview

The Humanitarian Bowl has been played every year since 1997. This bowl was originally sponsored by Micron and was called the Crucial.com Bowl Game.

The Humanitarian Bowl was called the MPC Computers Bowl between 2004 and 2006. The Humanitarian Bowl is held in Boise Idaho and is the longest running outside bowl game in a cold weather climate.

The Sponsors have changed over the years but since 2006 it has been called the Humanitarian Bowl along with the title sponsor. In 2007 it was called the Roady's Humanitarian Bowl and in 2010 the sponsor changed yet again and is now called the UDrove Humanitarian Bowl.

One of the annual traditions at the Humanitarian Bowl that began in 2008 is to honor a "Highway Angel". A "Highway Angel" is a trucker who performed a heroic act while working as a truck driver.

The selection process for the Humanitarian Bowl gives an automatic bid to a Western Athletic Conference team and then the other bid is currently offered to the third bowl eligible team from the MAC Conference.

One of the most memorable games is the 2009 Humanitarian Bowl in which the University Of Idaho beat Bowling Green 43-42. It was considered one of the best bowl games of the year. The stands were packed with University of Idaho fans that made the short trip to cheer their team on, but there were also many local Boise State fans that showed up and also cheered Idaho on to a win.

The Humanitarian Bowl is notable for almost always showing a tightly contested game. In 2008 Maryland beat Nevada by a touchdown. In 2006 Miami beat Nevada by a single point. In 2005 Boston College beat Boise State by 6 points. In 2004 Fresno State beat Virginia by 3 points. Regardless of which teams play the games tend to be tightly scored.

Early in 2010 the Humanitarian Bowl signed a new agreement with the Mid-American Conference which will send the third bowl eligible selection of the MAC conference to play one of the top WAC teams in Boise. Officials have worked extremely hard at providing a top match-up each year. Boise State has been the location of the Humanitarian Bowl since the beginning and there are no plans to change the venue for the Humanitarian Bowl.

Each year a large Humanitarian Bowl trophy is presented to the winner of the bowl game but more importantly, there is a $750,000 pay-out for the teams.

The Boise State stadium has a capacity to hold less than 34,000 visitors so it is by far one of the smallest bowls for attendance, but the payout is very attractive to teams that normally would not be playing anywhere else during the post-season if it was not for the Humanitarian Bowl.

The late December date of the Humanitarian Bowl can be extremely cold for both players and the fans. Even though the temperatures tend to be extremely cool, the packed stands combined with the television coverage make the Humanitarian Bowl a must see bowl game for true college football fans everywhere.

Our Humanitarian Bowl Game preview & college football betting lines for the game will be released upon completion of the regular season and will include many Humanitarian Bowl odds to cover all aspects of the matchup.