Take them to Detroit!
I'm happy that the Cats finally became bowl eligible, but it also says something about the system that Northwestern has a much better chance at a bowl game with a 6-6 record, while 10-2 Northern Illinois, 8-3 Toledo, 9-3 Connecticut and 8-4 Navy all could get squeezed out.

There's still a lot that needs to happen for Northwestern to go bowling, however. Michigan did beat Ohio State, which probably means both teams reach the BCS, opening up an extra Big Ten bowl spot for NU. Washington State's loss also helps, since the Rose Bowl may not be as keen on taking the second-place Cougars, assuming USC reaches the title game, although there is a push for traditional Big Ten-Pac 10 matchup.

The Big 12 likely will get two BCS bids, probably Texas and Oklahoma, although the Longhorns probably would get bumped if Kansas State pulls off the upset in the conference title game. The SEC could throw a monkey wrench if LSU reaches the conference title game but loses to the East champ.

As for some of those good teams who might not get a bid, a Colorado loss would leave the Big 12 short one team for its bowl slots, but the Fort Worth may take a more local team like Tulsa. There could be a C-USA slot available, but maybe not. That extra game allowed a few more BCS conference teams (Northwestern, Kansas, Georgia Tech) to slip into a bowl and further screwing the little guys.