HOLLYWOOD, Fla. (AP) - Northern Illinois coach Rod Carey slept for an hour on the flight to South Florida on Wednesday.

Right now, that's progress.

Carey's life has been a whirlwind the last few days. He got promoted to Northern Illinois' coach, been running team meetings, handling recruiting and Orange Bowl planning - not to mention dealing with the realization that his coaching debut will come in a Bowl Championship Series game.

Carey is handling it all as best he can. He was in the Miami area for the first time as a head coach on Wednesday, seated on the opposite end of a poolside dais from Florida State's Jimbo Fisher, who he'll match wits against in the Orange Bowl on Jan. 1.

Carey says the game ``is about our team, not about me.''