MIAMI (AP) - Florida State's biggest weakness heading into their Orange Bowl game against Northern Illinois might be Midwestern geography.

The Seminoles concede they'd be hard-pressed to locate their opponent in an atlas.

Cue the cliche: A victory Tuesday night would put Northern Illinois on the map. The No. 16-ranked Huskies have been widely derided as unworthy of a BCS bowl berth, which makes them eager for validation when they face No. 13 Florida State.

Northern Illinois (12-1) is the first Mid-American Conference team to play in the Bowl Championship Series. The Huskies made it when they cracked the top 16 in the final standings by 0.0404 points.

Until kickoff, it's impossible to know how seriously Florida State (11-2) will take a supposedly unimposing opponent.