NIU's football team is returning from San Diego with a loss. Utah State won Thursday night's Poinsettia Bowl. The Huskies fell to the Aggies 21-14.
NIU ended the season with a 12-2 record.
Postgame Quotes from NIU Head Coach Rod Carey, quarterback Jordan Lynch and safety Jimmie Ward following the 21-14 Poinsettia Bowl loss to Utah State:
COACH CAREY: Give Utah State a lot of credit, they played really well. Especially their defense. They challenged us in the run game, it was tough sledding there. We moved on 'em early and they shut us down.
JORDAN LYNCH: I thought they were well coached. They were always in the right spot at the right time, fundamentally sound and all the credit goes to them.
JIMMIE WARD: I thought we had momentum. Basically they made a few more plays than what we did but I felt like the defense did a really great job today.