Just typing out loud.

Thought No. 1: Is it just me? How obvious was this oversight by our "friends” at ESPN?

By the end of the first quarter of the Mid-American Conference Championship Game at Ford Field, the ESPN2 cameras had already zoomed in on former Northern Illinois University quarterback Jordan Lynch at least three times on the Huskie sideline (and he wasn't standing next to Kim Kardashian, either).

And why not? Only a year before, Lynch became a national and local cause celebre with mind-boggling NCAA statistical achievements and team records en route to an unprecedented visit to New York City and a third-place finish in the Heisman Trophy balloting. I counted eight sideline shots of Lynch on “The Deuce” last Friday.

Piqued my interest, whatever my diploma or old pay check stubs said.

Why not interview him? Where was ESPN sideline reporter Allison Williams? Surely, the ESPN crew had a handheld camera nearby. You mean the same national audience that tuned to ESPN and watched Lynch and NIU on ESPN at the Orange Bowl or in 2013 wasn’t curious what he’s doing now or plans for next season?

Jordan, are you working out? NFL or CFL next summer? Running back or QB? Bittersweet not to be on the hometown Bears' train wreck? How about your old teammate Drew Hare tonight?

Even if Lynch did not want to go on camera, talk to him, report and inform your audience. Isn’t curiosity still part of sports journalism?

Thought No. 2: “NIU” vs. “Northern Illinois” branding, the debate continues. Okay, by looking at the Ford Field end zones, it seems the powers-that-be prefer “NIU.” Fine, after almost a half century in Huskiedom, I’m not unfamiliar with the arguments on both sides.

While the institution’s full, proper name is usually the accepted first reference, it is often difficult to put those three words on uniforms or in TV graphics packages. I always despised “No. Ill.” or “N. Ill.” more than anything else. And, at times, I told the guys in the production truck. Frankly, I’m not sure average America immediately knows what UIC, USF, UCF, USC, and NIU represent.

Less than five minutes into Friday’s telecast, ESPN analyst Danny Kanell started talking about the game’s “Impact Players.” “Northern Iowa, excuse me, uh, Northern Illinois has...” so-and so, Kanell said. The Ford Field “NIU” end zone didn’t help him remember one bit.

Then again, Northern Iowa was in the 2014 FCS football playoffs, not its fifth consecutive MAC title game or the Orange Bowl in 2013. Is it just me? Northern Illinois always seems to lead the nation in “UNI” or “Northern Iowa” malaprops.

Thought No. 3: Related to the previous thought, former Northwestern football coach Gary Barnett made an interesting observation about ESPN in the Chicago Sun-Times on Sunday. Maybe some of us shouldn’t be so harsh on those ESPN midweek games (I said that?).

“Believe it or not, the single biggest recruiting service is ESPN,” Barnett told Sun-Times writer Neil Hayes. “Everybody watches it and listens to it. How many times do they mention Northern Illinois? How many times do they mention Alabama?” Wow, same train of thought as the Crimson Tide.

Quote-unquote, notice Barnett said “Northern Illinois.”

Thought No. 4: Football is a team game, I know. But I love digging through the NIU record books. (Would SIDs even have jobs without them?). Comparing statistics often offers perspectives one might overlook. Would it surprise you to know the identity of the most productive Huskie sophomore quarterback since 1948?

Envelope, please: Drew Hare.

Heading into the Dec. 23 Boca Raton Bowl vs. Marshall, Hare needs 53 yards to become only the third NIU QB in the post World War II era to reach 3,000 yards total offense and joining Lynch (4,953 yards in 2012 and 4,812 in 2013) and Chandler Harnish (3,366 in 2010 and 4,595 in 2011) in that exclusive group.

Quite a feat for a young QB who was chastised by some fans this year for not being either Lynch or Harnish, wouldn’t you say? Sure, the 6-foot-1, 215-pounder needs to grow, but No. 12 still runs the MAC’s No. 3 total offense (442.5 ypg. average) and No. 4 scoring attack (32.3 ppg.) on an 11-2 championship club and bowl team.

Maybe Hare’s most significant 2014 stat? Among the nation’s Top 50 FBS leaders in passing efficiency this week, Hare and Oregon’s Heisman Trophy favorite Marcus Mariota share the NCAA lead in fewest pass interceptions with two (yes, two). Granted, Mariota (254-of-372 passes for 3,783 yards, 38 touchdowns) throws the ball more than Hare (179-of-299, 2,097 yards, 17 TDs). Still, pretty decent, kid.

Fewest single-season NIU interceptions, you ask? Three, by two excellent all-purpose QBs -- Bob Gregolunas (1975) and Tim Tyrrell (1982) -- both in more run-oriented offensive situations. Hare has thrown the ball more than either Gregolunas or Tyrrell did in those years.

Some of Northern Illinois’ best sophomore starting QBs since 1948? Start the list with Bob Heimerdinger (1949), Lew Flinn (1957), George Bork (1961), Terry Drugan (1970), Pete Kraker (1976), Darryl Taylor (1984), Marshall Taylor (1986), Chris Finlen (1999), Josh Haldi (2002), and Harnish (2009). Good company, Drew.

(Just FYI or if you're paying attention, Bork – the nation's first 3,000-yard passer in the history of college football with 3,077 in 1963 – wound up with 2,945 yards total offense that year after his rushing yardage (-132) was added, or in this case, subtracted).

Thought No. 5: Changing sports, anybody notice the familiar name on the DePaul men’s basketball roster last week? A six-foot, junior walk-on guard named Dave Molinari. Yes, that is the son of ex-Northern Illinois head coach Jim Molinari (1989-91), now an assistant at Nebraska. "Coach Mo” has three children, two sons and a daughter.

Where does the time go?

Thought No. 6: Finally, from the “Be Careful What You Wish For Departmentt.” For all the times I’ve griped about our MAC leadership, commissioner Jon Steinbrecher deserves major props for helping the Huskies get lined up with Conference USA champ Marshall in the inaugural Boca Raton Bowl.

The same cannot be said of Big 12 Conference commissioner Bob Bowlsby for "declaring" Baylor and TCU “co-champions” and, in essence, positioning his league out of the College Playoff. How popular is the Big 12 in both Waco and Fort Worth, Tex., these days?