More than 1,300 students boarded buses on Sunday for the 24-hour trip to Miami.
It took 26 buses to hold them all.
The Huskies are the first team from the Mid-American conference to play in a BCS bowl game.
NIU is a double-digit underdog to the Florida State Seminoles, but the students aren't buying the predictions.
"I think we're gonna have that underdog advantage going in and we're gonna have a good fan base as you can see, we're gonna be getting loud," said NIU student Kyle Dockstader.
"We're gonna shut 'em out the entire game," NIU student Roy Williams said. "It's gonna be a great time and then we're gonna celebrate New Year's in Miami."
ABC7's Rafer Weigel is heading south too and will have reports from south Florida starting Monday.
