Northern Illinois Huskies football

NIU Huskies
2015 Northern Illinois Huskies football team
First season 1899
Athletic director Sean Frazier
Head coach Rod Carey
3rd year, 23–5 (.821)
Other staff Bob Cole (OC)
Jay Niemann (DC)
Home stadium Huskie Stadium
Field Brigham Field
Year built 1965
Stadium capacity 23,575
Stadium surface FieldTurf
Location DeKalb, Illinois
League NCAA Division I (FBS)
Conference MAC
Division West
Past conferences Independent (1899-1919)
IIAC (Illinois) (1920-24)
Independent (1925-27)
IIAC (Illinois) (1928-49)
IIAC (Interstate) (1950-65)
Independent (1966-72)
MAC (1973-85)
Independent (1986-92)
Big West (1993-95)
Independent (1996-97)
All-time record 547–465–51 (.539)
Postseason bowl record 5–8 (.385)
Claimed national titles 1 (1963)
Conference titles 12
Division titles 9
Consensus All-Americans 2
Current uniform
Colors

Cardinal and Black

          
Fight song "Huskie Fight Song"
Mascot Victor E. Huskie
Marching band "The Pride of the Midwest"
Retired Numbers 6, 11, 12, 31[1]
Heisman Finalists Jordan Lynch (2013) (3rd)
LeShon Johnson (1993) (6th)
Jordan Lynch (2012) (7th)
Website NIU Huskie Football
Alternate logo.

The NIU Huskies football team are a college football program representing Northern Illinois University (also referred to as "NIU") in the NCAA Football Bowl Subdivision (FBS) of college football. Rod Carey is NIU's current head coach, the 22nd in the program's history. Northern Illinois plays its home games on Huskie Stadium on the campus of the Northern Illinois University in DeKalb, Illinois.

The Huskies compete in the Mid-American Conference as a member of the West Division, where they have won four championships in 1983, 2011, 2012 and 2014. They have played eight post-season bowl since 2004, most notably the 2013 Orange Bowl.

History

NIU's football program was established in the late 19th century, playing its first ever game against DeKalb High School in 1899 and was led by coach John L. Keith to the team's first ever victory. NIU started out in the independent scene from 1899 through 1919 before joining the Illinois Intercollegiate Athletic Conference. The team became independent again in 1925. NIU returned to the Illinois Intercollegiate Athletic Conference in 1928 and finished the season winless for the first time. In 1929 however, Red Evans took over as the head football coach and immediately twisted the downhill fate of his team as he led his squad to a 6-1-1 record. Evans led the Huskies to continuous winning seasons since his take over, and his efforts paid off in 1938 as NIU captured the Illinois Intercollegiate Athletic Conference Championship, the team's first title. He followed it up with three more championships (1941, '44, and '46) and even led the Huskies' to a back-to-back bowl game appearance in 1946 and '47 (unfortunately, both on a losing cause to Evansville first in the Turkey Bowl then in the Hoosier Bowl).

In 1950, the Illinois Intercollegiate Athletic Conference, which had dwindled down to only five members (NIU, SIU, EIU, WIU, and ISU) accepted its first members from out of state and changed its name to the Interstate Intercollegiate Athletic Conference. With the exception of the spotless season (9-0-0) in 1951 that earned the team a 5th conference title, NIU failed to make a decent showing during the first few years in the newly named conference. Howard Fletcher though had other plans as he picked up the pieces of the miserable 0-8-1 season from Robert Kahler in 1956. The Huskies' had a slow progress that picked up in the late 1950s. The team's third bowl game appearance in 1962, although a loss, was only the beginning of good things to come as in the following season, the Huskies completed their sixth undefeated season which earned them the Interstate Intercollegiate Athletic Conference Championship, an AP College Division National championship selection, and a ticket to the Mineral Water Bowl which the team eventually won over Missouri State. The team made it a three-peat championship, adding up the 1964 and 1965 conference titles. NIU became independent from 1966 through '72 before joining the Mid-American Athletic Conference in 1973. The team claimed the MAC title in 1983 then went on to their first Bowl Game in the Division I-A, the California Bowl, which the Huskies won over Cal State-Fullerton. The team left the MAC after the 1985 season and first became independent from 1986–92, then joined the Big West Conference from 1993 through '95, becoming independent again in '96, then finally was admitted back into the Mid-American Conference in 1997.

The Joe Novak era (1996–2007)

Joe Novak took over the Huskie program in December 1995, and coached his first NIU game in September 1996. The first 3 years of Novak's tenure proved to be tumultuous, as his Huskie squads won a total of 3 games between 1996 and 1998. Despite this, Novak kept his job and turned the program around. In 1999, Northern Illinois won 5 games, and in 2000 Novak started a string of 7 consecutive winning seasons, going 6-5 in both 2000 and 2001. After a 1-3 start to the 2002 season, fans began to see the fruits of Novak's labor as the team ripped off 7 consecutive wins, and only a 33-30 loss in their final game against rival Toledo prevented a MAC Championship Game appearance.

Optimism was high to start the 2003 season, with 12 returning starters including prospect and future NFL players Michael Turner, Doug Free, Brad Cieslak, P.J. Fleck, Dan Sheldon, Keith Perry, Vinson Reynolds, Akil Grant, Randee Drew, and Travis Moore. On opening weekend, the Huskies beat #14 Maryland 20-17 in overtime. Then, the Huskies traveled to Tuscaloosa and beat #21 Alabama 16-13. After beating Iowa State the following week, the Huskies were rolling and won their first 7 games. Following their week 5 win against Ohio, the first BCS standings were released, and by week 7 the Huskies had climbed to #10 overall. Novak and the Huskies could not keep that momentum going, as they lost in week 8 at #22 Bowling Green, which also featured the first ever ESPN GameDay appearance for a MAC football game. The Huskies would lose only one more game in 2003, to Toledo, finishing the year 10-2, unranked, and uninvited to a bowl game.

Novak's 2004 and 2006 teams both went to bowl games. The 2004 team went to the Silicon Valley Classic in San Jose, California and was the first Huskie team to go bowling in 21 years. The Huskies fell behind early 14-0 to a Troy team that featured current NFLer DeMarcus Ware, but were able to rally behind future NFL running back Garrett Wolfe and the accurate passing of Josh Haldi to win 34-21. In 2006, Wolfe and company returned to a bowl, the Poinsettia Bowl, against TCU and lost 37-7.

Novak's final year was a tough one, winning only 2 games and finishing at the bottom of the MAC West. Overall Novak won 63 games as the Huskie's head coach. He currently is retired and resides in North Carolina.

The Huskies finished the 2007 season having produced a 1,000 yard rusher in the previous nine consecutive seasons, starting in 1999, including rushers Thomas Hammock, Michael Turner, Garrett Wolfe and Justin Anderson.

The Jerry Kill era (2008–2010)

Jerry Kill was hired to replace the retiring Joe Novak after the 2007 season. Kill was previously the head coach at Southern Illinois University, an FCS football program, making NIU his first FBS head coaching job. Kill led the Huskies to three straight bowl appearances in his three years as head coach, all three with quarterback Chandler Harnish. In 2010, Kill led the Huskies to the MAC Championship, but NIU fell to Miami (Ohio). On December 5, 2010, the day after NIU's loss in the MAC Championship, Kill tendered his immediate resignation and accepted the position of head coach of the Minnesota Golden Gophers. This left the Huskies without a coach, less than two weeks before they were to appear in the 2010 Humanitarian Bowl.

Despite Kill's departure, the Huskies won their bowl game, defeating Fresno State in the 2010 Humanitarian Bowl.

Back-to-back MAC championships and the Jordan Lynch show (2011–2012)

On December 13, 2010, Dave Doeren was named the new head coach. The Huskies went 11–3 in his first season and they won their first MAC Championship since 1983 in a 23–20 comeback win against Ohio, while also defeating the Arkansas State Red Wolves in a come-from-behind game in the 2012 GoDaddy.com Bowl.

Inclusive of the 2012 season, NIU has won 10 conference and three division titles, appeared in 13 Division I-A and College Division bowl games (winning five), has accumulated 535 wins, and has an all-time winning percentage of .533.

2012 ended up being another memorable season in DeKalb, with the emergence of quarterback Jordan Lynch. Lynch was replacing Huskie QB Chandler Harnish, the decorated NIU starting QB for the previous three years. There was hope that Lynch would be a good quarterback, but no one could have predicted what Lynch ended up doing in the 2012 campaign. Lynch ended the season passing for 2962 yards, 24 touchdowns with five interceptions. He also ran for 1751 yards and 19 rushing touchdowns. The 1751 rushing yards are the most ever by a quarterback in the FBS, surpassing a record set in 2011 by Denard Robinson of the University of Michigan. Lynch's marquee game was on November 14 against Toledo, where Lynch threw for 407 yards and three touchdowns, while rushing for another 162 yards. Lynch lead the Huskies to an 11–1 record, a No. 21 ranking in the BCS poll and their third consecutive MAC West Divisional Championship. In the MAC Championship Game, NIU defeated No. 17 Kent State Golden Flashes 44–37 score in double overtime. Lynch scored the game winning touchdown in overtime. The win eventually propelled the team to No. 15 in the BCS Standings, granting them their first-ever appearance in a BCS bowl game, the 2013 Orange Bowl against Florida State.[2]

The day after the MAC Championship game, Doeren was hired as the new head coach for North Carolina State University.[3] Rod Carey took over and coached the Huskies in the Orange Bowl, but NIU eventually lost 31-10 to the Seminoles.[4]

Following a bitter end to the 2012 campaign, Northern Illinois looked to build their momentum in 2013. In front of two sellout crowds, the Huskies increased their NCAA record home win streak to 26 games. Following the conclusion of the regular season, Northern Illinois was poised to bust the BCS yet again. They sat 12-0 after cruising through their schedule, and were sitting above an AQ conference champion in the BCS standings. Jordan Lynch became the first Huskie ever to be invited to the Heisman trophy ceremony in New York, finishing 3rd. Following their regular season, heartbreak happened for the Huskies. They lost both their conference championship, as well as their bowl game (Poinsettia Bowl) to finish the season 12-2, leaving Jordan Lynch with a career record of 24-4.

Following the season, 3 Huskies had All-American honors. Jordan Lynch was a first team all purpose AP All American, Jimmie Ward was a first team Sports Illustrated (second team AP), and Tommie Lee Lewis was an honorable mention (AP).[5]

Championships

National Championships

Conference Championships

Division Championships

Bowl history

Division I-A/FBS Bowl Games
Year Bowl Game Result Opponent Score
2014 Boca Raton Bowl LMarshall 52-23
2013 Poinsettia Bowl LUtah State 14–21
2012 Orange Bowl LFlorida State 10–31
2011 GoDaddy.com Bowl WArkansas State 38–20
2010 Humanitarian Bowl W Fresno State 40–17
2009 International Bowl L South Florida 3–27
2008 Independence Bowl L Louisiana Tech 10–17
2006 Poinsettia Bowl L TCU 7–37
2004 Silicon Valley Classic W Troy State 34–21
1983 California Bowl W Cal State-Fullerton 20–13
College Division/Other Bowl Games
Year Bowl Game Result Opponent Score
1965 Mineral Water Bowl L North Dakota 20–37
1963 Mineral Water Bowl W Missouri State 21–14
1962 Mineral Water Bowl L Adams State 20–23
1947 Hoosier Bowl L Evansville 0–20
1946 Turkey Bowl L Evansville 7–19

Historical Rivalries

Ball State Cardinals (Battle for the Bronze Stalk)
Overall Record: Tied - 20–20–2

Toledo Rockets
Overall Record: Toledo - 29–12

Current staff

Source: [7]

Alumni in NFL

Future non-conference opponents

2015 2016 2017 2018 2019 2020 2021 2022 2023 TBA
vs UNLV at Wyoming at Nebraska at Iowa at Utah at Iowa at Nebraska at Tulsa at Nebraska vs Boston College
vs Murray State at South Florida vs South Florida vs Utah at Nebraska at Maryland vs Wyoming vs Vanderbilt vs Tulsa
at Ohio State vs San Diego State at San Diego State at BYU at Vanderbilt vs BYU vs Maryland
at Boston College vs Idaho at Wake Forest

[8]

References

  1. ↑ http://grfx.cstv.com/photos/schools/niu/sports/m-footbl/auto_pdf/2012-13/misc_non_event/12-history.pdf
  2. ↑ McMurphy, Brett (12/2/2012). "Sources: NIU to play in Orange Bowl". Retrieved 12/2/2012. Check date values in: |date=, |accessdate= (help)
  3. ↑ Mitchell, Fred (12/1/2012). "Doeren to leave NIU for N.C. State". Chicago Tribune. Retrieved 12/1/2012. Check date values in: |date=, |accessdate= (help)
  4. ↑ Seligman, Andrew (2012-08-15). "NIU looks to put Orange Bowl in past, build on BCS".
  5. ↑ http://www.niuhuskies.com/sports/m-footbl/spec-rel/121713aaa.html
  6. ↑ http://www.niuhuskies.com/sports/m-footbl/recaps/112010aaa.html
  7. ↑ Current football staff
  8. ↑ "Northern Illinois Huskies Football Schedules and Future Schedules". fbschedules.com. Retrieved 2015-03-30.

Additional sources

External links