American college football season
2018 Northern Illinois Huskies football Conference Mid-American Conference Division West Division 2018 record 8–6 (6–2 MAC) Head coach Offensive coordinator (3rd season) Defensive coordinator Jeff Knowles (1st season) Home stadium Huskie Stadium (Capacity: 23,595)Seasons
The 2018 Northern Illinois Huskies football team represented Northern Illinois University in the 2018 NCAA Division I FBS football season . The Huskies were led by sixth-year head coach Rod Carey . They played their home games at Huskie Stadium in DeKalb, Illinois as members of the West Division of Mid-American Conference . They finished the season 8–6, 6–2 in MAC play to finish as champions of the West Division. They represented the West Division in the MAC Championship Game where they defeated East Division champion Buffalo to become MAC champions for the first time since 2014 . They were invited to the Boca Raton Bowl where they lost to UAB .
Previous season [ ]
The Huskies finished the 2017 season 8–5, 6–2 in MAC play to finish in a tie for second place in the West Division. The Huskies received an invitation to the Quick Lane Bowl , their 11th bowl game in the previous 14 years. There they lost to Duke 36–14.
Preseason [ ]
Award watch lists [ ]
Preseason media poll [ ]
The MAC released their preseason media poll on July 24, 2018, with the Huskies predicted to finish as champions of the West Division.[8]
West Division
Predicted finish
Team
Votes (1st place)
1
Northern Illinois
133 (15)
2
Toledo
125 (7)
3
Western Michigan
87 (1)
4
Eastern Michigan
67
5
Central Michigan
58 (1)
6
Ball State
34
Coaching staff [ ]
Name
Title
Years at NIU
Rod Carey
Head Coach
8
Jeff Knowles
Def. Coord./LB Coach
6
Mike Uremovich
Off. Coord./Asst. Head Coach/TE/FB Coach
3
Steve Crutchley
WR Coach
2
Craig Harmon
QB Coach
7
Melvin Rice
CB Coach
4
Joe Tripodi
OL Coach/Run Game Coord.
9
Walter Stewart
DL Coach
1
Tyler Yelk
Safeties Coach
1
Jake Landry
RB Coach
1
Dan Sabock
Special Teams Coord.
1
Source:[9] [10]
Schedule [ ]
Date Time Opponent Site TV Result Attendance September 1 2:30 p.m. at Iowa * BTN L 7–3367,510
September 8 6:30 p.m. Utah * ESPNews L 6–1716,762
September 15 2:30 p.m. Central Michigan ESPN+ W 24–1612,354
September 22 3:30 p.m. at Florida State * ESPNU L 19–3765,633
September 29 5:00 p.m. at Eastern Michigan Rynearson Stadium Ypsilanti, MI ESPN+ W 26–23 3OT 14,779
October 6 3:00 p.m. at Ball State Scheumann Stadium Muncie, IN (Bronze Stalk Trophy )ESPN3 W 24–167,159
October 13 2:30 p.m. Ohio ESPN+ W 24–2112,138
October 27 2:30 p.m. at BYU * ESPNU W 7–651,084
6:00 p.m. at Akron CBSSN W 36–2616,401
7:00 p.m. Toledo ESPN2 W 38–155,887
7:00 p.m. Miami (OH) ESPNU L 7–134,878
6:00 p.m. at Western Michigan Waldo Stadium Kalamazoo, MI ESPNU L 21–2818,278
6:00 p.m. vs. Buffalo Ford Field Detroit, MI (MAC Championship Game )ESPN2 W 30–2910,255
6:00 p.m. vs. UAB * FAU Stadium Boca Raton, FL (Boca Raton Bowl )ESPN L 13–3722,614
*Non-conference game Rankings from AP Poll released prior to the game All times are in Central time
Source[11] [12] [13]
Game summaries [ ]
at Iowa [ ]
Northern Illinois at Iowa
1
2 3 4 Total
Northern Illinois
0
0 0 7
7
• Iowa
0
3 14 16
33
Date: September 1, 2018Location: Kinnick Stadium Iowa City, IA Game start: 2:40 pm Elapsed time: 3:11Game attendance: 67,510Game weather: 80 °F (27 °C), Wind: 5-10 MPH SSW, OvercastReferee: Jeff ServinskiTV announcers (BTN ): Joe Beninati (Play-by-Play), Chuck Long (Analyst)
Scoring summary Q2 12:20 IOWA Miguel Recinos 33-yard field goal 3–0 IOWA
Q3 07:20 IOWA Noah Fant 1-yard pass from Nate Stanley (Miguel Recinos kick) 10–0 IOWA
Q3 02:41 IOWA I. Kelly-Martin 2-yard run (Miguel Recinos kick) 17–0 IOWA
Q4 13:02 IOWA Toren Young 6-yard run (Miguel Recinos kick) 24–0 IOWA
Q4 07:59 IOWA Team safety 26–0 IOWA
Q4 06:52 IOWA Peyton Mansell 1-yard run (Miguel Recinos kick) 33–0 IOWA
Q4 02:12 NIU Jauan Wesley 10-yard pass from Marcus Childers (Andrew Gantz kick) 33–7 IOWA
Series Record
Previous meeting
Result
1–8
August 31, 2013
NIU, 30–27
Utah [ ]
Utah at Northern Illinois
1
2 3 4 Total
• Utah
0
0 7 10
17
Northern Illinois
3
0 0 3
6
Date: September 8, 2018Location: Huskie Stadium DeKalb, IL Game attendance: 16,762TV announcers (ESPNews ): Bill Roth (Play-by-Play), Mike Golic Jr. (Analyst)
Series Record
Previous meeting
Result
First meeting
Central Michigan [ ]
Central Michigan at Northern Illinois
1
2 3 4 Total
Central Michigan
0
3 7 6
16
• Northern Illinois
0
14 7 3
24
Location: Brigham Field at Huskie Stadium , DeKalb, Illinois Game attendance: 12,354
Series Record
Previous meeting
Result
15–17
November 24, 2017
CMU, 31–24
at Florida State [ ]
See also: 2018 Florida State Seminoles football team
Northern Illinois at Florida State
1
2 3 4 Total
Northern Illinois
0
7 6 6
19
• Florida State
14
6 3 14
37
Series Record
Previous meeting
Result
0–1
January 1, 2013
FSU, 31–10
at Eastern Michigan [ ]
See also: 2018 Eastern Michigan Eagles football team
Northern Illinois at Eastern Michigan
1
2 3 4 OT 2OT 3OT Total
• Northern Illinois
3
10 0 0 7 0 6
26
Eastern Michigan
10
0 0 3 7 0 3
23
Location: Rynearson Stadium , Ypsilanti, Michigan Game attendance: 14,779
Series Record
Previous meeting
Result
24–5–2
October 26, 2017
NIU, 30–27
at Ball State [ ]
Northern Illinois at Ball State
1
2 3 4 Total
• Northern Illinois
7
7 7 3
24
Ball State
0
6 3 7
16
Location: Scheumann Stadium , Muncie, Indiana Game attendance: 7,159
Series Record
Previous meeting
Result
17–18
November 9, 2017
NIU, 63–17
Ohio [ ]
Ohio at Northern Illinois
1
2 3 4 Total
Ohio
0
7 14 0
21
• Northern Illinois
3
6 0 15
24
Location: Brigham Field at Huskie Stadium, DeKalb, IllinoisGame attendance: 12,138
Series Record
Previous meeting
Result
11–10
November 24, 2015
OHIO, 26–21
at BYU [ ]
See also: 2018 BYU Cougars football team
Northern Illinois at BYU
1
2 3 4 Total
• Northern Illinois
0
0 7 0
7
BYU
3
0 3 0
6
Series Record
Previous meeting
Result
First meeting
at Akron [ ]
Northern Illinois at Akron
1
2 3 4 Total
• Northern Illinois
7
17 5 7
36
Akron
7
3 16 0
26
Date: November 1, 2018Location: Info Cision Stadium , Akron, Ohio Game start: 7:02 pm Elapsed time: 3:31Game attendance: 16,401Game weather: 48 °F (9 °C), Wind: 3 MPH ENE, Intermittent ShowersReferee: Amanda S.-Cook
Series Record
Previous meeting
Result
8–5
October 12, 2013
NIU, 27–20
Toledo [ ]
Toledo at Northern Illinois
1
2 3 4 Total
Toledo
3
6 0 6
15
• Northern Illinois
7
10 14 7
38
Date: November 7, 2018Location: Brigham Field at Huskie Stadium, DeKalb, IllinoisGame start: 7:05 pm Elapsed time: 3:15Game attendance: 5,887Game weather: 37 °F (3 °C), Wind: 6 MPH NNW, Intermittent ShowersReferee: Ron HudsonTelevision network: ESPN2
Series Record
Previous meeting
Result
14–30
November 2, 2017
TOL, 27–17
Miami (OH) [ ]
Miami at Northern Illinois
1
2 3 4 Total
• Miami
0
3 10 0
13
Northern Illinois
0
0 7 0
7
Location: Brigham Field at Huskie Stadium, DeKalb, IllinoisGame start: 7:00 p.m. Game attendance: 4,878Television network: ESPNU
Series Record
Previous meeting
Result
9–8
October 17, 2015
NIU, 45–12
at Western Michigan [ ]
Northern Illinois at Western Michigan
1
2 3 4 Total
Northern Illinois
7
0 14 0
21
• Western Michigan
7
6 8 7
28
Location: Waldo Stadium , Kalamazoo, Michigan Game start: 6:00 p.m. Game attendance: 18,278Television network: ESPNU
Series Record
Previous meeting
Result
19–23
November 15, 2018
NIU, 35–31
vs Buffalo (MAC Championship Game) [ ]
See also: 2018 Buffalo Bulls football team and 2018 MAC Championship Game
Northern Illinois vs Buffalo (MAC Championship Game )
1
2 3 4 Total
• Northern Illinois
0
10 7 13
30
Buffalo
7
15 7 0
29
Location: Ford Field , Detroit, Michigan Game start: 6:00 p.m. Game attendance: 10,255Television network: ESPN2
Series Record
Previous meeting
Result
11–1
October 14, 2017
NIU, 14–13
vs UAB (Boca Raton Bowl) [ ]
UAB vs. Northern Illinois (Boca Raton Bowl )
1
2 3 4 Total
• UAB
10
17 10 0
37
Northern Illinois
7
3 3 0
13
Date: December 18, 2018Location: FAU Stadium , Boca Raton, FL Game start: 7:00 p.m. Game attendance: 22,614Television network: ESPN
Series Record
Previous meeting
Result
First Meeting
Players drafted into the NFL [ ]
See also: 2019 NFL Draft
Round
Pick
Player
Position
NFL Club
2
55
Max Scharping
OL
Houston Texans
6
175
Sutton Smith
LB
Pittsburgh Steelers
References [ ]
^ "2018 Watch List | Lott IMPACT Trophy | Honoring College Football's Defensive Best" . lottimpacttrophy.org . Retrieved 2018-07-17 .
^ "Rimington Trophy Press Release" . May 30, 2018. Retrieved July 14, 2018 .
^ "2018 Bednarik Award Watch List - Maxwell Football Club" . Maxwell Football Club . 2018-07-16. Archived from the original on 2018-07-16. Retrieved 2018-07-17 .
^ "2018 Bronko Nagurski Trophy Preseason Watch List" . July 24, 2018. Retrieved July 24, 2018 .
^ "22018 OUTLAND TROPHY WATCH LIST UNVEILED" . July 24, 2018. Retrieved July 24, 2018 .
^ "Wuerffel Trophy Unveils 2018 Watch List" . July 26, 2018. Archived from the original on July 26, 2018. Retrieved July 26, 2018 .
^ "Preseason Watch List - 2018 edition of the Ted Hendricks Award" (PDF) . August 14, 2018. Retrieved August 16, 2018 .
^ "NIU & Ohio Picked as Divisional Winners in 2018 MAC Football Media Preseason Poll" .
^ 2017 Football Coaching Staff . Northern Illinois Athletics. Accessed April 16, 2017.
^ "NIU Football Coaching Staff Set for 2018 - Northern Illinois University" . NIU Athletics . Retrieved 2018-03-26 .
^ "Northern Illinois Huskies (NIU) Football Schedules | Future Schedules" . FBSchedules.com . Retrieved 2018-01-03 .
^ "2018 NIU Huskies Football Schedule" . FBSchedules.com . Retrieved 2018-03-26 .
^ "NIU Football Set for Five-Game Home Schedule in 2018 - Northern Illinois University" . NIU Athletics . Retrieved 2018-03-26 .
Venues
Glidden Field (1903–1965)
Huskie Stadium (1965–present)
Bowls & rivalries
Bowl games
Ball State (Bronze Stalk Trophy )
Culture & lore People National championship seasons in bold