The 2013-14 college football bowl schedule has been set. The Mid-American Conference has primary agreements with three bowl games; Famous Idaho Potato Bowl, Little Caesars Pizza Bowl and GoDaddy Bowl. The Famous Idaho Potato Bowl, played in Boise, Idaho, kicks off at 4:30 p.m. CT on Dec. 21 and is one of four bowl games to be played that day. It will feature teams from the MAC and Mountain West. The Little Caesars Pizza Bowl, held in Detroit's Ford Field, will be played Dec. 26 and kickoff at 5 p.m. CT. The game features a MAC school facing off against a team from the Big Ten. The penultimate bowl game of the season, the GoDaddy Bowl, held in Mobile, Ala. and featuring a MAC-Sun Belt match up will take place Jan 5. at 7 p.m. CT.
The Bowl Championship Series bowl games will be played Jan. 1, 2, 3 and 6. The Rose and Fiesta Bowls will be played on New Year's Day and kickoff at 4 and 7:30 p.m. respectively. The Sugar Bowl will be played Jan. 2, while the Huskies' 2012 bowl destination, the Orange Bowl, will take place Jan. 3. The National Championship game will be played Jan. 6 in Pasadena, Calif.
Northern Illinois has made five straight bowl appearances (2008 Independence Bowl, 2010 International Bowl, 2010 Humanitarian Bowl, 2012 GoDaddy.com Bowl and 2013 Orange Bowl) and are looking to make it six in 2013. The Huskies return 14 starters (8 offense, 5 defense, 1 specialist) in 2013, led by dual-threat quarterback Jordan Lynch (Chicago, Ill./Mt. Carmel), a 2012 second-team All-American who accounted for nearly 5,000 yards of total offense while setting NCAA records for rushing by a quarterback with 12 100-yard rushing games. Leading tackler Jimmie Ward (Mobile, Ala./Davidson) and NIU's entire offensive line are among the 55 returning letter winners for 2013.
Bloguin's The Crystal Ball Run blog has been hard at work this week cranking out a series of posts this week previewing the upcoming 2013 Mid-American Conference football season. The Crystal Ball Run staff makes its conference championship picks, names its all-conference teams and ranks the strengths of schedules. There is an interesting post on the future relationship of the MAC and Big Ten and a podcast breaking down this year's season.
You can meet the league's new coaches, including NIU head coach Rod Carey and CBR breaks down the top 10 #MACtion games for 2013. The Huskies make three appearances on the list, including the top two.
Former Northern Illinois assistant coach and NIU alum Dan Roushar was hired as the running backs coach of the New Orleans Saints over the weekend. Roushar will join Sean Payton's staff after spending his last six seasons at Michigan State. During the past three seasons at MSU, Roushar served as the Spartan's offensive coordinator, where he helped the likes of Kirk Cousins, Le'Veon Bell and Andrew Maxwell set new school records.
Prior to his stint in East Lansing, Mich., Roushar spent the 1997-2002 seasons coaching the Huskies' offensive line and serving as offensive coordinator. While coaching NIU, Roushar helped groom Ryan Diem into an NFL prospect, while recruiting future NFL starter Doug Free to DeKalb. He has also spent time at Butler, Rhode Island, Ball State, Illinois and Cincinnati.
Roushar graduated from NIU in 1984 with a bachelor's degree in physical education, while also earning two varsity letters as a quarterback with the Huskies.
 News of the success of the Northern Illinois University football team has reached across the pond to Ireland. Right guard Aidan Conlon, who's parents hail from Castlebrock and Ballinalee, Ireland, was featured in the Longford Leader. The story talks about Conlon's success at NIU, his roots in Ireland and his aspirations to play professionally. It's great to see the Northern Illinois football story go international.
Football: Northern Illinois ended its historic season on New Year's Day with a 31-10 loss against the Florida State Seminoles in the Discover Orange Bowl. Jordan Lynch finished the game 15-for-41 passing for 176 yards, while Tommylee Lewis led NIU with five catches for 61 yards. The Huskies finished the season with a 12-2 record.
Northern Illinois University Faculty Athletics
Representative Matt Streb was honored Thursday by the National Football Foundation
as part of the organization's 2012 Faculty Salute Initiative.
Streb was one of 15 FARs from across the country that was recognized
for his efforts. The honor was given to the FARs at each of the schools who had
an NFF National Scholar-Athlete. In 2011, former NIU FAR Jan Rintala was recognized alongside NIU QB Chandler Harnish.
Below is a list of the FARs who were honored:
·
Baylor
University, Mike Rogers (Nick
Florence, QB, 3.79 GPA)
·
Duke
University, Martha Putallaz
(Sean Renfree, QB, 3.40 GPA)
·
Massachusetts
Institute of Technology, Hank Smith
(Ethan Peterson, OL, 3.83 GPA)
·
Northern
Illinois University, Matt Streb
(Nabal Jefferson, DT, 3.78 GPA)
·
Northwestern
University, Robert Gundlach (Patrick Ward, OT, 3.94 GPA)
·
Robert
Morris University, Scott Branvold
(Nolan Nearhoof, DE, 3.73 GPA)
·
Saint
Xavier University (Ill.), Barbara
Becker (Shane Zackery, WR, 3.71 GPA)
·
Syracuse
University, Mike Wasylenko
(Ryan Nassib, QB, 3.57 GPA)
·
Texas
Tech University, Brian Shannon
(Cody Davis, S, 3.70 GPA)
·
University
of Alabama, Kevin Whitaker
(Barrett Jones, C, 4.00 GPA)
·
University
of Mount Union (Ohio), Scott Mason
(Nick Driskill, S, 3.77 GPA)
·
University
of Nebraska, Josephine Potuto
(Rex Burkhead, RB, 3.43 GPA)
·
University
of Notre Dame, Patricia Bellia
(Manti Te'o, LB, 3.32 GPA)
·
University
of Southern California, Clare Pastore
(Matt Barkley, QB, 3.21 GPA)
·
West
Texas A&M University, David Rausch
(Aaron Mullane, OL, 3.84 GPA)
Launched
in 2011 by Fidelity and the NFF, the initiative is an extension of the NFF
National Scholar-Athlete Awards Program that provides postgraduate scholarships
for college football's elite student-athletes. Fidelity, which is also the
presenting sponsor of the NFF National Scholar-Athlete Awards, has taken on a
leadership role with the initiative as a natural extension of its ongoing
support of the scholar-athlete ideal and commitment to higher education
nationwide. As part of the initiative, each school with an NFF National
Scholar-Athlete receives recognition for their faculty athletics
representative, and a $5,000 donation per school ($75,000 total) from Fidelity
will be made to support the academic support services for student-athletes at
each school.
Football: Northern Illinois won their second consecutive Mid-American Conference title Friday with a 44-37 double overtime win over then No. 17 Kent State at Detroit's Ford Field. Jordan Lynch combined for 372 yards of total offense, while the Huskie defense held KSU's vaunted rushing attack in check before Demetrius Stone's fourth down interception in the endzone sealed the win. The victory solidified a spot for the Huskies in the 2013 Discover Orange Bowl against ACC champion Florida State.
Football: Northern Illinois wrapped up its regular season Friday with a convincing 49-7 win over Eastern Michigan. Akeem Daniels rushed for 112 yards on 12 carries, while Jordan Lynch combined for 275 yards of total offense in the win. The victory was NIU's 11th in a row and marks the first time that the program has reached the 11-win plateau during the regular season.
Football: Northern Illinois clinched its third consecutive MAC West title Wednesday night with a 31-24 win over the Toledo Rockets at Huskie Stadium. Jordan Lynch led the Huskies back from a 14-7 halftime deficit with 295 yards passing in the third quarter alone as part of NIU's 21-point explosion. Lynch also became the first QB in NCAA history to pass for 400 yards and rush for 150 in the same game.
Men's Basketball: NIU went 1-1 during the week after a pair of games. On Tuesday, the Huskies took part in the ESPN College Hoops Tip-Off Marathon with a 7 a.m. tilt against Valparaiso. However, the Crusaders' hot shooting was too much in a 69-46 defeat. Northern rebounded from that loss Sunday with a convincing 72-54 win over Judson.
Women's Basketball: The Huskies went 2-0 in the consolation rounds of the WNIT. On Saturday night, NIU knocked off SoCon favorite Davidson in a 64-61 win for Northern's first win of the year. Yet, the squad would top that performance the next night with a 74-46 win over Morehead State.
Volleyball: The Huskies advanced to their third-straight MAC Tournament title match over the weekend, but found a similar result in the final. NIU opened the weekend with a 3-1 win over Akron, as the Huskies won three sets in a row after dropping the first set. They followed that up with a come-from-behind 3-2 win over top-seeded Ohio in which the Huskies dropped the first two sets. However, the run came to an end Sunday afternoon when NIU fell to Bowling Green, 3-2, in the championship match, despite leading two sets to none.
Wrestling: Northern Illinois went 2-1 in their three matches of the NIU Duals. After winning a forfeit-filled opener against Calumet College of St. Joseph, 57-0, the Huskies shut out the Loras Duhawks, 41-0, to set up a final showdown against No. 23 Purdue. However, the Boilermakers handed the Huskies a 37-0 defeat for NIU's first loss of the season.
Football: The Huskies moved to 9-1 on the year with a 63-0 shutout victory over the UMass Minutemen. QB Jordan Lynch combined for over 300 yards of total offense, while the NIU defense forced four turnovers. The shutout was the first by NIU since Sept. 27, 2008, when they blanked Eastern Michigan, 37-0. Men's Basketball: Northern Illinois opened their season with a commanding 89-56 win against Aurora in an exhibition contest . Six Huskies scored in double figures, including 12 each from Kevin Gray and Mike Davis.
Men's Soccer: Northern Illinois clinched a spot in the MAC Tournament for the second consecutive season during the week, but not without some added drama. The week began with a 2-0 loss at Western Michigan, putting NIU in a "win or go home" situation Friday at Buffalo. However, Northern punched their ticket to Akron with a tight 1-0 win against the Bulls.
Wrestling: NIU opened their season Saturday at the EMU Open by putting 13 wrestlers on the podium. Matt Mougin led the way with a third place finish at 174 pounds. Meanwhile, Jared Torrence placed fourth at heavyweight and Rob Jillard took fifth at 149, in addition to Derek Elmore (125), Ethan Davis (141), Caleb Busson (174) Shane Rosenberry (184) and Arber Bebo (197) each taking sixth in their respective brackets. On the fresh/soph side, Shawn Scott (1st - 197), Andrew Morse (3rd - 157), Gabe Morse (4th - 141), Braun Marquez (5th - 125) and Bryan Loughlin (5th - 184) all placed for Northern.
Football: The Huskies extended their winning streak to eight games Saturday with a 48-34 victory at Western Michigan. After trailing 21-17 at halftime, the NIU offense exploded for 31 points in the second half to put away the Broncos. Jordan Lynch threw for 274 yards and rushed for 136 in the win. Men's Soccer: Northern Illinois notched two huge wins during the past week to improve their standing heading into the final week of the regular season. On Wednesday, the Huskies scored a 1-0 overtime win at Northwestern following Charlie Oliver's goal in the 91st minute. Their Saturday match against West Virginia followed a similar script, with Isaac Kannah scoring in the 84th minute for a 1-0 win over the Mountaineers.
Women's Soccer: Northern Illinois' season came to an end over the week after returning to the MAC Tournament. The Huskies punched their ticket to the conference tournament Thursday with a 2-1 victory at Toledo, their first against the Rockets since 2003. Yet, the Huskies' postseason run came to an end Sunday when they fell 2-0 at second-seeded Central Michigan.
Football: The Huskies won their 16th game in the last 17 and improved to 7-1 in 2012 with a convincing 37-7 victory at Akron. Along with Jordan Lynch's 131 rushing yards, the NIU defense held the Zips to 199 yards of total offense, including only 42 rushing yards on 37 carries. Men's Soccer: Northern Illinois' offense continued to struggle this week as they completed a 0-1-1 week. On Wednesday, the Huskies could not complete the comeback on the road as they fell to Valparaiso, 2-1. Three days later, NIU and Bowling Green battled to a 0-0 tie in DeKalb.
Volleyball: The Huskies dropped two close road matches over the weekend. NIU lost to Ohio on Friday, 3-1, after taking the first set in a battle of last year's two division winners. Northern faced a similar result the next night with a 3-1 loss at Kent State.
Women's Soccer: Northern Illinois kept its MAC Tournament hopes alive over the weekend by splitting their two road matches. The Huskies grabbed a huge win Friday with a 1-0 win against Kent State when Kate Wirthlin scored in the 71st minute. Two days later, the tables were turned when NIU lost to Ohio, 1-0.
Men's Golf: Northern Illinois put two golfers in the top 10 of the Earl Yestingmeier Invitational. Nick Huggins led the team with a tie for fifth, while Matt Gorman tied for seventh.
Men's Tennis: Dor Amir led the way for the Huskies by advancing to the round of 16 at the ITA Midwest Regional in East Lansing, Mich. Maksym Bartiuk also made it to the main draw, while Max Phillips fell just short after blazing through the qualifying draw.
Women's Golf: Northern Illinois took 10th place as a team at the The Preview at Longaberger Golf Club. Allie Parthie paced the Huskies with a fifth place finish, while Connie Ellett and Taylor Ellett took second and third in the Huskie contingent.
Women's Tennis: Northern Illinois placed three in the top three of their respective brackets over the weekend at the ITA Regional in Rockford, Ill. Mary Malkin, Cristina Alvarez and Haley Dekkinga each took top three finishes in singles, while
Football: The Huskies became bowl eligible Saturday with a dominant 45-3 Homecoming victory over Buffalo. Jordan Lynch combined for 361 yards of total offense, while the Huskie defense forced three turnovers on the day. The win marks the fifth straight season that NIU reached the six-win mark. Men's Soccer: Northern Illinois battled two of the nation's top five programs this week, but could not pull out a win in either match. The Huskies battled No. 4 Marquette on Tuesday, but lost 1-0 after the Golden Eagles scored in the 80th minute. NIU returned to MAC play on Saturday when they fell to No. 3 Akron, 2-0.
Women's Soccer: Northern Illinois dropped two close conference matches over the weekend in their final homestand of the year. NIU rallied from a 2-0 deficit against MAC leader Miami (Ohio) Friday, but a last second goal by the Redhawks resulted in a 3-2 defeat. Two days later, the Huskies took on Ball State on Senior Day. Following a 71-minute lightning delay in the 25th minute, the Cardinals emerged with a 1-0 victory.
Football: Northern Illinois extended their winning streak to five games with a 35-23 win at Ball State to keep the Bronze Stalk. After trailing the Cardinals 23-21 late in the fourth quarter, Jordan Lynch found Akeem Daniels for a 54-yard touchdown for the go-ahead score. About one and a half minutes later, Lynch outran the BSU defense for a 71-yard scoring run to put the game away. The junior QB combined for 402 yards of total offense in the win.Men's Soccer: NIU improved to 2-0 in MAC play with a 1-0 win against the Hartwick Hawks Saturday in DeKalb. The match's lone tally came in the 68th minute when Gael Rivera beat Hartwick's goaltender with a hard header.
Volleyball: The Huskies split their two weekend matches as they near the midway point of the conference season. Thursday saw the Huskies drop a 3-0 loss to Western Michigan at Victor E. Court in a match that was closer than the score indicated. NIU rebounded with a 3-0 sweep of Miami (Ohio) in which they notched a season-high .412 hitting percentage.
Football: Northern Illinois opened MAC play on a positive note Saturday with a 55-24 dismantling of Central Michigan at Huskie Stadium. Leighton Settle ran for 152 yards and Jordan Lynch gained 144 yards on the ground as a part of NIU's 407 total rushing yards. In addition, a fake punt by Ryan Neir and fake field goal touchdown by Mathew Sims sparked NIU to victory.Men's Soccer: NIU started conference play with a 2-0 win on the road against the Florida Atlantic Owls. After struggling offensively in the non-conference slate, the Huskies got goals from Isaac Kannah and James Stevenson. Jordan Godsey shut out FAU for his third shutout of the year and 29th of his career.
Volleyball: The Huskies returned home after a month on the road with two resounding wins in conference play. On Friday, NIU toppled Ball State, 3-1, while holding the advantage in most statistical categories. That advantage carried over into Saturday night when they swept Toledo, 3-0.
Women's Soccer: The Huskies went 1-0-1 during their weekend on the road. NIU grabbed their first MAC win of the year Friday with a 1-0 win against Akron, as Frances Boukidis found the back of the net in the 14th minute for the lone goal of the game. Two days later, the Huskies nearly got their second conference win, but were forced to settle for a 1-1 tie at Buffalo.
Cross Country: Northern Illinois finished 11th out of 51 teams at the Sean Earl Lakefront Invitational in Chicago. Courtney Oldenburg paced the Huskies with a 20th place finish at 18:09, which was her second-best 5K time in her four seasons at NIU.
Women's Tennis: The Huskies claimed five titles at the DePaul Invitational in Chicago. Arantza De La Torre/Nelle Youel and Haley Dekkinga/Cristina Alvarez each took home titles in doubles Flight A, while Maria Rozo/Stephanie McDonald won in Flight B. In singles, Youel and Dekkinga tied for the Flight B singles title and Mary Malkin won the consolation title in Flight C.
NIU Football is going environmentally-friendly, as fans will be encouraged to recycle at each of the remaining home football games.
Volunteers will go around the tailgate areas and collect various recyclable materials from fans. Additionally, fans can also take their items to the blue recycle bins located throughout Huskie Stadium and the tailgate areas.
For more information, interested volunteers can call Melissa Burlingame at (815) 753-9887 or email mburlingame@niu.edu. Fans can also find out more by clicking here.
Football: Northern Illinois captured a huge victory on their home turf Saturday with a 30-23 win against Kansas. Trailing 23-13 early in the fourth quarter, Jordan Lynch led a 17-point comeback in the final stanza to give NIU their second comeback win in as many weeks. Lynch combined for 369 yards offensively, while the defense tallied four sacks of KU's Dayne Crist.Men's Soccer: NIU lost both of their matches at New Mexico's Lobo Invitational in Albuquerque, N.M. Friday, the Huskies went into their fourth overtime game of the year against Denver. However, the Pioneers found the back of the net in the 109th minute for a 3-2 win. Northern ended their weekend with a 3-0 loss to the No. 5 and host Lobos.
Football: Northern Illinois hit the road for the first time in 2012 and escaped West Point, N.Y., with a 41-40 victory over the Army Black Knights. Jordan Lynch combined for 467 yards of total offense - the third-highest single game total in NIU history - and the defense came up with a huge stop inside of two minutes to cap off the rally. The win was also NIU's first road opener win since 2007.Men's Soccer: NIU split its two matches over the weekend at the Northwestern Lakeside Classic. They opened the tournament with a tough 1-0 loss in the annual LeWang Cup match against Milwaukee. However, they rebounded Sunday with a 2-0 victory over Iona.
Women's Soccer: The Huskies had a dominant effort Sunday at home with a 4-1 win against South Dakota. Courtney Ksiazek, Cori Frankenberg, Allie McBride and Kate Wirthlin all found the back of the net in the win.
Women's Tennis: Nelle Youel and Arantza De La Torre each won their singles flight over the weekend at the Drake Invitational in Des Moines, Iowa. Combined, NIU went 14-7 in singles and 5-4 in doubles play.
Football: Northern Illinois quarterback Jordan Lynch and running back Leighton Settle powered the Huskies to a 35-7 win over UT Martin Saturday night at Huskie Stadium. The duo combined for 166 rushing yards on 32 carries for three touchdowns as both averaged over five yards per carry against the Skyhawks for NIU's first win of the 2012 campaign. Men's Soccer: Northern Illinois tied both of their matches in the NIU adidas Invitational. On Friday, Northern and Rhode Island battled to a 0-0 tie, with the Huskies limiting the Rams to only one shot. Sunday followed with a 1-1 tie against Drake.
Cross Country: Senior Courtney Oldenburg broke the school's 34-year old 5K record Friday at the NIU Open as the Northern Illinois cross country team finished in third place. On the day, NIU easily defeated DePaul, UIC and Chicago State. The Huskies' trailed only Northwestern and Marquette in the final standings, falling mere points behind the Golden Eagles.
Women's Soccer: The Huskies again split their weekend matches on the road. The Huskies battled the Northwestern Wildcats and the elements on Friday, but were defeated 2-0 in Evanston. They would rebound on Sunday with a 1-0 win against Eastern Illinois courtesy of a fourth minute goal from Cori Frankenberg.
Football: The Huskies pushed Iowa to the brink Saturday in Chicago, but fell in heartbreaking fashion as the Hawkeyes scored late to claim an 18-17 victory. NIU led for the majority of the game and held a 17-9 lead going into the fourth quarter. However, Iowa's Damon Bullock scored the decisive points on a 23-yard run with 2:15 left in the game. The Huskie defense, though, was a huge bright spot in the game, collecting six sacks of James Vandenberg and limited the Hawkeyes to 268 total yards. Men's Soccer: Northern Illinois lost in excruciating fashion Friday night when they fell to Green Bay in double overtime, 2-1. The Huskies' lone goal of the game came in the 69th minute when James Stevenson found Gael Rivera for a quick shot that tied the match at 1-1. Yet, the Phoenix won the match with a winner in the 102nd minute.
Cross Country: Northern Illinois proved how big of a difference one year could make Saturday, as they claimed the team title at the UIC Opener. Senior Courtney Oldenburg earned her first career win on the day to lead the Huskies to a first-through-fourth finish on the Horse Lake Trail, as Ali Olson, Leah Raffety and Jamie Burr sealed the win for the Huskies.
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