The new wallpaper for the upcoming 2012 football season is available now on NIUHuskies.com. Show your Huskie pride and download it today!

Sure it's only May and the Northern Illinois University football team doesn't open camp for about another three months, but it's never too early for a 2012 football preview. At least that's the way CollegeFootballNews.com looks at it. It posted this preview of the 2012 NIU Football season complete with a breakdown of the Huskie offense and NIU defense as well as a depth chart.

Former NIU football player Ron Delisi was inducted into the Chicago Catholic League Hall of Fame earlier this month. A linebacker from Gordon Tech, Delisi starred with the Huskies from 1986-89, earning Honorable Mention All-American honors in both 1988 and '89. Delisi was a team captain and MVP in 1989 and ranks in the top-five in school history in total tackles. As a senior at Gordon Tech, Delisi earned the Tony Lawless Award as the MVP of the Catholic League; he also earned All-State honors from the Chicago Sun-Times and the Chicago Tribune.

Northern Illinois' 2012 football game versus Army at Michie Stadium in West Point will kick off at Noon (ET)/11 a.m. (CT) on Saturday, Sept. 15 and be televised by CBS Sports Network.  CBS Sports Network is available to 99 million homes nationwide as well as via satellite on DirecTV Channel 613 and Dish Network Channel 158.

NIU fans interested in following the Huskies to New York and take in the game, as well as the sights of New York City, can check out several travel packages available through Premiere Global Sports online at niusportstravel.com or by calling Premiere Global Sports at 855-329-9274.

Northern Illinois game on Wednesday, Nov. 14 versus Toledo at Huskie Stadium will kickoff at 8 p.m. (CT) and air on ESPN2 or ESPNU.  The remainder of NIU's 2012 game times will be announced by the MAC and Northern Illinois later this summer.  

The Northern Illinois University football team conducted its 15th and final practice of the spring with the Huskies' Red-White scrimmage at Huskie Stadium Saturday afternoon. Quarterback Jordan Lynch starred as the Red squad defeated the White team, 31-6. Lynch eliminated any doubts Huskie fans had that he could succeed Chandler Harnish, throwing for 402 yards and four touchdowns. 

Football: Quarterback Jordan Lynch showed that he plans a seamless transition into the starting role as he threw for 402 yards on 29-of-44 passing with four touchdowns Saturday at Huskie Stadium in Northern Illinois' Red-White Spring Football Game. Lynch led the Red team, composed of the Huskie starting units on offense and defense, to a 31-6 victory over the White team in the final spring football practice of 2012.

Baseball: Despite strong pitching, the Huskies were swept at home over the weekend by the Toledo Rockets. The series opened with a 7-3 win by UT despite the Huskies holding the lead through seven innings. The Huskie offense struggled again on Saturday with a 5-1 loss, then dropped the finale in extras by a 4-3 margin.

Softball: It was a rough week for Northern Illinois as they lost all five games during the week. The week began with a 6-1 loss at UIC before hitting the road for two MAC series. Things did not improve at Ohio, though, as NIU dropped both games of a doubleheader, 4-1 and 9-3. The Huskies fell Saturday at Akron, 8-6, then closed out the week with a 12-6 defeat against the Zips.

Track & Field: The Huskies had a big week at two major meets during the weekend, breaking five school records between the Kansas Relays and Mt. SAC Relays. On Thursday, Courtney Oldenburg broke her own NIU mark in the 1500 meters with a 4:27.64 run, while Juliane Totzke toppled the 10,000 meters record with a 36:23.93 clip. Friday saw Chanel Kellyman set a new record in the 100 meters and Roneisha Frye (100 hurdles) and Rebecca Cronin (800 meters) added their names to the record books on Saturday.

Men's Golf: The Northern Illinois men's golf team wrapped up the regular season portion of its schedule with a seventh-place finish at the Boilermaker Invitational at the Kampen Course on the Birck Boilermaker Golf Complex. Freshman Thomas Dunne was the top-finishing Huskie, taking 13th with a final round 75.

Men's Tennis: The Northern Illinois men's tennis team surpassed the 20-win plateau for the first time since 1989 Friday with wins over Chicago State, 7-0, and Illinois-Chicago, 5-0. The Huskies close the regular season with a regular season record of 21-6 and MAC record of 4-1.

Women's Tennis: The Huskies dropped their final two regular season games at home this weekend. NIU was swept by Akron, 7-0, on Saturday, then dropped their Senior Day showdown with Buffalo, 5-2. The squad finishes their regular season at 11-11 overall and 2-6 in the MAC.

Six Huskie teams will compete this week. Three programs (men's tennis, women's tennis and women's golf) will head to their respective MAC Championships, including women's tennis hosting the conference tournament in DeKalb. In addition, softball hosts their final home game of the year Wednesday against Northwestern and baseball welcomes Milwaukee on Tuesday.

The NFL Draft is now a week away and the publicity for former NIU quarterback Chandler Harnish is picking up. Jeff Dickerson of ESPNChicago.com posted this story on the NFL hopeful yesterday in his Bears Report blog. Dennis Dillon of SI.com filed this excellent article on Harnish today. 

The the 2012 NFL Draft two weeks away Huskie fans are starved for information on Northern Illinois' NFL hopefuls. Dan Pompei of the Chicago Tribune broke down his top quarterback prospects in today's Trib and NIU's Chandler Harnish came in at No. 14. The Milwaukee Journal Sentinel posted this write up on Harnish in its Packer Blog. Former NFL executive Gil Brandt broke down NIU's Pro Day for the NFL.com's Pro Day Blog. He singled out the performances of Harnish, Scott Wedige and Nathan Palmer.

Former Huskie placekicker Mike Salerno is back home kicking for the Chicago Rush of the Arena Football League. The Rush are off the a 4-0 start and Salerno is 1-1 on field goals, kicking a 16-yarder against Tampa Bay in the season opener. He also has 39 kickoffs to his credit. Salerno and the Rush travel to Georgia in search of a franchise best 5-0 start when they take on the Force Saturday. 

For the first time, Northern Illinois Athletics was included in the annual Student Choice Awards event that was coordinated by the NIU Student Association.

NIU head coaches Dave Doeren (football) and Connie Teaberry (women's track and field) were on hand along with volleyball's Kristin Hoffman, Adam Kiel of football and several members of the Huskie football team as the awards were presented on Tuesday, April 10 at the Duke Ellington Ballroom. Doeren was named Coach of the Year while the Huskie football team was the SA's Team of the Year. Hoffman accepted the award as Athlete of the Year, and Kiel was honored for his dedication as a campus leader in the area of community service. The women's track and field team won the award for Most Improved Team on campus, which Teaberry accepted on behalf of the Huskies. 

Congratulations to these award winners and thanks to the Student Association for recognizing YOUR Huskies!

One year ago today, the NIU football team, Northern Illinois community and all of Huskie Nation awoke to the news that NIU linebacker Devon Butler had been shot and was in surgery in at OSF St. Anthony's Hospital in Rockford.  It was an anxious time.  

After a long recovery that required him to sit out the 2011 season, Butler is back and through the first five practices of spring football, has regained his starting middle linebacker's job.  ESPN.com's Andrea Adelson caught up with Butler, NIU head coach Dave Doeren and former linebacker coach Tom Matukewicz for this update.

Also in the news today, HuskieWire's Anthony Zilis takes a look at the running backs position and Yahoo! Sports has an early look at the 2012 Huskies.

Northern Illinois completed its first week of 2012 spring practices with a two-hour workout in full pads Saturday at Huskie Stadium.  After practicing Wednesday and Thursday in shorts and helmets only, NIU Head Coach Dave Doeren enjoyed seeing the Huskies in full contact mode.

"It was fun to see guys hitting today," Doeren said.  "The ball was on the ground a little too much but that's going to happen when guys get hit for the first time in a while."

After moving through the national progression of practice from individual position drills to specific run and pass game work, to 7-on-7, Saturday's session ended with several periods of full team scrimmaging. While cornerback Rashaan Melvin started 11-on-11 by intercepting Jordan Lynch on the first play, Lynch and the offense came back when the team moved from stationary plays to actually moving the chains. Facing the first team defense on the first drive, Lynch drove the offense down the field and hit Tommylee Lewis on third and goal from inside the 10-yard line for a touchdown.  

Earlier in the practice, NIU middle linebacker Devon Butler made his first interception of spring during seven-on-seven drills.

Although hesitant to grade the day before reviewing the tape, several players did catch Doeren's eye.

"There was good energy today but I have to watch the film to say exactly how good of a day it was," Doeren said.  "Luke Eakes had a nice day. Tim Semisch made some plays and the tight ends looked good.  I saw our two defensive ends, Alan Baxter and Sean Progar, doing some good things.   I'm anxious to watch the tape."

The Huskies return to the practice field next week with workouts Monday, Wednesday and Friday afternoon at Huskie Stadium.

Former Northern Illinois University offensive lineman and Indianapolis Colt Ryan Diem announced his retirement from the NFL today. Diem played 11 years (2001-11) all with the Colts. He began his career at right guard before playing right tackle for nine seasons. He returned to right guard this past season. Diem played in two Super Bowls and was a member of the Colt team that won Super Bowl XLI. 

You'll have to bear with us on this entry. Dennis Dodd, the national college football writer for CBSSports.com, wrote this article on the BCS and Notre Dame's place in it. You'll have to read the article to see Dodd makes a very interesting comparison between the football programs at Northern Illinois University and Notre Dame.

Former NIU quarterback Chandler Harnish is in Indianapolis for the 2012 NFL Scouting Combine. He is doing a daily diary for his hometown paper, the News Sentinel. 

Former (tear) NIU quarterback Chandler Harnish is still representing Northern Illinois, most recently on Monday at Halas Hall when he accepted the Mental Toughness Award from the Chicago Chapter of the National Football Foundation.  Harnish and Northwestern QB Dan Persa - who roomed together at the East-West Shrine Game in January - earned the award for the perseverance and excellence displayed throughout their college careers.

Harnish was introduced by NIU Head Coach Dave Doeren at the standing room only awards ceremony which was attended by a "who's who" of Chicago football, including fellow head coaches Pat Fitzgerald of Northwestern and Tim Beckman of Illinois (formerly of the NIU vanquished Toledo Rockets), Chicago Bears Chairman George McCaskey and members of the McCaskey family, including matriarch Virginia Halas McCaskey, and Big Ten Conference Commissioner Jim Delaney. The NFF Chicago Chapter also presented awards to six deserving high school football student-athletes and recognized the NAIA Championship won by St. Xavier in 2011.  Harnish's parents Ron and LeeAnn were in attendance to support the NFL hopeful.

Harnish's awards acceptance speech was the centerpiece of Fred Mitchell's recap of the event for the Chicago Tribune, where you can also see his entire speech. 

Following the ceremony, the NIU contingent, representatives of other schools and special guests attended a dinner with the NFF Chicago Board members at Del Rio Restaurant in Highwood.

Harnish traveled to Indiana on Tuesday and reports to Indianapolis for the NFL Combine on Wednesday. Return to "Huskie Happenings" on Thursday for more on Harnish's combine plans.   

With spring practice set to start in a little over a month and half, Andrea Adelson of ESPN.com put together previews for several non-AQ schools and Northern Illinois was one of them. Adelson, talks about some key need areas for the Huskies, mostly on the offensive side of the ball, and the look of the Huskie defense in 2012.

NIU head coach Dave Doeren announced the hiring of Mike Dunbar as the Huskies' new offensive coordinator yesterday. A 35-year coaching veteran, Dunbar brings a wealth of experience with him to NIU. Fred Mitchell of the Chicago Tribune posted this story on Dunbar in today's paper, while Scott Powers of ESPNChicago.com had this post on the hire on his blog. Paul Myerberg of presnapread.com broke down the hire in greater detail in his blog post today.

While his Huskie career maybe over, things haven't slowed down for Chandler Harnish. The 2011 Vern Smith Leadership Award winner is preparing for the biggest job interview of his life as he is set to participate in the 2012 NFL Combine in Indianapolis Feb. 22-28. The Chicago Tribune's Fred Mitchell caught up with Harnish and discussed his pro potential in this story.

Many around the Mid-American Conference know the rich quarterback history in the league. This past season, Huskie fans were fortunate to watch the top QB in the MAC week in and week out in Chandler Harnish, the 2011 Vern Smith Leadership Award winner.

Next season, 12 of the league's 14 signal callers from 2011 will be under center in 2012. One of those "new guys" will be Jordan Lynch. Like Harnish, Lynch is a dual threat quarterback equally dangerous with his arm or legs. Paul Myerberg of presnapread.com posted this story handicapping the quarterback race in 2012.

Five Huskies have one more college game to play as quarterback Chandler Harnish, center Scott Wedige, tackle Trevor Olson and linebackers Pat Schiller and Jordan Delegal are participating in three college all-star games Saturday, Jan. 21, 2012.

Harnish was named team captain and will start for the West team of the East-West Shrine Game. The game, which will be played at Tropicana Field in St. Petersburg, Fla., will be televised by the NFL Network. Kickoff is set for 3 p.m. CT. Harnish, the 2011 recipient of the Vern Smith Leadership Award, earned Most Valuable Player honors in NIU's 38-20 victory over Arkansas State in the 2012 GoDaddy.com Bowl. Here's a feature on NIU quarterback Chandler Harnish in the Fort Wayne News Sentinel.

A trio of Huskies, Olson, Schiller and Wedige, will be playing in the AstroTurf NFLPA Collegiate Bowl in Los Angeles, Calif. Wedige and Schiller will be teammates for at least one more game as they will be playing for the American team, while Olson will be playing for the National squad. The game will be played at the Home Depot Center in Southern California and will kick off at 5 p.m. CT and will be televised by NBC Sports Network.

Delegal, a native of Miami, Fla., is playing for the North team in the Battle of Florida. The game, which will be kickoff at 7 p.m. CT, will be televised live by Fox College Sports. The game features players that are draft eligible and have either been born in Florida or have played high school or college football in Florida. Former Florida State head coach Bobby Bowden will coach the North.

All-Star Game Line Up
East-West Shrine, 3 p.m. CT, NFL Network

AstroTurf NFLPA Collegiate Bowl, 5 p.m. CT, NBC Sports Network (formerly Versus)

The Battle of Florida, 7 p.m. CT., Fox College Sports

Several media outlets are starting to compile their Top 10 or in some cases Top 100 games/moments of the 2011 season and Northern Illinois makes a few of them. Andrea Adelson of ESPN.com posted her Top 10 non-AQ moments of 2011 and the Huskies' 63-60 victory over Toledo checked in at No. 9. 

The website sbnation.com delved even deeper by compiling a list of the Top 100 games of 2011. Three of the Huskies' contests have a place on the list. NIU's shootout with Kansas comes in at No. 93, while the Huskies' incredible comeback over Ohio in the 2011 MAC Championship. The Toledo game cracked the Top 10, ranking eighth.

There were a slew of features on NIU players and coaches posted the last two weeks. Enjoy!

Dave Doeren
ESPNChicago.com, Doeren's first season at NIU a big success

Matt Canada
Rockford Register Star, New boss same as old boss for NIU offense

Jimmie Ward
Daily Chronicle, Home sweet home for Ward

Jordan Delegal
Daily Chronicle, Conversion complete for NIU linebacker

Pat Schiller
Press Register, Northern Illinois' Pat Schiller stepped up big at linebacker

Sean Evans
Northwest Florida Daily News, Former FWB standout Evans enjoys 'homecoming' with NIU

Community service visit in Mobile
Fox TV, Huskies talk to troubled juveniles

Bowl feature
ESPNChicago.com, Huskies hope bowl wait is worth it

2011 was a great year for football schools of the Mid-American Conference. The league went a nation's best 4-1 in bowl games this season, tying with Conference USA. Northern Illinois' 38-20 victory over Arkansas State clinched the top spot for the MAC and the conference went a perfect 4-0 versus other Non-AQ leagues (2-0 vs Mountain West, 1-0 vs. Western Athletic and 1-0 vs. Sun Belt). Andrea Adelson of ESPN.com gave the league some props in her blog post, while Paul Myerberg ranked the MAC ahead of the WAC and Sun Belt.

While Chandler Harnish garners much of the praise, and rightfully so, for the success the Huskies have enjoyed on offense this season, one unit toils in anonymity. The Huskie offense line is the backbone of the offensive unit and, at the end of the season, they were getting their due. Matt Trowbridge of the Rockford Register Star had this feature story and accompanying blog post on the Huskie front five.

Josh Bean of the Mobile Press-Register also filed a feature story on the O-line as well when he was covering the Huskies during bowl week. Rick Armstrong of the Sun-Times, who was down in Mobile covering the Huskies, wrote this feature on left tackle Trevor Olson.

With the 2011 season in the books, it's a good time to reflect on an amazing year for the Huskie football team. The Daily Chronicle editorial board posted this editorial on its site today. ESPNChicago.com posted this review of the season and outlook for 2012, while Ryan Wood of the Daily Chronicle broke down Chandler Harnish's successor, Jordan Lynch, in this piece. 

Following NIU's bowl victory there was the hope the Huskies could crack the Top 25 in either the Coaches or Associated Press Poll.  The Chicago Tribune, Daily Chronicle and Beacon News all had stories laying out NIU's case for a spot in the polls. However, the Huskies were left out, finishing 26th in the Coaches Poll and 28th in the AP Poll. The Huskies did crack one poll.

Paul Myerberg of presnapread.com ranked the Huskies 24th, just behind Florida State and ahead of Nebraska in his season ending poll. Myerberg had the Huskies ranked 59th in the nation in his preseason poll behind fellow Mid-American Conference foes Ohio (52) and Toledo (56).

The Northern Illinois University football team closed out a record-setting season with a 38-20 victory over Arkansas State in the 2012 GoDaddy.com Bowl. Of course the most complete coverage, including post-game notes, photo gallery and high light video can only be found on NIUHuskies.com. Below are various stories from around the Chicagoland area and nationally.

Chicago Tribune, NIU beats Arkansas State in GoDaddy.com Bowl

Sun-Times, Chandler Harnish, Huskies win GoDaddy.com Bowl

Daily Herald, 'Storybook ending' for Harnish, NIU

Daily Chronicle, Going out a winner

cbssports.com, NIU rips Ark. St. for ninth-straight win

ESPN.com, Instant analysis: NIU 38, ASU 20

If you want to relive the Huskies entire bowl trip from touching down in Mobile, to the celebration at the team hotel following the game, you can find it all at Bowl Central. Complete with blog posts, photo galleries and videos, Bowl Central has you, and the Huskies, covered.

The first week of 2012 was a busy one for Huskie athletics, with six teams competing. Among the highlights were football's GoDaddy.com Bowl victory, wrestling's dramatic come-from-behind win against Lock Haven and track & field's record-setting weekend in Kansas.

Football: The 2011-12 season ended on a positive note for the Huskies, who defeated the Arkansas State Red Wolves Sunday in the GoDaddy.com Bowl, 38-20. Quarterback Chandler Harnish was named the game's MVP after passing for 274 yards and two touchdowns, while Martel Moore caught eight passes for 224 yards and a touchdown in the victory. Meanwhile, the Huskie defense forced five ASU turnovers and collected three sacks in the game.

Men's Basketball: Northern Illinois hung tough with Eastern Michigan in both schools' MAC openers, but it was the Eagles who came away with a 47-40 win in DeKalb. Tim Toler led the Huskies with 11 points in the game, while Zach Miller added nine points and four assists in the game.

Women's Basketball: The Huskies had a rough opening to their conference season this week, as they dropped their first two games of the MAC slate. On Thursday, NIU was unable to contain Central Michigan's offense in an 86-67 loss to the Chippewas. Satavia Taylor led the Huskies with 17 points in the game. The Huskies' struggles continued Sunday in Ypsilanti, Mich., where they were bested by the Eastern Michigan Eagles, 64-52.

Wrestling: Northern Illinois opened up the second half of their season Sunday with a thrilling 22-16 win against the Lock Haven Bald Eagles. Trailing 16-3 at the halfway point of the dual, the Huskies stormed back, winning the final five matches to stun LHU. The victory gives NIU six on the season, surpassing their total from all of last year.

Track & Field: The Huskies kicked off 2012 with an impressive performance Saturday at the Bill Easton Classic in Lawrence, Kan. Jamie Burr highlighted the day, winning the 1000m run with a school record time of 2:59.50. Additionally, Roneisha Frye (60m hurdles) and Rebecca Cronin (600 yards) also won their respective events to lead the Huskies.

Gymnastics: Northern Illinois opened their 2012 season Sunday in DeKalb, where they lost to the UIC Flames, 191.575-188.350. Sonda Clore led the Huskies with a win in the uneven bars, while taking top five finishes in the beam and vault. Also, Tanya Rachan won the beam and floor routine.

The Huskies will be on the road for most of the upcoming week, with Saturday's basketball doubleheader being the only event in DeKalb. Wrestling, track & field and gymnastics also hit the road this weekend for competition.

The Northern Illinois University football team saw 12 Huskies named to Phil Steele's 2011 Postseason All-MAC Team. NIU had four first teamers, three on offense and one special teams. 2011 Vern Smith Award winner Chandler Harnish, center Scott Wedige, left tackle Trevor Olson and kick returner Tommylee Lewis earned first team honors.

Running back Jasmin Hopkins, defensive linemen Sean Progar and Ron Newcomb, linebacker Pat Schiller and kicker Mathew Sims were all second-team honorees. Northern Illinois also had three third-team selections; wide receiver Nathan Palmer, offensive lineman Joe Pawlak and defensive back Jimmie Ward.

NIU had nine All-MAC selections as voted on by the league's coaches. Eight of the 12 Huskies on Phil Steele's All-MAC team garnered accolades from league coaches. Lewis, Newcomb, Pawlak and Schiller were earning All-MAC honors for the first time this season.

It has been just over since Dave Doeren was announced as Northern Illinois University's 21st head football coach. What a difference a year makes. Doeren has led NIU to its first Mid-American Conference championship since 1983 and a berth in the 2012 GoDaddy.com Bowl. Ryan Wood of the Daily Chronicle visited with Doeren after yesterday's practice to get his thought's on his first season as a head coach in this Q&A.

The Northern Illinois football program has been named to the American Football Coaches Association's honorable mention list for the 2011 Academic Achievement Award, presented by the Touchdown Club of Memphis.

Based on the NCAA Graduation Success Rate (GSR) of football student-athletes who enrolled in 2004, the award is given annually to the NCAA Football Bowl Subdivision team with the highest GSR, at least 15 students in the GSR cohort and a Federal Graduation Rate of 75 percent or better. Boise State and Miami (Ohio) shared this year's Academic Achievement Award with a 100 percent graduation rate, while Northern Illinois was one of 44 schools named to the honorable mention list.

Among the 44 honorable mention teams, which includes institutions who graduated 75 percent or more of their football student-athletes, NIU was one of 15 schools at the top of the list with a GSR of 90 percent or higher. Those 15 teams are Air Force, Army, Boston College, Central Florida, Duke, Florida, Iowa, Miami (Fla.), Navy, Northern Illinois, Northwestern, Notre Dame, Penn State, Rice and Stanford.

Including Miami, NIU was one of four Mid-American Conference teams recognized in 2011 as Ohio and Bowling Green were also among the AFCA's honorable mention squads.

This year's award marks the fourth time the NCAA's Graduation Success Rate (GSR) formula has been used to select the winner of the AFCA Academic Achievement Award. From 1981 to 2007, the award was presented based on a formula used by the College Football Association and AFCA.

Just how good was the Northern Illinois University secondary last year? Two former starters from last season's squad, safety Tracy Wilson and cornerback Chris Smith, are playing in the National Football League.

Wilson, as you read here on Huskie Happenings a few weeks ago, was elevated from to the Jets active roster from the practice squad. He has seen action in two games, making three tackles on the season. Wilson made one tackle, an assist, against Washington and made a solo and assisted tackle this weekend against Kansas City.

Smith, who is playing for the St. Louis Rams, saw action in his first NFL game Monday night in Seattle. he made three solo tackles and the Rams fell to the Seahawks, 30-13.

Former NIU running back Chad Spann is still in the league as well. The former Vern Smith Leadership Award winner, who started the year with Indianapolis, then was picked up by the Tampa Bay Buccaneers, is now on the Steelers practice squad.

The Huskies appearance in the GoDaddy.com Bowl continues to get positive reviews. While the bowl itself was ranked No. 33 out of 35 by CBSSports.com's Dennis Dodd, he did tell fans across the nation that that this would be the last time they could see NIU quarterback Chandler Harnish.

Various organizations and media outlets are starting to release their All-America teams. As expected, most of them are littered with big names from big schools. CBSSports.com thought pretty highly of NIU's Scott Wedige, naming the senior center second-team All-American. Wedige is the only Mid-American Conference player on either first or second team. The CBSSports.com All-America Teams were selected by the staff, writers and bloggers.

Wedige is the first Huskie to be named to an All-America team since Larry English in 2008. English was a third team selection by Phil Steele and an honorable mention by Pro Football Weekly.

Matt Hinton of Yahoo! Sports gave this break down of some of the best and worst bowl match ups. The GoDaddy.com Bowl got some love as one of the best bowl games on the slate this year.

The Huskies earned another conference championship over the weekend with the football team's win against Ohio Friday night, while volleyball's season came to an end in the NCAA Tournament.

Football: The Huskies clinched their first MAC title since 1983 Friday night in Detroit with a 23-20 victory against the Ohio Bobcats. Trailing 20-0 at halftime, NIU engineered a second-half comeback that included three Chandler Harnish touchdown passes and a stout defensive performance. The win, though, was not secured until Mat Sims converted on a 33-yard field goal as time expired. The Huskies will now play Sunday, Jan. 8, 2012, in the GoDaddy.com Bowl against the Sun Belt Conference champion Arkansas State Red Wolves.

Volleyball: Northern Illinois's season came to a close Friday night in Ames, Iowa, as the Huskies were defeated by No. 25 Miami, 3-1, in the first round of the NCAA Tournament. Lauren Wicinski paced the Huskies with 23 kills, while Kristin Hoffman registered a double-double with 47 assists and 13 digs. NIU finishes the season with a 28-7 record.

Men's Basketball: There were two more tough losses for the Huskies during the week, as NIU lost to Utah Valley and Nebraska Omaha. On Monday night, the Huskies were tied with UVU into the second half, but a scoring drought doomed Northern in a 58-47 defeat. In their return home Saturday afternoon, Tim Toler scored 25 points and the team committed a season-low eight turnovers, but the Mavericks' 52 percent shooting performance lifted them to a 77-72 win against NIU.

Women's Basketball: NIU pulled out a close win Tuesday night with a 53-50 win against instate rival Southern Illinois. Trailing 50-49 late, Alicia Johnson sank a jumper with 13 seconds left to put NIU ahead for good. The Huskies were paced by Amanda Corral, who put in 17 points in the win.

Wrestling: The Huskies pushed Purdue to the brink Thursday night in DeKalb, but couldn't pull out a win in a 19-15 loss at the annual NIU Showcase Meet. Trailing 16-9 with three matches left, the Huskies scored wins at 184 and 197 to pull within one point of the Boilermakers. Yet, Jared Torrence's valiant effort at heavyweight was for naught, as Purdue won the final match in triple-overtime to escape with a win.

With finals week in full swing, the schedule becomes very light for the Huskies. Men's basketball plays their lone road game in December Saturday at UIC, while the women's basketball team also heads to the Windy City to face Chicago State Sunday. Meanwhile, track & field kicks off their 2011-12 schedule Friday at the Iowa State Holiday Preview.

With the 2011 MAC Championship game just two days and eight hours away, here are a pair of preview stories to take in to get you set for the game.

Fred Mitchell of the Chicago Tribune talks about the disappointing end for the Huskies' in the 2010 game and how NIU is looking to avenge last year's loss in this story. Matt Trowbridge of the Rockford Register Star Ohio in this story found in today's paper.

Former Northern Illinois safety Tracy Wilson will soon be activated on the New York Jets 53-man roster, according to Head Coach Rex Ryan in the team's weekly press conference on Monday on NewYorkJets.com. Wilson will be activated from the practice squad and replace safety Emmanuel Cook on the roster.

Ryan said about Wilson "He's been doing a great job. [Wilson is] one of the hardest working guys we've got on this team, if not the hardest. So I think that young man's earned it."

For more news and updates as it develops, click here

The Huskies had much to be thankful for during the Thanksgiving weekend, as football clinched the MAC West title for the second-straight season and volleyball earned an at-large bid into the NCAA Tournament.

Football: The Huskies locked up the MAC West championship Friday at Huskie Stadium with a tough 18-12 win against Eastern Michigan. With the offense struggling, the defense stepped up to the occasion with four sacks of EMU QB Alex Gillett, while limiting the Eagles to 280 yards of total offense. Chandler Harnish gave the Huskies the winning points with a 68-yard scamper late in the third quarter.

Volleyball: Northern Illinois closed out their regular season Saturday afternoon with a commanding 3-0 sweep of the Marquette Golden Eagles. NIU held sizable advantages in hitting percentage (.315-.116), blocks (9-1) and kills (41-34) in the victory, which was their second of the season against MU and fourth against Big East opponents. On Sunday, the team learned they would earn a spot in the 64-team NCAA Tournament, where they will face Miami (Fla.) in the first round.

Men's Basketball: Despite shooting over 50 percent from the field in the second half, Northern Illinois was unable to come away with a win Saturday as they fell to Boise State, 71-57, in Taco Bell Arena. Abdel Nader led NIU with 16 points in the game, while Tony Nixon contributed 11 points in the losing effort. The Huskies held a 33-29 rebounding advantage to the Broncos, but also committed 21 turnovers.

Women's Basketball: The Huskies dropped two games against Missouri Valley Conference foes during the week to drop to 2-3 on the young season. The week started with a 50-45 loss to the Bradley Braves, despite Amanda Corral's three treys and seven rebounds. The struggles continued Saturday afternoon with an 81-62 defeat against Illinois State. Ashley Sneed led NIU with 14 points, but ISU's 52.9 field goal percentage was too much to overcome.

Wrestling: Northern Illinois returned to dual action Saturday in Bloomington, Ind., where they went 2-1 at the 2011 Hoosier Duals. The Huskies began the day with a 22-14 victory against Campbell and a 25-7 thrashing of SIU-Edwardsville. However, they would drop their final match of the day against nationally-ranked Indiana, 22-12. Individually, Nick Smith, Tyler Loethen and Brad Dieckhaus won all three of their matches on the day.

With November ending and December beginning, the Huskies will have a big week of competition. The headliners are both Friday, as Football plays Ohio for the MAC Championship at Detroit's Ford Field and volleyball takes on the Miami Hurricanes in the first round of the NCAA Tournament at Hilton Coliseum in Ames, Iowa. Meanwhile, men's basketball plays at Utah Valley Monday and hosts Nebraska-Omaha Saturday, women's basketball takes on Southern Illinois Tuesday, and wrestling hosts Purdue in the annual Showcase Meet.

NIU's offensive line has helped the Huskies put up some incredible numbers this season. Northern Illinois is averaging over 40 points and 500 yards of total offense a game. A number that's even more impressive than those figures are the number of sacks the NIU offensive line has given up this season. As Ryan Wood of the Daily Chronicle writes, the Huskies are on pace to surrender less than 10 sacks this season.

NIU quarterback Chandler Harnish was recognized by Andrea Adelson of ESPN.com in her Non-AQ Weekend Rewind column. The senior signal caller earned a helmet sticker for his record-setting performance against Ball State Tuesday night.

Chandler Harnish, QB, Northern Illinois. Harnish broke the school record for total offense with 519 total yards in a 31-28 win over Ball State on Tuesday night. His 519 total yards is tied for third most by any player in FBS this season. Harnish passed for 338 yards and two touchdowns, and rushed for 181 yards and a touchdown.

Harnish and the Huskies play host to Eastern Michigan Friday at 10 a.m. in search of a MAC West title and a return trip to Detroit. Friday is also Senior Day for Harnish and 18 other Huskie seniors.

This past week was one characterized by big games for NIU Athletics. Football took a step closer to their second-straight MAC title, volleyball tried to take home the MAC Tournament championship and men's soccer advanced to the Round of 32 in the NCAA College Cup.

Football: Northern Illinois trailed by as many as 17 points against the archrival Ball State Cardinals, but an explosive offense and an effective two minute drill helped lift the Huskies to a 41-38 victory over BSU. In the game, Chandler Hanrish set a school record with 519 yards of total offense, while Mathew Sims' two field goals late in the game helped NIU tie then win the Battle for the Bronze Stalk.

Volleyball: For the second straight season, the Huskies came up just short in their quest for the MAC Tournament championship, NIU swept Bowling Green, 3-0, on Friday to advance to the semifinals. There, they took down Ball State, 3-1, to set up a showdown with Central Michigan Sunday afternoon. Yet, it was not meant to be for NIU. After trailing, 2-0, the Huskies stormed back to tie the match a two sets apiece, but the Chippewas would take the decisive fifth set by a 15-11 margin to win the tournament, 3-2.

Men's Basketball: Northern Illinois' struggles continued on the hardwood this week, as the team went 0-3 with two close losses at home and one on the road at Iowa. Monday, NIU nearly pulled off an amazing comeback in the final minutes against Milwaukee, but it was the Panthers who emerged with a 59-57 win. The Huskies then traveled to Iowa City, Iowa, Thursday, where they ran into a hot-shooting Hawkeye team, falling 88-55. The team completed their week at home against Eastern Illinois with a 67-55 loss to the Panthers.

Women's Basketball: The Huskies went two-for-two in DeKalb this week with two exciting wins in the Convocation Center. On Wednesday, NIU went to double overtime against Western Illinois before taking a 91-84 decision against the Leathernecks. In the game, six Huskies scored in double figures. Northern followed that up with an impressive 58-52 win against the Temple Owls, a team that was nationally-ranked a season ago.

Men's Soccer: Northern Illinois' season came to a close this past week in the NCAA College Cup, as the team advanced to the Round of 32 before bowing out. The Huskies opened up their tournament with a bang Thursday with a 3-0 win against Western Illinois in the tournament's opening round. NIU's defense played a major factor in the game, allowing the Leathernecks only one shot on goal the whole 90 minutes. That run, however, came to an abrupt halt on Sunday, as the Creighton Bluejays used their nationally-ranked defensive unit to stop the Huskies, 3-0.

The Huskies' schedule for Thanksgiving week includes a trio of games sandwiched around Turkey Day. On Wednesday, the women's basketball team will welcome Bradley to the Convo for a Thanksgiving Eve tilt at 7 p.m. Then on Friday, football will try to clinch the MAC West championship and a spot in the Marathon MAC Championship game at 10 a.m. when they face the Eagles of Eastern Michigan. The Huskies' Thanksgiving homestand wraps up Saturday afternoon when volleyball takes on BIG EAST power Marquette at 4 p.m. inside Victor E. Court. Additionally, wrestling travels to Bloomington, Ind., for the Hoosier Duals and basketball heads west for a Saturday night game against Boise State.

The Northern Illinois University football team received 10 points in the USA Today Coaches Poll released yesterday. It's the most points in the poll for NIU since Week 2 when the Huskies had 13 points in the poll. NIU is in the midst of a six-game winning streak and plays host to Eastern Michigan Friday at 10 a.m. at Huskie Stadium.

It's gameday here at Northern Illinois University as the Huskies face off against Ball State in a battle for the "Bronze Stalk." Kickoff is set for 7 p.m. tonight on ESPNU. Fred Mitchell of the Chicago Tribune breaks down the match up in his preview story in today's paper, while Lacy Banks of the Sun-Times talks about the incredible season Chandler Harnish is having in his piece. Ryan Wood of the Daily Chronicle profiles former Ball State assistant coach and Muncie native Eddie Faulkner on facing his old school in this story.

It was a monumental week for Northern Illinois athletics, as the men's soccer team won the MAC Tournament championship - earning a berth in the NCAA Tournament in the process - and the volleyball team won the MAC West Division and regular season titles.

Football: The Huskie offense kept up their offensive momentum Tuesday against Bowling Green with a 45-14 thrashing of the Falcons. Chandler Harnish led the NIU attack with 294 yards passing and 151 on the ground, while the entire offense accumulated 623 total yards on the BGSU defense. On the other side of the line, the Huskie defense shut out the Falcon offense in the second half, limiting them to a measly 90 yards in the last 30 minutes of the game.

Volleyball: Northern Illinois went 2-0 during the week to clinch the 2011 MAC regular season championship and the top seed in this week's MAC Tournament. On Thursday, the team traveled to Kalamazoo, Mich., where they dispatched the Western Michigan Broncos, 3-1, to wrap up the MAC title. The Huskies extended their winning streak to 13 matches Saturday with a hard-fought 3-2 win against Bowling Green.

Men's Basketball: NIU opened their regular season Friday night in West Lafayette, Ind., where they fell to the Purdue Boilermakers, 96-34, in the rededication of Mackey Arena. Tim Toler paced the Huskie offense with 11 points on the night, while Freshman wing Abdel Nader added nine points and freshman forward Kevin Gray grabbed a game-high seven rebounds.

Women's Basketball: The Huskies dropped two games during the week to open their 2011-12 season. Tuesday, the team lost in an exhibition game against Indiana Wesleyan, 61-52, as NIU struggled to find any offense. They followed that up Sunday by dropping a 73-42 decision in Chicago against the Ramblers of Loyola. Ashley Sneed led NIU with a career-high 12 points on the day.

Men's Soccer: Northern Illinois brought home the MAC Tournament championship and an automatic berth into the NCAA Tournament over the weekend with a pair of wins in Akron, Ohio. In the semifinals Friday, the Huskies used a Gael Rivera second half goal to get past Buffalo, 1-0, meaning they would face fourth-seeded Western Michigan, who upset top-seed Akron on penalty kicks earlier in the day. Sunday's title match also came down to the wire, but Sean Totsch found the back of the WMU net with 6:40 left in regulation to win, 1-0. NIU's NCAA Tournament opponent will be determined Monday afternoon on NCAA.com.

Wrestling: Northern Illinois put two wrestlers on the podium Saturday at the Michigan State Open, as Nick Smith and Rob Jillard both took top four finishes in East Lansing, Mich. Smith, who was competing less than two hours from his hometown of Ida, Mich., advanced all the way to the finals after winning three matches at 125. However, he would fall in the championship to Northwestern's Levi Mele. Jillard finished fourth at 133 after making it to the semifinals with two dominating wins.

Cross Country: The NIU cross country team closed out their 2011 season Saturday when they hosted the 2011 NCAA Midwest Regional. The team finished 28th behind Courtney Oldenburg's time of 23:21.16 on the 6K NIU North 40 to finish 121st. Further behind the junior was freshman Jamie Burr, who posted a season-best second place showing among Huskie runners with a time of 24:25.02 to take 164th overall.

Northern will have at least one team competing every day this week, including a host of games in DeKalb. Football highlights the week with a Tuesday night showdown against Ball State at Huskie Stadium in the Battle for the Bronze stalk. In addition, men's and women's basketball each have a pair of home games, including a doubleheader Sunday, while men's soccer will learn their opponent for Thursday's first round Monday afternoon. The top-seeded women's volleyball team will head east to Geneva, Ohio, to compete in the MAC Tournament.

The Northern Illinois University football team won its fifth-straight and third straight road game as the Huskies posted a 45-14 victory over Bowling Green Tuesday night. Lacy Banks of the Chicago Sun-Times was at the game and filed this report. The Daily Chronicle and the Chicago Tribune also had recaps of the game as well. Scott Powers of ESPNChicago.com posted this story right after the game, complete with highlights from the Worldwide Leader in sports. ESPN's coverage continued with its analysis posting this video from commentators Ray Bentley and Mark Neely after the game.
 

The Northern Illinois University football team is back in northeast Ohio this week. This time, the Huskies face Mid-American Conference East foe Bowling Green tonight at 7 p.m. on ESPN2. NIU edged out the Falcons, 16-13, when the two met at Huskie Stadium in 2008. Below are a few preview stories to get you prepped for tonight's game.

Chicago Tribune: Team controls its own destiny

Daily Chronicle: Huskies say they're not looking past Falcons

Sun-Times: Northern Illinois defense needs to give offense a break

Rockford Register Star: NIU faces final road test tonight at Bowling Green

With the move into November, Northern Illinois also began the transition to its winter sports schedule with men's basketball and wrestling opening their schedules and football, men's soccer and volleyball entering the home stretch of their respective slates.

Football: It was a wild game in Toledo's Glass Bowl between NIU and the Rockets, but it was the Huskies who emerged victorious by a 63-60 score. Trailing by four late in the fourth quarter, Huskie QB Chandler Harnish found Perez Ashford in the back corner of the endzone with 19 seconds left to give NIU the win, a share of the MAC West lead and bowl eligibility. Among the standout performances were Harnish's career-high six touchdown passes - three of which went to Nathan Palmer - and Tommylee Lewis' two kickoff returns for touchdowns.

Volleyball: Northern Illinois earned its 22nd and 23rd wins of the season and extended their current winning streak to 11 over the weekend at Victor E. Court with victories over MAC West rivals Toledo and Ball State. On Friday, the Huskies used a .429-.256 hitting percentage advantage and nine aces to defeat the Rockets, 3-0. NIU earned a critical 3-0 win Saturday night to push themselves into a tie for first place with Western Michigan.

Men's Basketball: The young Huskies squad showed signs of promise during Friday's exhibition against Carthage College, but it was the Red Men's 13 three-pointers that doomed NIU in Carthage's 74-70 overtime win at the Convocation Center. Abdel Naber put up a double-double with 18 points and 11 rebounds, while Tim Toler scored 17 points and grabbed seven rebounds in the loss.

Men's Soccer: Northern Illinois wrapped up their 2011 regular season schedule by splitting a pair of road matches. The Huskies outshot Milwaukee Wednesday, 21-10, but were unable to fin the back of the net in a 1-0 non-conference loss, ceding control of the Lewang Cup. Northern would return to their winning ways on Saturday, though, with a crucial 2-1 win against the Hartwick Hawks. The victory gave NIU the No. 2 seed in this weekend's MAC Tournament in Akron.

Wrestling: The Huskies opened their 2011-12 regular season with a split in the triangular with North Central and No. 21 Stanford. After a sluggish start, NIU posted four straight wins to take a 30-15 decision against the North Central Cardinals. Later, Northern dropped a tough one to the nationally-ranked Cardinal, 20-13, after leading 13-7 through six matches.

NIU enters the thick of November with a busy week coming up. On Tuesday, the football team travels to Bowling Green to take on the Falcons and women's basketball takes on Indiana Wesleyan in the Convocation Center in exhibition action. In addition, volleyball closes out their regular season with two big road matches at Western Michigan and Bowling Green, men's soccer heads to the MAC Tournament, wrestling competes in the Michigan State Open, and both basketball teams open their regular seasons on the road (men at Purdue; women at Loyola).

There is a great story in the Rockford Register Star today by Matt Trowbridge on Northern Illinois quarterback Chandler Harnish. A first team All-MAC selection in 2010, Harnish has been the face of NIU football for the last two seasons and he is looking to close out his final campaign with a MAC championship. Be sure to check it out.

One of Chandler Harnish's favorite groups to work with in the DeKalb-Sycamore area is the Cornerstone Christian Academy. Harnish took part in a fundraiser at the school Wednesday which as of Wednesday had raised $25,000 for tuition assistance to Cornerstone Christian Academy. The Daily-Chronicle was out at CCA and caught up with the Huskie signal caller in this piece.

Mike Salerno is back kicking in the Chicago area. The Orland Park native signed a deal to kick for the Chicago Rush of the Arena Football League. Salerno, who kicked for NIU from 2008-09, scored 184 points hitting 73 extra points and going 19-of-25 on field goals. He kicked a career long 52 yarder for the Huskies in 2008.

The Rush will be Salerno's third AFL team. He kicked for the Kansas City Command in 2011 and the Oklahoma City Yard Dawgz in 2010. Salerno and the Rush open their 2012 season Sunday, March 11th against the Tampa Bay Storm.

From the where are they now file, I received this note from former Huskie center McAllister Collins Saturday afternoon. Collins, who played for the Huskies from 1997-2000, was a first team All-Mid-American Conference selection in 2000 and he was teammates with Huskie greats Justin McCariens, Ryan Diem and Thomas Hammock.

Collins, who is attending the prestigious Royal Military Academy - Sandhurst, met up with another former Huskie last week - Chad Spann. Spann, who had just signed with the Tampa Bay Buccaneers last week, was on the trip to London where the Buccaneers faced off against the Chicago Bears. It was a reunion of sorts as the two had met before Spann had attended Northern Illinois.

My name is McAllister Collins and I will ALWAYS be a proud Huskie!  Upon departing from NIU I enjoyed a brief stint in the National Football League which was followed by continued work within the sports industry.  A couple years ago, I decided to "answer the call" and am now a Military Intelligence (Branch Detail - FIeld Artillery) Officer in the United States Army.  I was selected (from hundreds of potential candidates) and am now attending the Royal Military Academy - Sandhurst (RMAS).  RMAS is essentially the "West Point" for the British Army, except it is the sole commissioning source of British Army Officers.  As I am sure you are aware, in The United States, we also have ROTC and Officer Candidate School (OCS). 

 

Since I am one of only 10 Americans who have ever attended Sandhurst in the Academy's long, proud history, the administrators here try their best to get me involved in anything occurring closeby that is of American origin.  As such, we attended practice with the Tampa Bay Buccaneers on Thursday (October 20) in preparation for their matchup against the Chicago Bears this Sunday at Wembley Stadium in London.  You can only imagine the joy I felt in my heart when I saw NIU's very own, Chad Spann, walking off of the practice field.  I actually met Chad back in his hometown years prior during a mentoring program run by a service organization in which I am a former member.  I introduced myself to him all those years ago when he mentioned that his goal was to attend Northern Illinois University and play football.  As a former Huskie football player myself ('97-'00, DT, OT, C), I became somewhat of an advisor for Chad and his family.  Who would have thought that over five years later, Chad and I would meet again in one of the most unlikely places. 

 

I have attached a photo of Chad and myself.  It's always great to see and meet new (and old) Huskies all over the world.

 

Go Huskies!

2LT McAllister Collins, Field Artillery

NIU Football - 1997-2000

 

By the way, of course I'm rooting for the Bears!!!!

It was clearly a successful week for Northern Illinois, as they won all but two games during the past week. Meanwhile, men's golf and women's tennis posted excellent performances in their final competitions of the fall season

Football: After building a 31-10 lead through three quarters, the Huskies held on to beat Buffalo Saturday, 31-30, when the Bulls missed what would have been the tying extra point with 14 seconds to go. During the game, Chandler Harnish broke another NIU career record by surpassing George Bork's completion record in the second quarter. On defense, the Huskies picked off two passes and recovered two muffed punt returns.

Volleyball: Northern Illinois pushed their winning streak to seven with two dominating wins over MAC East opponents over the weekend. On Friday, the Huskies blanked Kent State, 3-0, courtesy of 51 kills and a 33.6 hitting percentage. NIU repeated that performance Saturday against MAC East leader Ohio, sweeping the Bobcats, 3-0, in a rematch of last season's MAC Tournament championship.

Men's Soccer: NIU posted their first two wins in MAC play during the week to improve to 2-2 in conference and 10-4 overall. On Wednesday, the Huskies used two second half goals from James Stevenson and solid goaltending from Jordan Godsey to shut out Western Michigan, 3-0. For Sunday's Senior Day, it was Stevenson again who was the hero, finding the back of the net in the 41st minute to lift Northern past Florida Atlantic, 1-0.

Women's Soccer: The Huskies wrapped up the road portion of their schedule over the weekend, dropping two matches in Ohio. Against Miami (Ohio), the Huskies fell 3-0 after being outshot 19-8 in the match. The team's struggles continued Sunday, when they fell to Bowling Green by a 2-0 margin despite holding the Falcons without a shot in the first half.

Men's Golf: Northern Illinois traveled to Maryland Monday and Tuesday for the Georgetown Intercollegiate, placing seventh out of 12 teams. Bryce Emory paced the Huskies with a third place finish individually, while Matt Gorman took 27th place. The tournament was NIU's last for the fall season, as they will return to action in February for the MAC Match Play tournament.

Women's Tennis: The Huskies put the finishing touches on their 2011 fall season over the weekend, as they hosted the ITA Second Chance Regional in Rockford, Ill. In singles, the team posted eight wins over the weekend, while they were 4-2 in doubles play.

It will be a relatively light week for NIU Athletics, as only five teams will be in action. In DeKalb, women's soccer wraps up their season with a match Thursday against Western Michigan and wrestling begins their season Saturday with the annual Wrestle-Offs. Also, volleyball heads east to face Central Michigan and Eastern Michigan, men's soccer battles Bowling Green Saturday and cross country competes in the MAC Championships in Muncie, Ind.

The Northern Illinois University defense has shown vast improvements in the last two games, allowing an average of 16 points per game and keeping teams under 200 yards of total offense. That's quite a change from the 39.6 points and 499.8 yards of total offense allowed a game in the first five contests.

Mike McGraw of the Daily Herald breaks down the Huskies' improvement on the defensive side of the ball in this article in today's paper.

Chandler Harnish's double-double Saturday was an amazing feat. He became just the 10th player in NCAA FBS history to rush for 200 yards and pass for 200 yards tallying 229 yards rush and 203 yards passing. As Fred Mitchell of the Chicago Tribune writes, Harnish, the Huskies' leading rusher with 671 yards, is just as dangerous with his legs than he is his arm.

Ryan Wood of the Daily Chronicle also offered his take on Harnish's running ability in this story found in today's paper.

Many teams in college football are employ a two quarterback offense and Northern Illinois University is no exception. Chandler Harnish and Jordan Lynch provide a nice one-two punch for the Huskie offense. As Rick Armstrong of the Beacon News writes, the playing time Lynch is receiving now is not only paying dividends this season, but it will also pay off in the future.

There are a pair of stories in the Rockford Register Star today Huskie fans might be interested in. Jay Taft talks about how Chandler Harnish and the Huskies' performance Saturday against Western Michigan has vaulted them back into MAC title contention. Taft's colleague, Matt Trowbridge, filed this story on the guys that protect Harnish and open holes for Huskie running backs.

Another former Northern Illinois University football player was signed by an NFL squad. A week after Tracy Wilson was signed to the New York Jets practice, the Tampa Bay Buccaneers announced the signing of Chad Spann to the Buccaneer practice squad. Spann was on the team flight to London, England where the Bucs will face the Bears. Good thing Spann had his passport in order after the Huskies trip to Toronto for the 2010 International Bowl.

Chandler Harnish's performance Saturday against Western Michigan made national news for the senior signal caller. It made Mark Schlabach's On the Mark portion of his column on ESPN.com today.

• Northern Illinois quarterback Chandler Harnish, a senior from Bluffton, Ind., became only the 10th player in FBS history to both run and pass for 200 yards in the same game. Harnish had 203 yards on 14-for-27 passing and ran for 229 on 14 attempts in a 51-22 rout of Western Michigan on Saturday. Harnish only played three quarters and ran for 163 yards in the third quarter alone.

Among the other players who accomplished the rare feat: former Texas quarterback Vince Young against Oklahoma State in 2005; ex-West Virginia star Pat White against Pittsburgh in 2006; and Michigan's Denard Robinson against both Notre Dame and Indiana last season.

Many of the experts predicted a high-scoring game before Northern Illinois University's game with Western Michigan Saturday, but no one expected it to be so lopsided. The Huskies delivered an impressive 51-22 victory over the Broncos in NIU's 105th Homecoming game.  

In addition to complete coverage on NIUHuskies.com, several area papers were at the game. Most of the stories centered around NIU's amazing offensive explosion, keyed by the incredible performance by NIU quarterback Chandler Harnish. Below are the links to all the game recaps.

Chicago Tribune: NIU routs Western Michigan 51-22

Sun Times: NIU's Chandler Harnish runs for 229 yards, throws for 203

Beacon News: Harnish no one-trick pony

Daily Chronicle: The adjustment bureau

Daily Chronicle: Huskies get defensive in win

Rockford Register Star: Chandler Harnish, Huskies steamroll key conference foe

The middle week of October was a successful one for NIU Athletics. The hallmark moment was off the field, though, as the Kenneth and Ellen Chessick Practice Center Campaign kicked off Saturday before the Huskie football team took on Western Michigan for Homecoming. The 83,500 square foot facility will house a full-size, 120-yard artificial surface football practice field with buffer space surrounding the field on all sides, in addition to a four-lane track, batting cages, and storage cages, among other amenities.

Football: It was a very successful Homecoming for the Huskies, as NIU throttled West Division rival Western Michigan, 51-22. Northern accumulated 697 yards of total offense against the Broncos, including 494 on the ground. In addition, Chandler Harnish became the 11th quarterback in the NCAA's Football Bowl Subdivision history to gain 200 yards rushing and passing in the same game.

Volleyball: Northern Illinois earned their second consecutive 2-0 weekend with two key wins over MAC East foes Akron and Buffalo. On Friday, the Huskies were pushed to five sets against the Zips, but used a commanding fifth set to propel them to a 3-2 win over UA. NIU returned to the court Saturday night against Buffalo, defeating the Bulls in a 3-0 sweep. Sophomore Lauren Wicinski led the Huskie attack with a career-high seven aces.

Men's Soccer: NIU traveled to Northwestern in their lone match of the week Wednesday. Despite solid defense in the first half and some chances on offense, the Wildcats dropped the Huskies at Lakeside Field, 2-0. The loss was the first for NIU against a Big Ten opponent in over two years.

Women's Soccer: It was a heartbreaking two matches for the Huskies, as they were dealt two one-goal losses at home. On Friday, NIU lost to Eastern Michigan, 1-0, on a windy day at the NIU Soccer Complex. The Huskies returned to action Sunday afternoon with a match against defending MAC champion Central Michigan. Despite limiting the Chippewas' offense to only seven shots on goal, Northern still dropped the match, 1-0.

Cross Country: The Huskies wrapped up their 2011 regular season with a 14th place out of 21 teams showing at the Bradley Classic in Peoria, Ill. Courtney Oldenburg led the way for NIU with a time of 22:42.09, which ranks as the 12th best 6K time in NIU history.

Men's Tennis: NIU headed east to Columbus, Ohio, for the ITA Midwest Regionals. In the main draws, Axel Lagerlof advanced to the Round of 32 before falling to 15th-seeded Stephen Hoh of Illinois in straight sets. In doubles, Maksym Bartiuk and Roman Turtygin also advanced to the Round of 32, but fell to Ohio State's 12th-ranked duo of Kevin Metka and Steven Williams, 8-1.

Women's Golf: Northern Illinois could not solve the Hawthornes Golf and Country Club course Monday and Tuesday in Fishers, Ind., as they placed 14th at the MAC Preview. Allie Parthie led NIU tied for 72nd place with a 171-shot performance.

Six Huskie teams will be in action during the upcoming week, including a pair of men's soccer matches at the NIU Soccer Complex Wednesday and Sunday and volleyball hosting Kent State and MAC-leading Ohio at Victor E. Court.

As Mike McGraw of the Daily Herald writes in his preview today, Saturday's 105th Homecoming Game between Northern Illinois and Western Michigan is going to be a showcase for two of the best quarterbacks in the nation. WMU's Alex Carder and Chandler Harnish are 1-2 in the MAC in total offense. It's also a big game for both team's hopes of reaching Detroit for the MAC Championship game.

Rick Armstrong of the Beacon News gave his take on the quarterback duel in this preview that appeared in today's edition.

Congratulations go out to former Northern Illinois University safety Tracy Wilson, who was signed to the Jets practice squad. He originally signed with the Jets Aug 24 as an undrafted free agent. Wilson appeared in the final two preseason games for New York. Wilson played three years at NIU, tallying 171 tackles in 32 games played.

The Northern Illinois University defense turned in its best performance of the season, giving up three points and allowing 64 yards of total offense, including one yard rushing, in the Huskies' 40-10 victory over Kent State. As Fred Mitchell of the Chicago Tribune writes, maintaining that level of play will be the key for the Huskies' success against Western Michigan.

Northern Illinois University placekicker Mathew Sims was named a "Star of the Week" by the Lou Groza National Collegiate Place-Kicker Award. The sophomore from Hannibal, Mo. was a perfect four-for-four Saturday in NIU's 40-10 victory over Kent State. Sims connected on field goals of 31, 32, 44 and 34. I was his second consecutive four field goal performance and the first four-for-four day of his career. His 44-yarder ties a career high set earlier this season against Cal Poly. Sims is now 10-of-13 on the season in field goals and is 26-of-27 on PATs.

Five Huskie teams were in action during the past week. Among the highlights were Saturday's football win over Kent State and volleyball's two wins in conference play.

Football: Northern Illinois returned to Huskie Stadium Saturday to post a dominating 40-10 victory over Kent State. The Huskie defense only allowed seven rushing yards and 70 yards of total offense on the day, while recording 14 tackles for loss and seven sacks in the rout. Chandler Harnish found the endzone twice and Matthew Sims was a perfect four-for-four on field goals.

Volleyball: The Huskies won both of their matches during the week to improve to 4-2 in MAC play. On Thursday, NIU swept Western Michigan, 3-0, while sophomore Lauren Wicinski became the fastest Huskie to join the 1,000 kill club. Northern doubled Thursday's performance Saturday night by topping Miami (Ohio), 3-0, on NIU Volleyball Alumni Night.

Men's Soccer: The Huskies kicked off a three-game road trip Tuesday when they headed north to face Marquette. After going scoreless in regulation and in the first overtime, Jayson LeSeth launched a shot into the right corner of the MU net to win it for the Huskies, 1-0. NIU then traveled east to face defending NCAA champion Akron, where they fell to the No. 3 Zips, 2-0.

Women's Soccer: Northern Illinois tallied their first MAC win of the season Friday night, when they defeated Buffalo, 1-0. Lauren Eberts scored the lone goal with a marker in the 67th minute. On Sunday, NIU and Kent State combined for five goals in the match. However, KSU's two scores in the final four minutes of play edged them ahead of NIU, 3-2.

Women's Golf: The Huskies closed out their home tournament on Monday by placing seventh in the 12-team field. Allie Parthie paced NIU with a tie for ninth place, while Kelsie Passolt and Katie Kuhn both posted top 30 finishes at the Kishwaukee Country Club.

Northern Illinois' homecoming week will feature seven teams in action, including Saturday's crucial football game against Western Michigan and two home women's soccer matches.

Part II of Ryan Wood's two-part story on the journey Donovan Gordon and Tim Semisch took to Northern Illinois University after the football program at Nebraska-Omaha was cut. As the story points out, both men arrived at NIU, but took different paths to get here.

Ryan Wood of the Daily Chronicle sat down with a pair of unlikely Huskies, Donovan Gordon and Tim Semisch. Both were football players at Nebraska-Omaha until the school decided to cut its successful football and wrestling programs.When the two were looking for schools to further their education and football playing careers, they chose Northern Illinois. Thursday's story is part one of a two-part story on the events that transpired to bring the two to NIU.

As Ryan Wood of the Daily Chronicle writes in this feature, Dave Doeren is adjusting well to his role as a head coach. Doeren, who came to NIU after serving as defensive coordinator at Wisconsin is in his first head coach position and understands his role.

"I think the process I'm going through as a head coach, you always want to do more," Doeren said. "You have to decide, at what point are you being a master of nothing? If I try to do everything, I'm not helping anybody."

The Northern Illinois University football team opens Mid-American Conference play Saturday in Mt. Pleasant, Mich. when the Huskies take on Central Michigan. At Tuesday's weekly press conference, NIU head coach Dave Doeren spoke about the respect NIU has for Central Michigan and what they've accomplished, winning the MAC title in three of the last five years, and how the Huskies would like to enjoy the same success.

As Fred Mitchell of the Chicago Tribune writes, Doeren has sought out the guidance of some of his current assistant coaches and reached out to former Huskie head man Joe Novak. You will also find the game recap from Saturday's win over Cal Poly in the related topics box within that story.

Ryan Wood of the Daily Chronicle delves a little deeper into Doeren's education on Central Michigan and the MAC as running backs coach Eddie Faulkner reminisces about some of his trips to Central Michigan during his eight years at Ball State in this story.

Six Huskie teams were in action during the last full week of September, including volleyball opening MAC action at home and football closing up their non-conference slate against Cal Poly.

Football: Northern Illinois got back on track Saturday with a convincing 47-30 victory over Cal Poly. The Huskie offense set season-highs in first downs (33), rushing yards (355) and total yards (542), while the defense only allowed seven points in the first half to help NIU to a 34-7 halftime advantage. During the game, quarterback Chandler Harnish broke George Bork's 48-year record of touchdowns accounted for when he hit Perez Ashford on a three-yard touchdown pass late in the second quarter.

Volleyball: The Huskies split their conference-opening matches over the weekend at Victor E. Court. NIU won only their second conference opener in 10 years on Friday with a 3-0 sweep of Central Michigan, extending their win streak to four and stopping CMU's win streak at four. That Huskie win streak, though, was snapped on Saturday night, as Eastern Michigan left DeKalb with a 3-1 victory over NIU.

Men's Soccer: Northern Illinois improved to 7-1 on the season Saturday with a 1-0 win over the Drake Bulldogs. The lone goal of the game came from the foot of James Stevenson, who pushed a shot past Drake goalkeeper Jordan Kadlec in the 26th minute. Jordan Godsey was again stellar in net with seven saves on the day.

Women's Soccer: NIU fought long and hard on Friday and Sunday, but lost both matches on their MAC opening weekend. The Huskies welcomed conference favorite Toledo to DeKalb on Friday and took them to overtime before falling 1-0 on an overtime goal by the Rockets. Their struggles continued on Sunday, as they dropped a 3-0 decision to Ball State.

Men's Golf: The Northern Illinois men's golf team headed to southern California for the Saint Mary's Invitational on Monday and Tuesday, where they finished tied for 13th with Pacific. Bryce Emory led NIU with a +10, 226 to finish tied for 31st overall, while Nick Schiavi was tied for 33rd with a +11, 227 performance.

Men's Tennis: The Huskies headed to Des Moines, Iowa, for the Drake Invitational over the weekend. Axel Lagerlof highlighted NIU's weekend by advancing to the A Bracket finals before falling to Drake's Anis Ghorbel 6-2, 6-2. The Swede also won the doubles consolation bracket, teaming up with Max Phillips to go 2-1 in the doubles side.

The Huskies will wrap up September and begin October this week with a host of competitions. Both soccer team's will be in action Friday through Sunday, while the women's golf team hosts the NIU Huskie Classic Sunday and Monday.

At Tuesday's weekly press conference, NIU head coach Dave Doeren and a few Huskie players met the media at the weekly press conference. Doeren looked back at the Wisconsin game, but quickly turned his attention to the task at hand - Cal Poly. Fred Mitchell of the Chicago Tribune and Lindsey Willhite of the Daily Herald talked about NIU moving on from the loss.

Willhite pointed out in his story the Huskies 1-2 record is the same mark they had after three games last year. He also talks about the growing pains the NIU defense, which returns just two starters, is going through right now.

Mitchell talked about NIU's seniors taking control of the team as soon as they arrived back on campus in his piece. He also includes a video interview with Associate Vice President/Director of Athletics Jeff Compher regarding the $3 million gift the department received to build its indoor practice facility.

In his press conference wrap up, Ryan Wood of the Daily Chronicle talked about the uniqueness of facing a triple-option offense this often in this day and age of college football and how facing Army in the season opener may give the Huskies a bit of an edge.
 

It was an eventful week in Huskie athletics, as six teams were in action during the past week. The main event, of course, was the Soldier Field Showdown II between NIU and No. 7 Wisconsin, where 41,068 people watched the Huskies and Badgers play inside the historic Chicago stadium.

Football: Keyed by 384 yards of total offense from QB Russell Wilson, Wisconsin defeated Northern Illinois, 49-7, at Soldier Field. The Huskie offense, meanwhile, could only manage 237 yards of total offense against the stout UW defense. During the game, Dr. Kenneth and Ellen Chessick made a $3 million gift to Northern Illinois Athletics that will name the Kenneth and Ellen Chessick Indoor Facility. The gift is the largest ever made to NIU Athletics and the second largest ever made to the university.

Volleyball: Northern Illinois won their second and third straight matches over the weekend, as they returned to Victor E. Court to face UIC and South Florida. On Friday night, the Huskies doused the in-state rival Flames in a 3-0 sweep, as they outhit UIC .371-.103. On Sunday afternoon, NIU moved to 3-0 against Big East teams with a 3-0 win over the USF Bulls. On the season, eight of NIU's 11 wins have come by sweeps.

Men's Soccer: The No. 13 Huskies went down to the wire twice over the weekend at the Northwestern Lakeside Classic, encountering different results both times. On Friday, NIU was shocked in overtime by Xavier, who used an overtime marker to defeat the Huskies, 2-1. Northern got back on track Sunday afternoon, though, as Gael Rivera's overtime goal sent the Huskies home with a 2-1 win over Cal-Davis.

Women's Soccer: The Huskies turned up the defense in two home matches over the weekend at the NIU Soccer Complex. On Tuesday, NIU outshot Eastern Illinois, 24-7, but was unable to reach the back of the net in a 0-0 tie with the Panthers. NIU would redeem themselves for Sunday's Senior Day festivities with a dominating 2-0 shutout of Loyola to earn their first win of the season.

Women's Golf: The Northern Illinois women's golf team teed off on their 2011 fall season with two tournaments in neighboring states. On Monday and Tuesday, the Huskies took fourth place at the Green Bay Invitational in Green Bay, Wis., with Katie Kuhn leading all Huskies with a total of 149. The squad returned to action over the weekend at the Cardinal Classic in Munice, Ind. with an eighth place finish.

Men's Tennis: Northern Illinois began their fall schedule over the weekend in River Forest, Ill., at the River Forest Collegiate Invitational. Leading NIU on the courts were Maksym Bartiuk and Axel Lagerlof, who both emerged from singles competition undefeated.

With the men's golf team currently in action in sunny California, six teams will be in action over the next week, including football hosting Cal Poly Saturday afternoon and women's soccer and volley each hosting a pair of matches in DeKalb.

Wisconsin native Scott Wedige has flourished the last two seasons since taking over as the starting center for the Huskies at the beginning of the last season. After serving as a back up his first two years at NIU, Wedige has become a leader on the NIU offense. As Scott Powers writes in this feature story posted late Friday, Wedige is also a solid NFL prospect.

Ryan Wood of the Daily Chronicle offers his take on NIU head coach Dave Doeren facing his old team. He talks about Doeren's relationships with many of the Badger coaches that go beyond their time together at Wisconsin.

The Daily Herald has a pair of articles in today's paper you might want to check out today. Mike McGraw filed this story on Northern Illinois' up-tempo offense, while Lindsey Willhite talks about Dave Doeren's standing summer vacation plans with his old boss, Bret Bielema. Willhite also has some news and notes about tomorrow's game with the Badgers at the end of that same piece.

Chicago Tribune columnist David Haugh took a trip out to DeKalb yesterday to sit down with NIU head football coach Dave Doeren. The two spoke of Doeren's adjustment to being a head coach, his desire to broaden the NIU fan base and facing his old team at Soldier Field tomorrow. It's a must read for any Huskie fan.

Jay Taft of the Rockford Register Star posted this story on how NIU has to overcome its disappointing loss to Kansas to face Wisconsin of Saturday at Soldier Field. Rick Armstrong of the Beacon News talks about the many NIU-Wisconsin story lines including center and Wisconsin-native Scott Wedige in his preview story.

While many fans are still fighting off the sting of losing in the final seconds to Kansas, the members of the NIU football team have moved on.

"I know for us, it's a 24-hour rule after a loss," Wedige said. "Even after a win, 24 hours. You can't get too high, you can't get too low. You've got to move on because if you hold onto that loss or that win, it's going to effect you the next week. You can't have a hangover from the past weeks."

As Ryan Wood of the Daily Chronicle writes, NIU head coach Dave Doeren told his players to forget about the Kansas game and start thinking about Wisconsin. That's just what the Huskies did getting into the film room and hitting the practice field Sunday.

NIU head coach Dave Doeren returned to one of his old stomping grounds this past weekend when the Huskies traveled to Kansas to face the Jayhawks. This week, he will look across the sidelines and see a lot of familiar faces when Northern Illinois plays host to Wisconsin at Soldier Field Saturday.

Doeren spent five seasons at Wisconsin, serving as defensive coordinator for Bret Bielema. Adam Rittenberg of ESPN.com delves further into Doeren's time in Madison in his blog post yesterday, while Fred Mitchell of the Chicago Tribune posted this story on Doeren's familiarity with Wisconsin and how the team has responded after the disappointing setback to Kansas.

On Wednesday morning at 8:20 a.m., tune in to NIU radio partner 670 AM The Score Chicago to hear head coaches Dave Doeren of Northern Illinois and Bret Bielema of Wisconsin discuss Saturday's match-up at Soldier Field on the "Mully and Hanley Show." 

Doeren and Bielema will be on the show together to promote Soldier Field Showdown II.  Tickets are still on sale for the game, as Northern Illinois plays host to a Big Ten team for just the second time in school history.  Click on the "Buy Tickets" button at the top of this page or call Ticketmaster at 1-800-745-3000.

Doeren has been plenty busy, and is still popular, north of the Illinois border.  The Huskies' first year head man taped segments with five different radio shows Tuesday, including stations in Madison, Janesville/Rockford and Milwaukee.

Hey Huskie football fans,

As most of you probably already know, a trio of student-athletes on this year's squad garnered preseason accolades on college football's major award lists. Below is a multitude of links with easy access to the award pages, Facebook and Twitter pages. Be sure to vote for the Huskies, bookmark and follow the pages.

Fan voting is currently open for the Davey O'Brien Award. Should quarterback Chandler Harnish advance to the semifinals, fan voting will be available.

Each award is listed below, with the players nominated in parentheses next to it.

Davey O'Brien Award (Chandler Harnish)

www.daveyobrien.com | www.voteobrien.org | www.facebook.com/daveyobrien | www.twitter.com/daveyobrien

Lowe's Senior CLASS Award (Chandler Harnish)

www.seniorclassaward.com/football | www.facebook.com/LowesSeniorCLASSAward | www.twitter.com/snrclassaward | www.seniorclassaward.com/vote *

* - Voting currently unavailable on Senior CLASS Award

Maxwell Award (Chandler Harnish)

www.maxwellfootballclub.org/maxwell-award | www.twitter.com/Maxwell_MW | www.facebook.com/MaxwellFootballClub

Manning Award (Chandler Harnish)

www.allstatesugarbowl.org/site26.php | www.twitter.com/SugarBowlNola | www.facebook.com/allstatesugarbowl

Rimington Trophy (Trevor Olson)

www.twitter.com/rimingtontrophy | www.rimingtontrophy.com | www.facebook.com/rimingtontrophy | www.rimingtontrophyblog.com | www.twitter.com/cysticfibrosis

Outland Trophy (Trevor Olson)

www.outlandtrophy.com | www.twitter.com/fwaa

Lombardi Trophy (Scott Wedige)

www.rotarylomardiaward.com | www.twitter.com/lombardiaward | www.rotarylombardiaward.blogspot.com

The Chicago Tribune, Sun-Times and Daily Chronicle all sent reporters to Lawrence, Kan. for the Huskies' first road game of the season. Fred Mitchell was on site for the Trib and filed this game story, while the Sun-Times Lacy Banks offered his take on Saturday's outcome. Ryan Wood of the Chronicle posted this story after the game.

One of the biggest plays of Saturday's win over Army that was lost in the seven touchdown barrage the Huskies delivered on the Black Knights came at the end of the season quarter. With Army poised to score on a fourth and goal, defensive end Alan Baxter stuffed quarterback Trent Steelman, stripped the ball and recovered the ball, securing NIU's 35-6 halftime advantage. Ryan Wood of the Daily Chronicle wrote this feature on the Huskie junior.

While we mainly post stories from the local and national media on this site, we thought you'd like to see what the Lawrence media is saying about tomorrow's game. Here's a breakdown and prediction of tomorrow's game from the Kansas City Star.

Scott Powers of ESPNChicago.com posted his previews and predictions for Saturday's games with area schools.

Northern Illinois (1-0) at Kansas (1-0)

When, where: 6 p.m. Saturday at Memorial Stadium in Lawrence, Kan.
TV: Fox College Sports
Radio: WIND-560 AM
Web: NIUHuskies.com
What you need to know: Northern Illinois had the most impressive showing of the in-state teams last week. The Huskies burst out of the gate against Army and built a 35-6 lead at halftime on the way to a 49-26 victory. Quarterback Chandler Harnish had his usual type of performance, completing 12-of-19 passes for 195 yards and five touchdowns. Running back Jasmin Hopkins also rushed for 138 yards. Kansas should present more of a fight. Kansas had a rocky first season under coach Turner Gil and went 3-9. The Jayhawks looked improved in their season-opening 42-24 win over McNeese State. Kansas did most of its damage by ground, rushing for 301 yards. Northern Illinois coach Dave Doeren was a former assistant at Kansas.
Powers' prediction: Northern Illinois 38, Kansas 24

While Saturday's game is a homecoming for several members of the Northern Illinois University football team, Rick Armstrong of the Sun-Times writes the contest versus Big 12 foe Kansas is also important to NIU in terms of gaining credibility with a win over an AQ conference opponent.

The Labor Day weekend was a busy one for Huskie athletics, as five teams were in action during the long weekend. During the week, the Huskies finished 7-1-1 in competition, while volleyball won the Bluejay Invitational in Omaha, Neb., and men's soccer took the Michigan Invitational title.

Football: The Huskies kicked off their season in dominating fashion Saturday night with a convincing 49-26 triumph over the Army Black Knights. After Army drew within 7-6 midway through the first quarter, Chandler Harnish and the Huskie offense exploded for 42 unanswered points en route to a 49-6 lead after the third quarter. The Huskies would finish the game with 509 total yards of offense against the Black Knight defense.

Volleyball: Coming off a 3-0 win against Green Bay on Tuesday, the Huskies took home the Bluejay Invitational title in Omaha, Neb. The team opened with a 3-0 sweep of host Creighton on Friday night. They followed that up on Saturday morning by toppling Marquette by a 3-1 margin. They would close things out against South Dakota with a 3-0 sweep of the Coyotes to clinch the tournament title.

Men's Soccer: Northern Illinois captured the Michigan Invitational title over the weekend with two wins over 2010 NCAA Tournament squads. On Friday, NIU knocked off Oakland, 2-1, on a 85th minute goal from Pat Sloan. They would follow that up on Sunday with a 1-0 shutout of the host Wolverines, with Sloan scoring the lone tally in the match.

Women's Soccer: The Huskies had two matches over the weekend against Missouri Valley Conference members Illinois State and Northern Iowa. On Friday, NIU made the short trip south to Normal, Ill., where they fell to the Redbirds, 5-0. However, Sunday's performance against the UNI Panthers was more promising in a 1-1 tie. Despite falling behind early, the Huskies tacked on a goal in the 46th minute from Corrine Frankenberg. However, neither team was able to break the deadlock.

Cross Country: Northern Illinois opened their 2011 season at the UIC Opener in Palos Heights, Ill., which was the Huskie debut for head coach Greg Hipp. Courtney Oldenburg led the way for NIU with a 12th place finish on the two-mile course, crossing the line with a time of 11:48.90. Also in the top half of the field were Claire McAuley (25th - 12:15.10) and freshman Jamie Burr (26th - 12:15.90).

All five squads will be in action next weekend as well, including men's soccer hosting the NIU adidas Invitational Friday & Sunday, women's soccer at home against Wisconsin Thursday and cross country hosting the NIU Open on the North 40 course Saturday morning. Stay tuned to www.niuhuskies.com for all the latest news on Huskie athletics.

Chandler Harnish made the winners section of Yahoo! Sports Winners and Losers list. He's one of six quarterbacks highlighted for their performances Saturday.

Northern Illinois QB Chandler Harnish: One of the nation's most underrated quarterbacks opened the season in style by throwing five touchdown passes and rushing for a sixth score in Northern Illinois' 49-26 victory over Army.

Harnish also earned accolades from Andrea Adelson ESPN.com. He earned a helmet sticker from the ESPN blogger for his five touchdown performance. He was also named MAC West offensive player of the week.

The Huskies opened the 2011 season with a dominating performance over Army Saturday night at Huskies Stadium. For the most complete coverage of the game fans can turn to NIUHuskies.com for game story, postgame notes, stats and photo gallery as well as a highlight video from the game.

The Chicagoland media was out in force Saturday with Fred Mitchell of the Chicago Tribune providing a recap of the game as well as clips from the postgame press conference in his story. Lacy Banks of the Sun-Times offered his take on the game.

Rockford Register Star's Matt Trowbridge and Rick Armstrong of the Beacon News were on hand as well. Trowbridge talked of quarterback Chandler Harnish's play in his recap, while Armstrong summed up NIU's performance in one word - dazzling - in his story.

Locally, the Daily Chronicle had several stories on NIU's victory over Army including this game recap by Ryan Wood.

Names like Hammock, Turner, Wolfe and Spann are part of NIU's long-standing tradition of producing successful running backs. Senior Jas Hopkins is looking to add his name to that list.  A native of Stanley, N.C., Hopkins came to Northern Illinois via Fort Scott Community College where he was the NJCAA Offensive Player of the Year in 2009. Rick Armstrong posted this story in the Aurora Beacon News on the 5-9, 180 lb tailback.

Also, if you're going to the game tomorrow, be sure to pick up a copy of the game program. Matt Scheerer of NIU Media Relations wrote an excellent feature story on Hopkins and his career at Fort Scott.

Rashaan Melvin has risen from a walk-on, to scholarship player to starter at Northern Illinois University, The first in his family to go to college, the Waukegan native is making the most of his opportunity - on and off the field. Scott Powers of ESPNChicago.com sat down with the redshirt junior to talk about his time at NIU in this feature story.

There is also a preview of tomorrow's game with Army (6 p.m., ESPN3.com) on the site as well.

Army (0-0) at Northern Illinois (0-0)

When, where: 6 p.m. Saturday at Huskie Stadium in DeKalb, Ill.
TV: None
Radio: WSCR-AM 670
Web: ESPN3.com
What you need to know: Northern Illinois coach Dave Doeren makes his debut on the sidelines. Even with a new coach, expectations haven't changed in DeKalb. The Huskies are coming off an 11-3 season and a bowl win, and they return starting quarterback Chandler Harnish and their entire offensive line. It's unknown who will emerge to replace Chad Spann in the backfield, but Northern Illinois believes it has a couple of capable backs. Northern Illinois' defense is less experienced, but luckily that's Doeren specialty. He was Wisconsin's defensive coordinator before arriving to Northern Illinois. Army had its first winning season last year since 1996 and won its first bowl game since 1985. Jared Hassin ran for 1,000-plus yards last season and is back for the Black Knights.
Powers' prediction: Northern Illinois 38, Army 17 

There have been a plethora of stories the last few days in the area newspapers featuring the NIU football team. Below, you'll find links to all the stories in the Chicago Tribune, Sun-Times, Daily Herald, Beacon News and Rockford Register Star.

Chicago Tribune
Army Preview

Chandler Harnish Feature

Daily Herald
Scott Wedige on NIU's Desire to Win a MAC Championship

Huskie Running Game Feature

Sun-Times
How the Huskies Will Handle the Triple Option

Coach Doeren, a Big Boxing Fan, Lists his Favorite Fighters

Beacon News
A Trio of Geneva H.S. Alumns on the NIU Roster

Register Star
Rashaan Melvin Feature

Rivals.com ranked the quarterback tandem of senior Chandler Harnish and redshirt sophomore Jordan Lynch as the No. 31 quarterback duo in the nation. Harnish turned in a carer year for the Huskies in 2010 passing for 2,530 yards and 21 touchdowns. He was second on the team in rushing with 836 yards and seven touchdowns.

Lynch rushed for 362 yards and three touchdowns in nine games. He was 4-of-6 passing for 13 yards and a touchdown. Only Miami and Western Michigan ranked higher the NIU's quarterback groups in the Mid-American Conference.

Former Northern Illinois safety Tracy Wilson was signed to a free agent contract by the New York Jets Wednesday, the team announced.  Wilson, who graduated from NIU in December and elected to skip his senior season at NIU, had entered his name in the supplemental draft but was not selected.  Shortly after that, Wilson was signed by the Jets.

Wilson played in just eight games for Northern Illinois last year and made 35 tackles with two fumble recoveries, an interception and half a tackle for loss.  He was injured early in the year versus Illinois and despite returning to action later in the year, did not play at 100 percent.

Wilson was the fourth free agent signing off the 2010 Huskie team.  Tailback Chad Spann remains on the Indianapolis Colts' preseason roster while cornerback Chris Smith and wide receiver Landon Cox were released by the Rams and Bengals, respectively.
 

CollegeFootballNews.com is ranking every college football program based on its success over a five year period. Northern Illinois ranks 74th overall and is the third in the Mid-American Conference behind Ohio (69) and Central Michigan (59). CFN.com took into account several factors such as players drafted, quality wins and what they term "bad wins" or wins over teams with three wins or fewer or any non-FBS team.

74. Northern Illinois
- 2011 Preview

Program Analysis: It seems like the ranking should be higher with so much success last year and so many good teams on a regular basis, but the 2-10 2007 season will be on the books for another few years. The APR Score of 9 is fantastic, but the Attendance Score needs to bounce back up and the conference wins have to continue. The 22 Bad Wins lead the nation, but that's not necessarily a bad thing; the Huskies beat the bad teams in the MAC. Now it's time to finally, FINALLY, win a MAC title game, and new head man Dave Doeren is good enough to take what Jerry Kill did over the last few years and make it happen.

2011 TOTAL SCORE: 45.44
2010 Ranking: 74
2009 Ranking: 69
Attendance Score: 1.79
APR Score: 9
Drafted Players: 3
FBS Wins: 29
Quality Wins: 4
Elite Win Score: 0
Bad Loss Score: 1.5
Elite Losses: 4
Bad Wins: 22
Conference Score: 6.15

Lindsey Willhite of the Daily Herald was out at football practice yesterday afternoon, so be on the look out for a few NIU football stories down the road. To tide you over til then, Willhite posted this item on his blog listing all the local area products on the Huskie roster.

When Chandler Harnish steps on the turf at Huskie Stadium Sept. 3 against Army, he will be looking to follow up one of the best seasons turned in by an NIU quarterback. As Andrea Adelson of ESPN.com writes in her blog post today, Harnish's record-setting season didn't start out so promising.

While NIU quarterback Chandler Harnish gets much of the pub, one member of the Huskies offense is quietly garnering a lot of respect nationally. Center Scott Wedige, who is on the watch lists for the Remington Award and Lombardi Trophy, is considered a top 10 interior linemen by Rivals.com and a top five center on the list. In its preseason college football preseason magazine, the Sporting News listed Wedige as the top NFL prospect in the Mid-American Conference.