Sept. 5, 2006

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NORTHERN ILLINOIS UNIVERSITY FOOTBALL 2006 Game 2 -- Northern Illinois vs. Ohio University Sept. 9, 2006 - 2 p.m. (CDT) - Comcast SportsNet DeKalb, Illinois - Brigham Field at Huskie Stadium (28,000)

HUSKIE FACTS
2006 Record: 0-1
2006 MAC Record: 0-0
Head Coach: Joe Novak
Alma Mater/Year: Miami (OH) 1967
Record at NIU/Year: 54-61/11th
Career Record/Year: Same
Location: DeKalb, Illinois
Enrollment: 25,208
Conference: Mid-American (West Division)
Colors: Cardinal and Black
Stadium: Brigham Field at Huskie Stadium
Capacity: 28,000
Surface: Field Turf
President: John Peters
Associate VP/Athletic Director: Jim Phillips Ticket Information:815-752-6800 Website:www.niuhuskies.com

NIU Schedule & Results

HUSKIE HEAD COACH Joe Novak Northern Illinois Head Coach Joe Novak is in his 11th season at the helm of the program, having led the Huskies to six straight winning seasons and four of the last five MAC West Division crowns. The Ohio native owns a career head coaching record of 54-61 (.470) in 10 seasons (all at Northern Illinois). He led NIU to the school's first bowl appearance in 20 seasons in 2004 with a trip to the Silicon Valley Bowl, where the Huskies defeated Troy. In 2003, he was named the AFCA Region 3 Coach of the Year after leading Northern Illinois to a 10-2 overall record with wins over Maryland and Alabama. He was the Mid-American Conference Coach of the Year in 2002. Novak came to NIU after 12 seasons as the defensive coordinator and linebackers coach at Indiana, during which time the Hoosiers made six bowl appearances. He was the defensive coordinator at Northern Illinois from 1980-83 after coaching stints at Illinois (1977-79) and at his alma mater, Miami (Ohio), from 1974-76.

Novak played defensive end for Coach Bo Schembechler at Miami in 1965 and '66. He earned bachelor's and master's degrees from Miami in 1967 and '68, respectively. This week's trip to Ohio State marks the first time the Mentor (Ohio) native has taken his team to Columbus as a head coach.

NEWS & NOTES

FOR OPENERS: Northern Illinois opens its 2006 home schedule and its 2006 MAC schedule Saturday when the Ohio University Bobcats visit DeKalb for a 2 p.m. (Central) contest. It is the first of six home games for the Huskies in 2006, marking the first time NIU has had as many as six home games since the 2003 season. The Ohio game also begins a string of three straight home contests for NIU, which will face Buffalo and Indiana State at Huskie Stadium in the next two weeks.

IN HOME OPENERS: NIU opens its 41st season of play in Huskie Stadium and owns a 24-16 record in home openers since moving to the venue in 1966. Northern Illinois has won each of its last six home opening games dating back to the 2000 season.

HOME FIELD ADVANTAGE: Saturday's game is the 212th game Northern Illinois has played on Brigham Field at Huskie Stadium since 1965, and the Huskies have posted an all-time mark of 121-88-2 (.578) at home during that time. In 10 seasons under Joe Novak, NIU is 32-23 (.582) at home, but the Huskies have won 31 of their last 37 contests in DeKalb.

Since the beginning of the 2003 season, Northern Illinois has gone 15-2 at home, good for a stellar 88.2 winning percentage. The only losses during that time have come to Ball State (Oct. 30, 2005) and Toledo (Nov. 9, 2004).

BACK IN THE MAC: Northern Illinois is 8-12 all-time in its first Mid-American Conference game of the season, including a 4-5 mark under Joe Novak (and since rejoining the MAC in 1997). NIU dropped its MAC opener at Akron a year ago, but has won three of its last four inaugural conference games. In its first home conference game of the year, Northern is 6-3 since 1997 and 12-8 all-time.

NIU AND NOVAK VERSUS THE MAC: All-time, in 20 total seasons as a member of the league, Northern Illinois owns a record of 76-74-2 (.500) in Mid-American Conference play. Since beginning its second stint in the conference in 1997, NIU and head coach Joe Novak are 41-29 (.586) versus the MAC and the Huskies have claimed at least a share of the Mid-American Conference West Division in four of the last five seasons (2001-2002-2004-2005).

WHEN THE MAC COMES TO TOWN: At home, Northern is 43-32-1 (.572) in MAC games all-time and has gone 22-13 (.629) under Joe Novak. The Huskies have not lost more than one MAC home game in the last seven seasons.

LAST WEEK: NIU opened the 2006 campaign at Ohio State where the top-ranked Buckeyes handed the Huskies a 35-12 loss. Ohio State jumped out to a 21-0 first quarter lead behind Heisman Trophy candidates Troy Smith and Ted Ginn, Jr. and extended the lead to 28-0 early in the second quarter. However, the Buckeyes would get just one touchdown the rest of the day as Northern Illinois settled down behind tailback Garrett Wolfe (see below), who accounted for 285 of the Huskies 343 yards of offense on the day. Chris Nendick hit a pair of field goals, the first coming at the 6:16 mark of the second quarter, and Wolfe reached the end zone in the fourth quarter after taking a swing pass from QB Phil Horvath.

'CATS & DOGS - THE SERIES: The Huskies and Bobcats meet for the 17th time with NIU holding a 9-7 edge in the all-time series. The teams have not played since the 2003 season and have met only three times since Northern Illinois re-joined the MAC, in 1997, '98 and 2003. OU holds the edge in those games, 2-1. Northern Illinois and Ohio first played in 1968 in Athens and met every year from 1976-86. Northern picked up eight of its nine series wins during that stretch, including seven straight from 1977-83.

THE LAST TIME: The last time Ohio was in DeKalb, the Huskies triumphed, 30-23 in overtime behind wide receiver P.J. Fleck, who caught a 15-yard touchdown pass from QB Josh Haldi to tie the game with 1:42 left, then grabbed a 23-yard pass in overtime to put the Huskies at the OU two-yard line. Haldi snuck it in from there and when NIU LB Kursten Strothman sacked Ohio QB Ryan Hawk on the final play, Northern Illinois improved to 5-0 on the year.

WINNING WAYS: Northern Illinois is looking to post its seventh straight winning season in 2006 as the Huskies are currently enjoying the longest string of success since entering the major college ranks in 1969. Head Coach Joe Novak has taken the program from a team that lost 23 straight games from 1996 to 1998 to one that has claimed at least a share of the Mid-American Conference West Division in four of the last five seasons (2001-2002-2004-2005) and won the 2004 Silicon Valley Bowl.

NIU won 10 games in 2003 on the heels of an eight-win campaign in 2002, then went on to win nine contests in 2004. The Huskies have claimed four wins over BCS programs since 2001.

MAC MEDIA TABS NIU AS PRESEASON FAVORITE: Northern Illinois was picked to win the MAC Championship game on 37 of 50 ballots turned in by members of the MAC News Media Association (MNMA). The Huskies were selected to win the West Division title by 39 of 50 voters, accumulating 286 points to 244 for Toledo, the second place choice in the West. The Rockets earned 10 first-place votes while Western Michigan collected the other first place vote in the West and had 172 total points. Central Michigan earned 155 points, Ball State 120 and Eastern Michigan 73. Ohio was tabbed as the No. 4 team in the East Division.

STILL SEARCHING: Despite all of its recent success, including a thrilling 2003 campaign that saw the Huskies burst into the national spotlight with a season-opening overtime win over No. 15 Maryland and go on to claim its biggest road victory ever with a 19-16 win over No. 21 Alabama, one goal that has eluded Northern Illinois is a MAC Championship. Last season ended with the Huskies just 10 seconds shy of that goal as Akron scored on a 36-yard pass play with 10 seconds remaining to hand NIU a heart-breaking 31-30 loss in the MAC Championship game in Detroit. The 2006 seniors have made it a priority to leave Northern Illinois with a ring and that quest begins versus Ohio.

IN A STATE: Northern Illinois takes on a team from the "Buckeye State" for the second straight week and will meet four "Ohio" teams in all this season. NIU has played 115 games all-time versus current Division I-A teams from that Midwestern state. That total includes 105 games against Mid-American Conference teams Akron, Bowling Green, Kent State, Miami, Ohio and Toledo, plus contests versus Cincinnati (1-1), Dayton (0-2) and Xavier (3-2). After taking on Ohio State last week, the Huskies will travel to Miami on Sunday, Oct. 8 and play host to Toledo on Tuesday, Nov. 7.

TRACKING WOLFE: Huskie tailback Garrett Wolfe continues to make his case that he ranks among the nation's elite running backs with 285 all-purpose yards (171 rushing and a career high 114 receiving) versus the No. 1 team in the country last week at Ohio State. Wolfe accounted for 83 percent of Northern Illinois' offense on his 31 touches. He averaged 9.2 yards every time he touched the ball with 6.6 yards per rush and 22.8 yards per catch. His single game total is the highest ever recorded by an NIU back versus a Top 10 opponent, and the yards did NOT come late -- Wolfe collected 155 yards in the first half, including runs of 15 and 22 yards and receptions of 31 yards (on the game's first drive) and 65 yards.

BIG 10 DEFENSES CRY WOLFE: Ohio State is third straight Big Ten defense which Wolfe has shredded in the past two seasons. The Chicago senior is now averaging 188 rushing yards per game versus his three Big Ten opponents, with single game totals of 245 yards (vs. Northwestern, 9/10/05), 171 yards (vs. Ohio State) and 148 yards (vs. Michigan, 9/3/05). Including the receiving totals, Wolfe has totalled 725 all-purpose yards in those three games (241.7 average) with 12 catches for 161 yards in all.

SEVEN STRAIGHT: Garrett Wolfe is the latest in the line of 1,000-yard rushers for Northern Illinois as the Huskies have had a player surpass the century mark in each of the last seven seasons. That streak of seven straight years is tied for the second-longest in the nation, behind only Texas (10 straight 1,000-yard seasons) and tied with Minnesota. With 1,656 rushing yards in 2004 and 1,580 in just nine games a year ago, Wolfe followed Michael Turner (2002 and 2003), Thomas Hammock (2000 and 2001) and William Andrews (1999) in the century club. He now looks to become the first player in NIU history to post three straight 1,000-yard rushing seasons.

ALL-PURPOSE THREAT: One of the goals of the Huskies' offensive coaches was to get Wolfe more involved in the passing game in 2006 and that happened in a big way versus Ohio State. Wolfe tallied his second career 100-yard receiving day with a career-high 114 yards on five catches, including the Huskies' lone TD of the day, on a four-yard reception in which he split two defenders and ran over another on his way to the end zone. He also tallied his career longest reception with a 65-yard catch and run in the first quarter. For the first time, Wolfe recorded 100-plus rushing AND 100-plus receiving yards in a single game. With that performance, he currently leads the nation in all-purpose yards per game, while his rushing total is fourth.

MOVING ON UP: With his 15th career 100-yard rushing day, Garrett Wolfe surpassed LeShon Johnson (1992-93) to move into fifth place on the Huskies' all-time rushing chart. Wolfe now has 3,407 yards on 524 career carries in 21 games. He needs 32 yards to surpass Adam Dach (1987-91) for fourth place and 94 to pass Allen Ross (1977-80) to move into the third spot on the list. Current San Diego Charger Michael Turner is the Huskies' career leader with 4,941 yards from 2000-2003 while Mark Kellar gained 3,745 yards on the ground from 1971-73. Wolfe now also ranks fourth on the Huskies' career chart for all-purpose yards with 4,091, having surpassed Kellar (3,878) and Allen Ross (4,065) Saturday, becoming only the fifth player to surpass the 4,000-yard mark for the Huskies.

MAC HONORS: For his efforts versus the Buckeyes, Wolfe was named the Mid-American Conference's West Division Offensive Player of the Week for the eighth time in his career. Wolfe earned the honor four times in 2004 and received the Offensive POW Award three times last year.

MR. CONSISTENCY: Huskie kicker Chris Nendick continues to exemplify that moniker as he connected on a pair of field goals for NIU versus Ohio State to give Northern its first six points. Nendick has scored in 25 straight games for the Huskies, a streak which ranks second in NIU history behind only John Ivanic (1988-90). The Naperville, Ill. native also moved into a ninth place tie on Northern Illinois' career scoring chart with receiver Justin McCareins (1997-2000) with 182 career points. Nendick has hit 27-of-36 field goals for his career.

TELEVISION TIME: NIU is currently scheduled to appear on television 10 times this season, with an 11th broadcast (the Iowa game) likely to be announced in October. The Huskies opener at Ohio State was televised to nearly half (47%) of the country by ABC Sports, the second consecutive season that the Huskies opened the season on network television. ESPN's family of networks will televise three games, including the Oct. 8 Sunday night contest at Miami (OH) on ESPN, the game versus Toledo on Tuesday, Nov. 7 on ESPN2 and the Central Michigan contest Friday, Nov. 17 on ESPNU. Comcast SportsNet will air four games from DeKalb, including all three September home contests and road games at Ball State and Eastern Michigan. NIU appeared on TV nine times in 2005 and 10 times in 2004.

TV TALLY: In 40 seasons of televised games, Northern Illinois is 43-43-1 all-time on television, including a 21-13 mark since the start of the 2001 season. NIU went 5-4 in its nine television appearances last year and posted an impressive 8-2 mark on TV in 2004. The Huskies appeared on ABC once and on ESPN or ESPN2 four times last season after three ESPN network appearances the previous year.

IN THE CAPTAIN'S CHAIR: Four NIU seniors were elected team captains for the 2006 season by their teammates following the 2006 spring practices. Tailback Garrett Wolfe (Chicago, Ill.), offensive tackle Doug Free (Manitowoc, Wisc.), safety Dustin Utschig (Winneconne, Wisc.) and defensive end Ken West (Calumet City, Ill.) were tabbed as the team's top leaders. All four are fifth-year seniors.

SENIOR LADEN: The 2006 Northern Illinois Huskies fit the definition of a "senior laden team" to a "T". All 15 of the seniors on the 2006 roster are fifth-year players. In addition, 11 seniors currently own starting roles, including six on offense and five on defense. Three more seniors are listed on the depth chart in second team or specialist roles.

WATCH LISTS: Wolfe and Free have received most of the preseason accolades for the Huskies and so far, their names appear on several of the "Watch Lists" for some of the nation's most prestigious awards. Wolfe is one of just 35 players on the Walter Camp Player of the Year list and has also been tabbed as a player to watch by the Maxwell Award and was named to the Doak Walker Award list, which goes to the nation's top running back, last week. Free has received recognition on both the Lombardi Award and Outland Trophy listings.

NO-HI-O: The 2006 Northern Illinois football roster features players from Florida, from South Dakota and from California. There are Minnesotans, Missourians and Indianans, but there is not a single player on the Huskies' 2006 roster from Ohio.

TIGHT RACE: In an extremely close preseason competition, senior Phil Horvath edged sophomore Dan Nicholson for the starting quarterback position, although Novak said he felt comfortable with either player in that role. "I could go with either Phil or Dan but one of them has to start," Novak said in announcing the move. "I feel comfortable and confident with both of them. Somebody has to be the starter and either one could do it." Horvath was leading the nation in passing efficiency through nine games last season when he suffered a broken left arm versus Central Michigan. Nicholson took over for Horvath in that game and started the next three, leading NIU to wins over CMU, Toledo and Western Michigan.

WOLFE WATCHERS: Northern Illinois tailback Garrett Wolfe has garnered national attention during the offseason and it has continued this preseason. Wolfe, the leading returning rusher in the nation after averaging 175.6 rushing yards per game and 200.2 all-purpose yards per game last season, was named to the prestigious Preseason Playboy All-America team and has been mentioned as a candidate for the Heisman Trophy. Wolfe was featured as one of Sports Illustrated's "Big Men on Campus" and has garnered feature articles in the Chicago Tribune, Ft. Worth Star-Telegram, Austin (Texas) American-Statesman, USA Today and New York Times. Desmond Howard was on campus filming a segment for "ESPN College GameDay" which aired Saturday prior to the Ohio State game.

FREE FOR ALL: For pretty much the last 37 straight games, dating back to the opening game of the 2003 season, the name on the top of the depth chart at left tackle has been that of Doug Free. Nicknamed "Doug Freak" for his 29-inch vertical jump, 5-second 40 time and 565-pound squat lift, Free has started every game for the Huskies in the last three seasons, including two starts at tight end at the end of the 2004 season. Listed as one of the top offensive tackles in the nation by a multitude of preseason publications and as a potential early round draft choice by Mel Kiper, Free has grown from a 6-5, 260-pound true freshman in 2002 to a 6-7, 312-pound force for the Huskies.

OUT IN FRONT: Garrett Wolfe will be running behind an offensive line that features three new starters from a year ago, although the Huskies return three o-linemen with significant starting experience. Junior Matt Rogers sat out the 2005 season due to academic issues, but the Lockport, Ill., product is back after starting nine games at guard in 2003. He joins tackles and 2005 starters Doug Free (37 straight starts) and Jon Brost (13 starts) to give Northern three experienced returners. They are joined by center Eddie Adamski, a redshirt freshman, and junior Chris Acevedo at left guard.

IT'S BETTER TO RECEIVE: With 2005 leading receiver Sam Hurd now plying his trade with the Dallas Cowboys in the NFL and Shatone Powers also having completed his eligibility, the Huskies' leading returning pass-catcher is a player whose receiving career was just beginning a year ago after a position change. All Britt Davis did as a freshman after moving from quarterback to receiver was catch 42 passes for 441 yards and three TDs, breaking the NIU freshman receiving record with at least one catch in every game. Versus Ohio State, the sophomore pulled down five more catches. Aside from Davis, the remaining returning receivers on the Northern Illinois roster, including Jarret Carter, Evans Adonis, Marcus Perez and Greg Turner, entered the season with just 20 career catches combined.

HURD MAKES HIS MARK IN "BIG D": Former Huskie WR (and San Antonio, Texas native) Sam Hurd has made a splash during the Dallas Cowboys training camp, and the team's media contingent as well as head coach Bill Parcells have noticed. During his daily press conference on Tuesday, August 8, Parcells praised Hurd and the NIU program - "He played at a good school with a winning tradition and a very good coaching staff. They have turned out players to pro football in recent years. I think it's a school that everybody would recognize that you need to go there and see what's there. I think they are attracting some quality players and their reputation is pretty good."

THE NEXT LEVEL: Hurd is one of 11 former Huskies who were in NFL training camps this preseason and five NIU products have now made a 53-man roster. Established veterans OT Ryan Diem (Indianapolis Colts; NIU 1997-2000), WR Justin McCareins (New York Jets; NIU 1997-2000), DT Hollis Thomas (New Orleans Saints; NIU 1993-95) and TB Michael Turner (San Diego Chargers; NIU 2000-2003) have been joined by the aforementioned "rookie" WR Sam Hurd (2002-05) with the Cowboys. TE Brad Cieslak (Buffalo Bills; NIU 2002-2004), WR Darrell Hill (Kansas City Chiefs; NIU 1998-99, 2001), CB Rob Lee (Buffalo Bills; NIU 2001, 2003-04), WR Dan Sheldon (Indianapolis Colts; NIU 2001-04) and RB A.J. Harris (Washington Redskins; NIU 2002-05) were in camp but did not survive the final cuts.

DOING THEIR PART: Two of those Huskies in the Pros (Diem and McCareins) have stepped up to help future generations of NIU student-athletes as they are recent donors to Northern Illinois' new Academic and Athletic Performance Center. The $14.5 million facility is being built in the end zone of Huskie Stadium and will service ALL 486 Northern Illinois student-athletes in 17 sports programs. The AAPC, scheduled to be completed in August 2007, will house an Academic Center, with study rooms, a computer lab, a classroom and offices for the Student Services staff, along with a new weight room, athletic training room and football team locker room. The NIU football coaches will have new offices in the facility, which will also have patios overlooking Brigham Field for entertaining.

PRIORITIES: In the latest rankings compiled by the American Football Coaches Association, Northern Illinois ranked in the Top 25 of all Division I-A football programs in graduation rates of it student-athletes between 1999 and 2004 with a 71.4 percent mark. The Huskies joined programs like Duke, Northwestern, Boston College, Vanderbilt and Wake Forest in the Top 25.

ON THE AIR

TELEVISION
ComcastSportsNet will televise the Northern Illinois-Ohio game, the first of three straight broadcasts on the Chicago-based network. Again this year, WGN-AM radio's Dave Kaplan (play-by-play) and Tom Waddle (color analyst) call the action.

RADIO
The Huskie Sports Network will broadcast the game with the pregame show beginning at 1:30 p.m. (Central). Bill Baker returns for his 27th season as the "voice" of the Huskies while analyst Mark Lindo is in his 22nd season on the broadcast team. Casey Kahler joins the crew this season as the adidas sideline reporter. In 2006, the Huskie Sports Network broadcast will be heard on WLBK-AM 1360 (DeKalb), WSCR-AM 670(Chicago), WSEY-FM 95.7 (Rockford/Freeport/Oregon/Sterling/Dixon), WRMN-AM 1410 (Elgin) and WRHL-AM 1060 (Rochelle). The NIU broadcast can also be heard over the internet via the website of Chicago radio station 670 The Score. Go to www.670thescore.com.

Inside Huskie Sports
Each week, Head Coach Joe Novak and host Brad Hoey review the previous week's highlights and preview the upcoming contest on "Inside Huskie Sports." The 30-minute show airs each Thursday on Comcast SportsNet at 4:30 p.m. with a replay Fridays at 4:30 p.m. Join Novak and Hoey for the weekly taping of "Inside Huskie Sports" at Fatty's Pub and Grille located at 1312 West Lincoln Highway in DeKalb. The show tapes Mondays at 6:30 p.m. (Tuesday Sept. 5 on Labor Day Weekend) and will include audience participation and prizes.

NIU Live
Join Northern Illinois Athletic Director Jim Phillips, WSCR Sports Director Andy Garcia and members of the Huskie coaching staff (including football coach Joe Novak) weekly on "NIU Live." A 30-minute program highlighting the best in Northern Illinois Athletics, NIU Live airs Wednesday nights at 9 p.m. on 670 The Score, a powerful 50,000-watt station which can be heard throughout the Midwest.

Coaches' Corner
Every Thursday from 12:15-1 p.m., get the latest on the Huskies from NIU Head Coach Joe Novak and host Bill Baker from the "Coaches Corner". The Coaches Corner will originate from The Junction Eating Place prior to road games and from the Holmes Student Center in advance of home contests. The show can be heard on WLBK 1360 AM, the flagship station of the Huskie Radio Network.