HUSKIE BITES
- The NIU Huskies open their 116th season of intercollegiate football at Iowa, and play their 50th season as a "major college" (now Football Bowl Subdivision) school.
- The game at Iowa marks the beginning of a NIU non-conference schedule ranked among the toughest in the country in 2018. In addition to Iowa, the Huskies travel to Florida State (Sept. 22) and BYU (Oct. 27) and will host Utah (Sept. 8).
- NIU and Iowa meet for the ninth time, with NIU claiming its first win over the Hawkeyes in the team's last meeting, a 30-27 win in Iowa City in 2013. The Huskies went on to post a 12-0 record in the regular season behind quarterback Jordan Lynch, who finished third in the Heisman Trophy voting that year.
- Head Coach Rod Carey, a Big Ten product (Indiana '93), is 4-1 versus teams from the league in his five seasons leading NIU. Under Carey, The Huskies have wins over Iowa, Purdue, Northwestern and most recently, Nebraska, with the only loss a 20-13 decision at No. 1 Ohio State in 2015.
- Junior defensive end Sutton Smith, who became just the second Consensus All-American in NIU history after leading the country in tackles for loss (29.5) and quarterback sacks (14.0) in 2017, leads a Huskie defense that ranked second nationally in quarterback sacks and led the nation in tackles for loss last season.
- NIU is one of just three teams from a "Group of 5" conference to play in nine bowl games in the last 10 seasons. The Huskies join Boise State and Navy with that distinction.
- In 2017, NIU quarterback Marcus Childers became the first Huskie in 32 years to be named MAC Freshman of the Year. The Georgia native started the final eight games of 2017 and finished with 1,674 passing and 473 rushing yards to break the NIU record for most yards of total offense by a freshman.
HUSKIE FOOTBALL FACTS
2017 Record/MAC Record/Finish: 8-5/6-2/T2nd West
Head Coach:
Rod Carey
Record at NIU/Years: 44-24/Five
Career Record/Years: 44-24/Five
Alma Mater/Year: Indiana/1993
Basic Offense/Defense: Multiple/4-3
First Year of Football: 1899
All-Time Record: 579-488-51
Last Bowl Game: 2017 Quick Lane Bowl (Detroit)
Bowl Appearances (FBS): 12
MAC Championship Appearances, Last: 7, 2015
Letterwinners Returning/Lost: 54/28
Starters Returning: 17 (9 offense, 6 defense, 2 specialists)
Starters Lost: 9 (3 offense, 5 defense, 1 specialist)
NIU FACTS
Location: DeKalb, Illinois
Founded: 1895
Enrollment: 19,015
Affiliation: NCAA Football Bowl Subdivision
Conference: Mid-American (West Division)
Colors: Cardinal and Black
Nickname: Huskies
Stadium: Brigham Field at Huskie Stadium
Surface/Capacity: FieldTurf /23,595
Acting President: Dr. Lisa Freeman
Assoc. VP/Athletic Director:
Sean T. Frazier
Alma Mater, Year: Alabama '92
Tickets: 815-753-PACK (7225) or
NIUHuskies.com
IOWA HAWKEYES
2017 Record/Big Ten Record/Finish: 8-5/4-5/T3rd in West Division
Head Coach (Alma Mater/Year): Kirk Ferentz (University of Connecticut/1978)
Record at Iowa /Years: 143-97/19
Career Record/Years: 155-118/22
Location: Iowa City, Iowa
Enrollment: 33,564
Conference: Big Ten (West Division)
Colors: Gold and Black
Stadium: Kinnick Stadium
Surface/Capacity: Field Turf /70,585
President: Bruce Harreld
Athletic Director: Gary Barta
Athletics Website: hawkeyesports.com
Twitter: @TheIowaHawkeyes
Ticket Information: 1-800 IA-HAWKS
2018 Iowa Schedule & Results
NIU-IOWA SERIES FACTS
Overall: Iowa leads 8-1
In Chicago: Iowa leads 2-0
In Iowa City: Iowa leads 6-1
Streak: NIU, 1
First Meeting: September 20, 1985: Iowa 48, NIU 20 (A)
Last Meeting: August 31, 2013: NIU 30, Iowa 27 (A)
Series History
9/21/1985: Iowa 48, NIU 20 (A)
9/20/1986: Iowa 57, NIU 3 (A)
9/28/1991: Iowa 58, NIU 7 (A)
10/6/1993: Iowa 54, NIU 20 (A)
9/18/1999: Iowa 24, NIU 0 (A)
10/28/2006: Iowa 24, NIU 14 (A)
9/1/2007: Iowa 16, NIU 3 (N)
9/1/2012: Iowa 18, NIU 17 (N)
8/31/2013: NIU 30, Iowa 27 (A)
(N) games played at Chicago's Soldier Field.
FOLLOW THE HUSKIES
TV: NIU-Iowa on BTN
- The NIU-Iowa game is the first of at least six NIU games this season to be nationally televised on a broadcast network.
- The Big Ten Network is available on cable systems throughout the country and on mobile devices via BTN2GO.
- To find the game on your system, go to BTN.com.
- Calling the game for BTN are Joe Beninati (play-by-play), Chuck Long (color analyst) and Ally Sturm (sidelines).
RADIO: Huskie Sports Radio Network
- The Huskie Sports Radio Network broadcast for the game at Iowa begins at 2 p.m. CT, 30 minutes before kickoff.
- The game will be carried on NIU network affiliates WLBK AM 1360/FM 98.9 (DeKalb), AM 560 The Answer (Chicago) and Sports Fan Radio AM 1330 (Rockford).
- Hear the broadcast online via NIUTube (subscription), and on mobile devices via TuneIn. Download the app for free and find the NIU Huskies channel.
- Bill Baker begins his 39th season as the radio play-by-play "Voice of the Huskies." Color analyst Mark Lindo joins him for the 33rd season, while Andy Garcia is in his sixth season on the NIU sidelines.
Inside Huskie Football Radio Show
- Fans are invited to attend the one-hour weekly show every Monday at Noon at Fatty's Pub & Grille in DeKalb (1312 W. Lincoln Hwy), except for Sept. 3 when the Labor Day show will take place at Rosati's Sports Pub DeKalb (930 Pappas Drive).
- Listen live with the TuneIn app; Hear it Monday at 7 p.m. on WLBK AM 1360/FM 98.9 in DeKalb, 8 p.m. Monday on 560 AM The Answer in Chicago and Tuesday at 7 p.m. on SportsFan Radio 1330 AM in Rockford.
- The weekly show features host Bill Baker, NIU Head Coach Rod Carey, Huskie players and special guests.
"NIU Weekly" Radio Show
- The 30-minute show features interviews with football coach Rod Carey, other NIU head coaches and guests.
- Airs Friday at 10 p.m. CT in Chicago on AM 560 The Answer, Saturday at 9 a.m. on WLBK AM 1360/FM 98.9 in DeKalb and on Sports Fan Radio 1330 in Rockford at 6:30 a.m. Also available on-demand on NIUTube (subscription).
- Andy Garcia and NIU Director of Athletics Sean T. Frazier host.
NIUTube (Huskie All-Access)
- See weekly and post-game press conferences, video features and Huskie Olympic sports.
- Hear all NIU live radio broadcasts, including football and basketball games and NIU radio shows.
- Purchase a daily, monthly or annual subsciption.
- Go to NIUHuskies.com for rates and information.
Getting Social
- Twitter: @NIUAthletics, @NIUScores, @NIU_Football
- Facebook: NIU Huskies, NIU Football
- Instagram: niuhuskies, niufootball
- YouTube: NIU Athletics
- See NIU Athletics' social media hub online for all the team and staff accounts.
NEWS & NOTES
LID LIFTERS: As a Football Bowl Subdivision (FBS) program, NIU is 18-31 in season-opening games. The Huskies have won three of their last five season openers. NIU lost the first contest of 2017, 23-20, to Boston College at Huskie Stadium and the 2016 season opener at Wyoming, 40-34, in triple overtime. However, the Cardinal & Black defeated UNLV, 38-30, in the 2015 season opener at Huskie Stadium, opened the 2014 season with a 55-3 win over Presbyterian at home, and knocked off Iowa, 30-27, at Kinnick Stadium in 2013.
HUSKIES-HAWKEYES HISTORY: Iowa owns an 8-1 record in the all-time series, which dates back to Sept. 20, 1985, and is 6-1 vs. NIU at Kinnick Stadium. NIU earned its only win in the series when the Huskies defeated Iowa in Iowa City on Aug. 31, 2013.
FAMILIAR START: This is the fourth time overall and third time this decade that NIU opens a season against Iowa. The Huskies visited Iowa City Aug. 31 to open the 2013 season and played host to the Hawkeyes in 2012 and 2007 both on Sept. 1 at Soldier Field in Chicago. Iowa won the 2007 meeting, 16-3, and edged the Huskies, 18-17 in 2012.
WHEN LAST WE MET: Mathew Sims hit a 36-yard field goal with four seconds left on the clock to give NIU its first victory over Iowa in series history. NIU rallied from a 27-20 deficit heading into the fourth quarter. Sims' field goal came after safety Jimmie Ward intercepted Iowa quarterback Jake Rudock at midfield with 1:24 to play and the game tied 27-27. Quarterback Jordan Lynch threw for 275 yards and three touchdowns on 25-of-41 passing.
HUSK-EYES: Six staffers between the two schools share NIU-Iowa ties. Iowa assistant coaches Kelton Copeland (2013-16), Tim Polasek (2013) and Joe Pawlak and head football athletic trainer Kammy Powell (2004-11) worked with the NIU football program during their careers. Pawlak was a three-year starter (2009-11) on the offensive line for the Huskies. Two members of the Huskie operations staff,
Dan Wolfe and
Aaron Christner, graduated from Iowa in 2009 and 2010, respectively.
DO I KNOW YOU?: Five common high schools from four different states are represented by nine players between the two schools. Bettendorf High School boasts the most alums with three. NIU's
Cole Webster and Iowa's Mark and Jack Kallenburger played together for the Bulldogs.
Adam Buirge of NIU and Iowa's Amani Hooker prepped together at Park Center in Minneapolis, Minn., while
Mykelti Williams (NIU) and Julius Brents (Iowa) were at Warren Central together in Indianapolis. NIU's
Lance Deveaux Jr. and Iowa's Keyshaun Bryan played together at Fort Lauderdale's St. Thomas Aquinas, while
Mitchell Brinkman of NIU and Caleb Shudak of Iowa were teammates at Lewis Central in Council Bluffs, Iowa.
NIU vs. THE BIG TEN: The Huskies have enjoyed a run of success versus Big Ten opponents since a 28-21 win at Purdue on Sept. 19, 2009. NIU has won six of its last 10 games against Big Ten foes, including four of its last five. The Huskies improved to 8-36-1 all-time versus teams that currently make up the Big Ten Conference when NIU defeated Nebraska, 21-17, on Sept. 16, 2017. NIU became the first MAC school to defeat two Big Ten teams in one season when the Huskies defeated Iowa (Aug. 31) and Purdue (Sept. 28) in 2013.
| Date |
Score & Opponent |
Site |
W/L |
| Sept. 19, 2009 |
NIU 28, Purdue 21 |
West Lafayette, Ind. |
W |
| Sept. 18, 2010 |
Illinois 28, NIU 22 |
Champaign, Ill. |
L |
| Sept. 26, 2010 |
NIU 34, Minnesota 23 |
Minneapolis, Minn. |
W |
| Sept. 17, 2011 |
No. 7 Wisconsin 49, NIU 7 |
Chicago, Ill. |
L |
| Sept. 1, 2012 |
Iowa 18, NIU 17 |
Chicago, Ill. |
L |
| Aug. 31, 2013 |
NIU 30, Iowa 27 |
Iowa City, Iowa |
W |
| Sept. 28, 2013 |
NIU 55, Purdue 24 |
West Lafayette, Ind. |
W |
| Sept. 6, 2014 |
NIU 23, Northwestern 15 |
Evanston, Ill. |
W |
| Sept. 19, 2015 |
No. 1 Ohio State 20, NIU 13 |
Columbus, Ohio |
L |
| Sept. 16, 2017 |
NIU 21, Nebraska 17 |
Lincoln, Neb. |
W |
NIU ON BTN: NIU's appearance on the Big Ten Network this week is the first for the Huskies since Sept. 6, 2014 when they defeated Northwestern, 23-15. The Huskies are 4-4 all-time and have won in their last three appearances on the network, dating back to a 34-23 win at Minnesota in 2010.
CAREY-ING THE BIG TEN: Of NIU's eight wins over Big Ten schools all-time, four have come under curent Huskie head coach
Rod Carey. Carey, who played center for Indiana from 1989-93, is 4-1 against the league. He has led NIU to wins over Iowa (2013), Purdue (2013), Northwestern (2014) and Nebraska (2017), with the only loss, a seven-point defeat at No. 1 Ohio State in 2015.
HUSKIE HEAD MAN RANKINGS: NIU head coach
Rod Carey currently ranks fourth on NIU's all-time coaching list for wins with 44, he needs 20 to pass the next Huskie head man on the list, Joe Novak (1996-2007). George "Chick" Evans (1929-54) is NIU's all-time leader with 132 wins.
FIRST TIME FOR EVERYTHING: Rod Carey's first victory as head coach at NIU came on Aug. 31, 2013 when the Huskies defeated Iow, 30-27. Conversely Iowa head coach Kirk Ferentz's first win at the helm of the Iowa program came Sept. 18, 1999 over NIU, 24-0.
MOVING UP IN THE MAC: With 44 wins on his ledger; NIU head coach
Rod Carey is four wins away from cracking the Mid-American Conference's Top 20 list for wins by a MAC coach. Terry Hoeppner (Miami, 1999-2004) and Frank Lauterbur (Toledo, 1963-70) are tied at 20 with 48 career wins. Carey's winning percentage of .647 currently ranks 13th and he needs to get to .658 to move into the top 10.
CHALLENGING SCHEDULE: In addition to facing one of the toughest non-conference slates in the Football Bowl Subdivision (FBS), the Huskies will face seven bowl teams from last season. Iowa (Aug. 31), Utah (Sept. 8), Central Michigan (Sept. 15), Florida State (Sept. 22), Ohio (Oct. 13), Akron (Nov. 1), Toledo (Nov. 7) and Miami (Nov. 14) all made the postseason last year.
NIU vs. THE POWER FIVE: NIU improved to 15-69 versus teams that were in an autonomous conference (ACC, Big Ten, Big 12, SEC & Pac-12) at the time the Huskies played them following its 21-17 victory at Nebraska last year. Of those 15 wins, nine have come in the last 15 years, beginning with NIU's 42-41 victory over Wake Forest on Aug. 29, 2002. The Huskies have played a team from one of those five conferences in 35 of the last 36 years. NIU did not play a team from an autonomous five conference in 2016.
MEET THE "NEW" GUYS: The NIU coaching staff features a trio of newcomers in defensive line coach
Walter Stewart, safeties coach
Tyler Yelk and running backs coach
Jake Landry, who previously served as a graduate assistant at NIU.
Dan Sabock adds full-time duties as the Huskies special teams coordinator and linebackers coach
Jeff Knowles was promoted to defensive coordinator.
SCHOOL TIES: NIU coordinators
Mike Uremovich (offense) and
Jeff Knowles (defense) went to high school together at Providence Catholic in New Lennox, Ill. The pair were members of the 1994 state championship team and graduated in 1995. This is the third coaching stop the two have had together. Knowles was an assistant on Uremovich's staff at St. Francis (Ill.) from 2008-11 before joining the N.C. State staff in 2014 where Uremovich was the offensive line coach.
POINT TAKEN: NIU received one vote in the Preseason Amway Coaches Poll. The Huskies are the only team from the MAC to receive points and are tied for 51st. The last time NIU received votes in the preseason was 2016 when the Huskies were tied for 49th with one point.
SUNSHINE STATERS: The 2017 Huskie roster includes eight players from the state of Florida. Freshman
Kewan Parker and graduate transfer
Rod Alexander join six returning Florida Huskies – redshirt senior
Albert Smalls, redshirt juniors Antonio Davis-Jones and
Trequan Smith, junior Lance Deveaux and redshirt freshmen
Jalen McKie and
Dennis Robinson. The eight – all from the southeast coast of the state – represent eight different Florida high schools. The Huskies travel to the "Sunshine State" Sept. 22 to take on Florida State.
DEGREES IN HAND: Eight total players on the NIU roster are college graduates. Five have earned their degrees from NIU, while three came to DeKalb as graduate transfers.
Rod Alexander WR Oranizational & Corporate Communications St. Francis
Andrew Gantz K Sport Administration Cincinnati
Ryan Graham QB Leadership and Management NIU
Ty Harmston TE Biology NIU
Max Scharping LT Kinesiology NIU
Luke Shively C Chemistry-Biochemistry NIU
Albert Smalls CB Kinesiology NIU
Jaden Huff LB Finance St. Cloud State
GETTING A FAST START: NIU outscored its opponents in every quarter last year, except the third. The Huskies' best quarter was the first as NIU outscored their opponents, 115-65. The Huskies were equally effective in the second, outscoring the opposition, 114-76. NIU scored 60 percent of its points in the first half a year ago.
WORKING ON THE LINE: The Huskies return every player who started a game on its offensive line a year ago, led by Academic All-American tackle
Max Scharping who has started a team-leading 39 consecutive games, every game of his NIU career. Scharping is a two-time All-MAC selection. NIU's returning offensive linemen have combined to make 111 starts over the last three season with seniors Scharping (39) and
Luke Shively (25) and junior
Jordan Steckler (24) leading the way.
RUNNING TO WINS: Last season, NIU went 5-0 when running for more than 200 yards in a game and went 3-5 when they did not make the 200 mark. The Huskies have also won nine of their last 10 games when hitting that number.
ALL-AMERICAN ATTENTION: In addition to being named to numerous preseason watch lists, NIU left tackle
Max Scharping and defensive end
Sutton Smith have also garned preseason All-American honors. Last season, Smith became NIU's first consensus All-American since LeShon Johnson in 1993.
Sutton Smith - USA Today (2nd Team), Athlon (2nd Team), The Athletic (2nd Team), The Sporting News (2nd Team), Phil Steele (4th Team)
Max Scharping - USA Today (2nd Team), Athlon (4th Team)
SCORE ONE FOR THE DEFENSE: In addition to holding opponents to a school record 120 yards rushing per game, the Huskie defense accounted for five touchdowns on three interception and two fumble returns (both by
Sutton Smith), while NIU special teams scored twice on blocked punt returns.
LEADER OF THE MAC: Sutton Smith was part of a Huskie defense that led the MAC in total defense, scoring defense and first downs defense, ranked second nationally in quarterback sacks and led the nation in tackles for loss a year ago. NIU returns six members of that starting unit and 25 defensive letterwinners in all. It was the first time since 2008 NIU led the league in total defense.
SCORE ONE FOR THE DEFENSE: Smith led the nation in quarterback sacks last season with 14. The Huskies had 14 other defenders tally a sack in 2017, eight of whom return for NIU in 2018 –
Drequan Brown,
Josh Corcoran,
Trayshon Foster,
Antonio Jones-Davis,
Weston Kramer,
Ben LeRoy,
Devin Webster and
Quintin Wynne.
CLIMBING THE CHARTS: Smith moved into the top 10 on NIU's all-time list for quarterback sacks and tackles for loss in a career. The Huskie junior has 15 career sacks and 31.5 career tackles for loss. Huskie great Larry English leads both categories with 31.5 sacks and 63 tackles for loss.
JUST FOR KICKS: Graduate transfer
Andrew Gantz will handle the kicking duties for the Huskies this season. Gantz came to NIU as a grad transfer after spending four years as a Cincinnati Bearcat. He made 39-of-50 field goals during his 29-game career at Cincinnati, including a career long 51-yarder and was twice named All-American Athletic Conference.
HONORING A LEGEND: NIU and Miami (Ohio) announced that the teams will now play for The Mallory Cup, in honor of the late Bill Mallory, who coached both teams to MAC Championships during a hall of fame career. Mallory is the only man to lead two league programs to MAC titles. The first Mallory Cup game will be November 14, 2018 at Huskie Stadium.
PRESEASON POLLS: NIU was picked to finish first in the MAC West Division in 2018 by both the MAC media and MAC Coaches. The Huskies edged out Toledo by one point in the Coaches Poll and by eight in the Media Poll. Ohio was picked to win the East in both polls. This is the first time in the five years the MAC has had a Media and Coaches Poll that the Huskies were picked to win the West in both polls. The coaches picked the Huskies as the top team in the division for the third time overall.
HUSKIES IN THE PROS: As of August 27, 2018, eight Huskies are on NFL rosters with three more active in the Canadian Football League. Now in his sixth year in the league, Melvin is the veteran of the NFL group, while Stephen is in his sixth season in the CFL.
National Football League
Oakland Raiders - Rashaan Melvin (CB)
New Orleans Saints - Tommylee Lewis (WR)
San Francisco 49ers - Jimmie Ward (S)
Detroit Lions - Kenny Golladay (WR)
Tennessee Titans - Tim Semisch (TE)
Green Bay Packers - Joel Bouagnon (RB)
Minnesota Vikings -
Chad Beebe (WR)
Atlanta Falcons -
Christian Blake (WR)
Canadian Football League
Calgary Stampeders - Juwan Brescacin (WR)
Hamilton Tiger-Cats - Courtney Stephen (S)
Toronto Argonauts - Ken Bishop (DT)
