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Monday, November 30, 2015
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A look back at the 2015 regular season Sept. 14: Football starts 2-0 after a 57-26 blowout win at home against Murray State. Read more at bit.ly/1OgrKej.
Oct. 5: Huskies lose to Central Michigan, giving them a three-game losing streak, their worst since the 2009 season. Read more at bit.ly/1NCUFue.
Nov. 5: Football wins a big game against Toledo, but loses junior quarterback Drew Hare for the season. Read more at bit.ly/1MYKydn.
Nov. 25: Huskies lose their regular season finale but clinch a MAC title spot against Bowling Green. Read more at bit.ly/1LHKEUY.
Huskies prep for third straight MAC game vs. BGU Christopher Loggins Sports Editor T @NSSportsLoggins
Game info
DeKalb | Football will compete in its sixth straight MAC Championship game Friday — its third consecutive time playing Bowling Green in the game. The Huskies picked up a big win last season in the championship when they defeated the Falcons 51-17. Bowling Green won the previous title matchup between the two teams, downing the huskies 47-27 in 2013. The Falcons are coming off a 48-10 win over Ball State last week. They went 9-3 this year, including a seven-game winning streak midway through the campaign. The team recorded 40-plus points seven times and went 7-1 in the MAC. They also went a perfect 6-0 on the road. The Huskies lost just one game at home this season and went 6-2 in the MAC. They average 34.6 points per game and allow 24.8 points per game. Junior running back Joel Bouagnon is tied for fifth in the nation with 18 rushing touchdowns and has led NIU in rushing throughout the year. Sophomore cornerback Shawun
Who: Bowling Green When: 7 p.m. Friday Where: Detroit TV: ESPN2
junior quarterback Drew Hare. “Ryan [Graham] wasn’t able to come back,” said head coach Rod Carey, according to a Wednesday Northern Star article. “I don’t know his status. If we get into the championship game I wouldn’t know his status. I would hope for the bowl game he’ll be back, but I wouldn’t know the status on that either.” Next in line at quarterback lies third-string quarterback freshman Tommy Fiedler, who entered last week’s game and nearly led a successful comeback for NIU. Fiedler would likely be the starter for the Championship game if Graham isn’t able to Photo Courtesy NIU Creative Services Freshman quarterback Tommy Fiedler drops back for a pass in Tuesday’s game against Ohio. Fiedler threw for 113 yards play. It would be his first career start. and a touchdown in his debut, nearly leading the Huskies to a comeback victory in their regular season finale. Kick off for the game will take Lurry is still tied for the nation Redshirt freshman quarterback He’s now the second quarterback to place at 7 p.m. Friday in Detroit. A lead in interceptions with eight — Ryan Graham suffered a leg injury go down for the Huskies this year win would give NIU its fourth MAC the NIU record is 10. in Tuesday’s game against Ohio. following a season-ending injury to Championship in five years.
Football finishes with unusual record Rough stretch early in the year almost comes to haunt NIU Thomas Hiley Staff writer T @NSSportsHiley
Photo Courtesy NIU Creative Services
Senior safety Marlon Moore dives for a tackle in Tuesday’s game against Ohio. Moore picked up one interception in his final game at Huskie Stadium.
DeKalb | The Huskies (8-4, 6-2 MAC) earned a spot in their sixth consecutive MAC Championship this season despite fewer wins compared to years past. Football finished the regular season with its worst start to a year since 2009-10 when it went 7-5 before losing to South Florida 27-3 in the International Bowl; however, the team managed to make a comeback despite big-time injuries to many starters. NIU won its first two games by a combined 39 points, taking two big home wins against UNLV and
Murray State. Its quick start came to a halt after a three-game losing streak put the team below .500 for the first time since the 2012-13 season. It was the first time in eight years that the Huskies lost three consecutive games. Junior quarterback Drew Hare continued his success from the 2014-15 season, leading the Huskies’ offense in his first full year as a starter. He threw for nearly 2,000 yards and 14 touchdowns in nine games before suffering a seasonending injury to his Achilles in week nine against Toledo. Redshirt freshman Ryan Graham took the helm following Hare’s injury, and managed to keep things rolling for the Huskies. They reeled off six wins in a row and were playing their best football until the season’s end. All of the wins on their streak were against conference opponents
as they started the year 6-1 in MAC play. NIU scored more than 40 points on five occasions and held teams below 20 points in four games. Graham won two games as starter and seemed to be filling in just fine, but got hurt in the regular season finale against Ohio on Tuesday. His status going forward is unknown. Freshman quarterback Tommy Fiedler took over for Graham in his first appearance of the year and threw for more than 100 yards and a touchdown, but wasn’t able to successfully lead a Huskies comeback as they lost 26-21. The loss put NIU’s MAC Championship fate in the hands of Western Michigan, who beat Toledo 35-30 in its final game of the regular season. The win set up an NIU-Bowling Green matchup Friday in Detroit.