DC Huskies2011MAC-Championship

2 | 2011 Huskies • The MAC Championship Season Daily Chronicle • HuskieWire.com

A season to relive

All season, the Northern Illinois Uni-versity football team had something to prove.

Players and first-year coach Dave Doeren talked about it extensively in the preseason.

At media day at Ford Field, I’ll never for-get the look quarterback Chandler Harnish had on his face when his eyes drifted from the press box to the field.

“We need to get back here,” he told me.Harnish wasn’t the only one who said so.

He wasn’t the only one who wanted to erase the memories of a last-minute loss in the Mid-American Conference title game. The Huskies wanted to prove they were worthy of being called champions, of walking off that field in Detroit with happiness.

This season was all about showing NIU and the community that the Huskies could do just that – and more. Doeren and the Hus-kies talked about doing things the hard way.

That was none more evident than at the MAC title game.

Down 20-0, the Huskies staged the largest comeback in modern school history, ending on a game-winning field goal from kicker Mathew Sims. It was NIU’s first MAC title since 1983, allowing the Huskies to celebrate their long journey to a championship.

That journey is what you’ll find in the pages of this commemorative magazine.

You’ll be able to relive each game from the season – from the season-opening victory against Army all the way to the GoDaddy.com Bowl game win over Arkansas State.

Every high, every low from each game throughout this MAC title season is here: the record-setting shootout in Toledo, the last-second loss at Kansas and the last-second win against Ball State.

Along with that, relive the season through photos from each game.

This magazine is a unique opportunity to go back and experience those same feelings you had after each NIU game.

Page through and read again and again about how the Huskies went on a seven-game win streak in conference play to clinch a second straight MAC West Division title and back-to-back berths in the conference title game. Or take another look at Harnish becoming only the 10th quarterback in FBS history to pass for 200 yards and run for 200 in the same game when he did it against Western Michigan. It’s all here, in full color glossy pages for NIU fans to enjoy forever.

This was an unforgettable season for the Huskies. One that will be remembered as the year NIU proved it could win it all.

• John Sahly is the sports editor of the Daily Chronicle. Write to him at [email protected].

VIEWS | JOHN SAHLY

Rob Winner – Daily Chronicle

NIU football coach Dave Doeren and wide receiver Nathan Palmer embrace after the Huskies won the MAC championship Dec. 2, 2011, at Ford Field.

2011 Huskies • The MAC Championship Season | 3Daily Chronicle • HuskieWire.com

By RYAN WOOD | Daily Chronicle

DeKALB – Dave Doeren stood near the 10-yard line, a place he frequented the past several months. Never like this.

To his left, Doeren saw a sea of stu-dents wearing red and standing to cheer. Fans in the nearly full west-side stands showered support. The players he coached since December locked arms, swaying back and forth to the pulse of the crowd.

“It was surreal,” Doeren said. “When those guys were rocking back and forth, it was hard to even put into words how fun that was.”

Northern Illinois University’s first-time head coach had plenty of those moments during his team’s 49-26 win against Army. Few compared to that.

When players sprinted behind him,

through midfield and to their east side-line, Doeren said his thoughts were emp-ty.

“Total elation,” Doeren said. “That’s about as fun a moment as you can have. To stand there and look in their eyes, we knew how ready they were. These guys were so hungry. When we were rocking back and forth, I knew it was going to be a great start.”

NIU jumped out to a 35-6 halftime lead, which increased to 49-6 late in the third quarter. The offense was explosive, piecing together quick scoring drives. The defense forced turnovers and lim-

ited points, while special teams set the tone with a punt block returned for the game’s first touchdown.

With the blowout, there were more emotions than pressure. Perhaps the most difficult moment happened during the pregame.

“When they delayed the game, I had to walk in the locker room,” Doeren said, referring to kickoff’s 10-minute weather delay. “But that’s just what our guys do. They handle adversity so well.”

Of all the emotions his first game day had, Doeren said there were no nerves.

“It was more just, ‘Let’s get this thing going,’ ” Doeren said. “There is nobody that’s nervous around here. These guys just wanted to play. They’ve been working so hard, and we just wanted to get them out on the field and do their thing.”

GAME 1: SEPTEMBER 3, 2011 | HUSKIE STADIUM

NIU 49, Army 26

Huskies almanacTop passer: Chandler Harnish - 195 yards, 5 TDsTop rusher: Jasmin Hopkins - 138 yardsTop receiver: Jamal Womble - 2 rec., 38 yards

Kyle Bursaw – Daily Chronicle

Northern Illinois safety Tommy Davis (20) tries to strip the ball from Army wide receiver Jared McFarlin at Huskie Stadium on Sept. 3, 2011.



LAWRENCE, Kan. – After it was over, Northern Illinois University cornerback Sean Evans could only shake his head.

“We had a perfect, I mean, we schemed up,” Evans said. “From where I was, it looked like we had everybody covered up. I guess, inches. This game is a game of inches.”

Those inches didn’t go NIU’s way in an offensive shootout. The Huskies lost at Kansas, 45-42, after they allowed a six-yard touchdown pass from Jayhawks quarterback Jordan Webb to receiver D.J. Beshears with nine seconds remain-ing at Memorial Stadium.

“It doesn’t feel good, I’ll tell you that,” NIU coach Dave Doeren said. “I think our guys played extremely hard, and so did they. My hat goes off to KU and their

players. They executed and made one more play than we did.”

Kansas gained 534 yards. NIU’s offense gained 462 yards, led by senior quarter-back Chandler Harnish’s 404 yards of to-tal offense and five touchdowns.

“Any time we give up that many yards, we’re always going to feel like we let our offense down,” senior middle linebacker Pat Schiller said. “It’s probably the worst thing ever. We’re going out there, giving 100 percent, and they were just able to make plays.”

While the Jayhawks’ final play right-fully stands out as the difference, NIU

believed it never should have gotten to that point.

The Huskies were driving near the first half’s end before coming up on a fourth-and-six at Kansas’ 30-yard line. Harnish lobbed a pass to Martel Moore, who was called down with the reception at the Jayhawks’ 1-yard line.

But after a booth review, the refer-ee overturned his call. Kansas got the football back with 1:46 remaining and finished the drive with Webb’s 36-yard touchdown pass to receiver Kale Pick with only seconds left in the first half. The Huskies, who got the football to start the third quarter, could have put the game away early.

“It all went down to that review,” Moore said. “I know for sure I caught the ball. I took two complete steps and stretched out for the touchdown.”

GAME 2: SEPTEMBER 10, 2011 | MEMORIAL STADIUM

Kansas 45, NIU 42

Huskies almanacTop passer: Chandler Harnish - 315 yards, 2 TDsTop rusher: Chandler Harnish - 89 yards, 3 TDsTop receiver: Nathan Palmer - 9 rec., 86 yards

AP photo

NIU quarterback Chandler Harnish (12) gets past Kansas safety Bradley McDougald for a touchdown Sept. 10, 2011, at Memorial Stadium.

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CHICAGO – They were ready.All week, Northern Illinois Univer-

sity football coach Dave Doeren and his players knew an onside kick would fol-low their first points.

And after the Huskies’ first touch-down against No. 7 Wisconsin, Doeren made the call.

For a moment, it looked like the gam-ble worked. Cheers erupted from NIU’s sideline.

“I thought we had it,” senior center Scott Wedige said.

Instead, after the officials cleared the pile, Wisconsin had the football at NIU’s 49-yard line. The Badgers scored three players later, taking a lead it never sur-rendered in a 49-7 win against NIU at Sol-

dier Field.“I saw (our) guy have it,” Wedige said.

“They must have gotten it at the bottom of the pile. It can get rough down there. You know, momentum, it would’ve been really exciting had we gotten it. But you can’t be too high, and you can’t be too low. You have to keep it even keel.”

The Huskies scored 91 points in their first two games, but punted nine times against a Wisconsin defense that never fatigued.

NIU quarterback Chandler Harnish completed 14-of-24 passes for 164 yards.

After rushing for 183 through the first two games, Wisconsin held him to mi-nus-2 yards on four carries. He failed to score a touchdown for the first time this season.

“It was incredibly disappointing,” Harnish said. “It was probably the worst offensive performance I’ve been a part of, myself included. I’m not blaming any-body. I didn’t play a great game, either.

“Definitely disappointing, frustrat-ing, but credit goes to Wisconsin. They schemed us up perfect.”

Wisconsin quarterback Russell Wil-son completed 23-of-32 passes for 347 yards and three touchdowns against one interception. Running backs Mon-tee Ball and James White had 91 rushing yards apiece. Ball had two touchdowns, and White added one.

GAME 3: SEPTEMBER 17, 2011 | SOLDIER FIELD

Wisconsin 49, NIU 7

Huskies almanacTop passer: Chandler Harnish - 164 yardsTop rusher: Akeem Daniels - 23 yardsTop receiver: Perez Ashford - 6 rec., 77 yards


Wisconsin defensive lineman Brendan Kelly (97) tackles NIU quarterback Jordan Lynch at Soldier Field in Chicago on Sept. 17, 2011.

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By JOHN SAHLY | Daily Chronicle

DeKALB – Chandler Harnish wasn’t going to shy away from contact.�

The Northern Illinois University se-nior quarterback, along with the rest of the Huskies, wanted to set a tone during a 47-30 win against Cal Poly.�

So midway through the second quar-ter, with NIU ahead by 20, Harnish got a first down on a run near midfield, bowl-ing over Cal Poly free safety Angel Mo-rales in the process.� Harnish sprung to his feet immediately, waving his arms upward to energize the crowd at Huskie Stadium.�

“He got people jacked up today, and I think he finally ran somebody over for the first time,” NIU football coach Dave Doeren said.�

The drive would end eight plays later

on a Harnish pass to Perez Ashford, who scored from three yards out on a second effort with two Mustang defenders drag-ging him to the turf.�

“It’s because we have great wide re-ceivers that will go get the ball,” Harnish said.� “They have to play soft coverage if they want to get their safeties in the box to stop the run.�

“That’s what we need to do, that’s what our offense is built on.�”

Wanting to get what they said was a sour taste of losses to Wisconsin and Kansas out of their mouths, the Huskies did just that, scoring on their first six

possessions and punting only once in the victory.�

NIU showcased its offense the way it wanted, with three touchdown drives that took less than two minutes while racking up big chunks of yards.� The Hus-kies gained 542 yards, 355 of them com-ing on the ground.�

Jasmin Hopkins, who finished with a career-high 143 rushing yards, helped set that early tone with a one-yard touch-down run in the first quarter.� That was followed by freshman receiver Tommy-lee Lewis scoring on a nine-yard run in his first collegiate game, and Harnish adding a 29-yard touchdown.�

Harnish also broke Huskie great George Bork’s school record for career touchdowns, ending the day with 67 for his career, topping the mark of 65 set by Bork from 1960-63.�

GAME 4: SEPTEMBER 24, 2011 | HUSKIE STADIUM

NIU 47, Cal Poly 30

Huskies almanacTop passer: Chandler Harnish - 187 yards, 2 TDsTop rusher: Jasmin Hopkins - 143 yards, 2 TDsTop receiver: Perez Ashford - 4 rec., 47 yards, TD


NIU running back Akeem Daniels makes a diving catch against Cal Poly at Huskie Stadium on Sept. 24, 2011.


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MOUNT PLEASANT, Mich. – All week, the Northern Illinois University football team exuded the feel of a pre-pared team.

Winning at Central Michigan for the first time since 2005 was a goal for this senior class.

No one was looking toward the end of the season, and the ultimate standard this team was to be judged by was win-ning a Mid-American Conference title. For the past seven days, players and coaches said all the right things.

Which made it shocking when the Huskies trailed by 17 points after the first quarter, a hole it never dug out of in a 48-41 loss to Central Michigan at Kelly/Shorts Stadium.

What went wrong?

“I have no idea what the sluggish start was attributed to,” senior quarterback Chandler Harnish said. “We had a great week of practice; the best three consecu-tive days we’ve had all year. It’s kind of weird because we did that against Wiscon-sin, too; had a great week of practice.”

The Huskies’ defense held the Chippe-was to 6-of-13 on third- and fourth-down conversions. Three of those conversions were Central Michigan touchdowns of at least 36 yards.

“That definitely puts the salt on the wound, I guess you could say,” senior middle linebacker Pat Schiller said. “We

did all the good work to get to that point. If it’s third-and-long or fourth-and-short, we’ve just got to get off the field. We let things slip through, and they made plays. You’ve got to give them credit, but that’s on us.”

NIU rallied near the end of the fourth quarter, recovering two onside kicks and scoring 10 points in the final 47 seconds.

The offense recovered, scoring 41 points after being shut out in the first quarter. By then, it was too late.

“I don’t know what to attribute that to,” NIU coach Dave Doeren said. “Ob-viously, we need to do some homework and take an inventory of why we started slow. We haven’t started slow like that really all year.”

Harnish had the second-best day in school history for total yards in a game with 462.

GAME 5: OCTOBER 1, 2011 | KELLY/SHORTS STADIUM

Central Mich. 48, NIU 41

Huskies almanacTop passer: Chandler Harnish - 370 yards, 2 TDsTop rusher: Jasmin Hopkins - 95 yards, TDTop receiver: Martel Moore - 6 rec., 130 yards, TD

Tim Fitzgerald – Central Michigan University Athletics

Central Michigan’s Ben Brown scores a touchdown against the Huskies on Oct. 1, 2011, at Kelly/Shorts Stadium in Mount Pleasant, Mich.



DeKALB – Pat Schiller said it was now or never.

This was the “playoffs.” Players talk-ed about it all week. They knew there were no more second chances.

It was time for Northern Illinois Uni-versity’s defense to play like the unit it thought it could be, not what it had been.

“We knew we needed to come out and play well,” said Schiller, NIU’s senior middle linebacker. “We came into the locker room today, we had a team meet-ing before the game and we kind of just said, ‘Hey, this is our time.’ ”

NIU and the defense had little trou-ble with Kent State, winning, 40-10, at Huskie Stadium. The Huskies didn’t al-low an offensive touchdown, giving up

three points until Kent State strong safe-ty Luke Wollet returned running back Jamal Womble’s fumble 36 yards for a touchdown late in the fourth quarter.

The Golden Flashes entered the game as the nation’s worst offense, last among 120 teams in scoring and total yards. They gained 70 yards on 61 plays and finished 1-for-15 on third-down conver-sions.

“I don’t care who you [play],” NIU coach Dave Doeren said. “If you hold someone to 70 yards, that’s an impres-sive day.”

The Huskies entered the game with

only five takeaways, tied for the fewest among 13 MAC teams. They had three against Kent State, starting with an in-terception defensive tackle Nabal Jeffer-son returned 25 yards for a touchdown on the Golden Flashes’ first possession.

The play – a screen pass – was set up by defensive lineman Ron Newcomb’s pres-sure on Kent State quarterback Spencer Keith. Newcomb, a senior, finished with a team-high eight tackles, 3.5 for loss and 1.5 sacks.

Pressure was a consistent theme. The Huskies finished with seven sacks and forced Kent State coach Darrell Hazell to pull Keith in the first half in favor of backup Cedric McCloud.

“It’s unbelievable how easy it is to play when you have a great D-line in front of you,” said Schiller, who finished with six tackles – one for loss.

GAME 6: OCTOBER 8, 2011 | HUSKIE STADIUM

NIU 40, Kent State 10

Huskies almanacTop passer: Chandler Harnish - 113 yards, TDTop rusher: Chandler Harnish - 65 yards, TDTop receiver: Nathan Palmer - 2 rec., 35 yards


NIU defensive end Sean Progar (center) celebrates with linebacker Pat Schiller (53) after a Progar sack Oct. 8, 2011, at Huskie Stadium.



DeKALB – He couldn’t remember all the words or how he said it.

“I was pretty caught up in the mo-ment,” Northern Illinois University foot-ball coach Dave Doeren said.

But sometime before NIU left its lock-er room for the second half against West-ern Michigan, the Huskies’ first-year coach made an adjustment. Confused by the option-read on the first half’s final drive, the Broncos’ defense split up the middle. Quarterback Chandler Harnish ran 29 yards through open field, setting up a field goal and two-point deficit.

“I told the offense at halftime, ‘I want you to run it until they stop it. I don’t want to see another play call, just change the formations,’ ” Doeren said.

The Broncos never slowed it down. NIU rushed for 494 yards and didn’t stop until it got a 51-22 homecoming victory at Huskie Stadium.

Harnish ran for 229 of his 432 total yards, a career-high rushing total.

“Tiring,” Harnish said afterward, de-scribing how it felt. “They hit hard. But at the same time, it was a lot of fun. It was easy because the O-line was doing their job. The running backs were doing a phenomenal job blocking, same for the wide receivers. My reads were simple, and the holes were so wide open.

“If I had been a little faster, I would’ve scored some touchdowns.”

Harnish had 163 of NIU’s 222 rushing yards in the third quarter. When he sat in the fourth, backup quarterback Jor-dan Lynch put the finishing touches on his nine carries and 113 yards. Lynch scored a touchdown.

NIU quarterbacks combined for 342 yards on 24 carries.

Almost as impressive as NIU’s run-ning game was its ability to stop West-ern Michigan from doing the same. The Broncos ran for 351 yards the previous week in a blowout win against Bowling Green. They had 91 yards on 31 carries against the Huskies.

“After the Cal Poly game, I think we started to see growth (on defense),” Do-eren said.

GAME 7: OCTOBER 15, 2011 | HUSKIE STADIUM

NIU 51, Western Mich. 22

Huskies almanacTop passer: Chandler Harnish - 203 yardsTop rusher: Chandler Harnish - 229 yardsTop receiver: Nathan Palmer - 7 rec., 89 yards


NIU running back Jasmin Hopkins (25) reaches for the pylon after a 24-yard rush Oct. 15, 2011, against Western Michigan at Huskie Stadium.

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AMHERST, N.Y. – Chandler Harnish already had moved on to overtime.

Maybe Northern Illinois University football coach Dave Doeren thought the game at Buffalo could end in regula-tion. Maybe he kept coaching, sending his max extra point block defense on the field, hoping Bulls kicker Peter Fardon would miss a potential game-tying extra point with 14 seconds remaining.

“Play to the whistle, every second on the clock,” Doeren said.

But when Fardon lined up, Harnish anticipated what seemed inevitable.

“I was thinking about overtime,” NIU’s senior quarterback said. “I knew they had come up with a max block, so we were hoping for the best. But to be honest with you, we were thinking not

only about overtime, but we were think-ing about what we were going to do when we got the ball back.”

The Huskies only needed to kneel down.

Fardon’s extra point sailed two feet left of the uprights, and NIU held on for a 31-30 win at UB Stadium.

After NIU scored touchdowns on its first two second-half possessions, the Bulls outscored the Huskies 20-0 in the fourth quarter. The final score came on a three-yard pass from senior quarterback Chazz Anderson to receiver Ed Young, capping a 14-play, 88-yard drive.

Anderson completed 35-of-53 passes for 404 yards, three touchdowns and two interceptions.

After rushing for a career-high 229 yards a week ago, Harnish was held to 67 yards on 12 carries, including a six-yard touchdown in the first half’s final minute.

Harnish completed 11-of-26 passes for 150 yards.

Running back Jasmin Hopkins had 55 yards on 19 carries and scored three touchdowns for the second consecutive week.

“That’s one of the goals we have ev-ery week, downhill mentality,” Hopkins said.

The win was NIU’s first outside of DeKalb this season.

“It felt good. I wish it was a lot clean-er,” Doeren said. “But it felt great.”

GAME 8: OCTOBER 22, 2011 | UB STADIUM

NIU 31, Buffalo 30

Huskies almanacTop passer: Chandler Harnish - 150 yardsTop rusher: Chandler Harnish - 67 yards, TDTop receiver: Perez Ashford - 2 rec., 45 yards

Paul Hokanson – University of Buffalo Athletics

The Buffalo defense swarms to try and keep NIU running back Jasmin Hopkins out of the end zone Oct. 22, 2011, at UB Stadium in Amherst, N.Y.

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Congratulations Huskies!Chandler Harnish: A leader on and off the field

NIU quarterback Chandler Harnish was a Chapel Speaker

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By ANTHONY ZILIS | For the Daily Chronicle

TOLEDO, Ohio – A freshman returned his first two kickoffs for touchdowns, a receiver tied a Mid-American Confer-ence record with five touchdowns, and 123 points were scored, the most ever in the Glass Bowl’s 75-year existence.

But all that mattered after Northern Illinois University’s 63-60 win against Toledo was that the Huskies were in the driver’s seat in the MAC West.

“I just care that we scored more points than them,” NIU football coach Dave Do-eren said.

Freshman Tommylee Lewis delivered the first two blows for NIU, scoring on the first two kickoffs with runs of 100 and 95 yards, the longest returns in Glass

Bowl history.When Toledo quarterback Austin

Dantin was on the field, the Rockets’ of-fense was nearly unstoppable. On the first six drives he was in the game, he threw four touchdowns to Eric Page and ran for another. The Rockets kicked a field goal on the other drive. Page caught five touchdowns in the game to share a MAC record with Randy Moss.

NIU quarterback Chandler Harnish finished the game with six touchdown passes – three to Nathan Palmer – 265

yards passing and 133 yards rushing, cracking the 10,000-yard mark for his ca-reer.

Toledo led 53-49 with 10:30 remaining in the game. The teams then exchanged rushing touchdowns by Jasmin Hopkins (NIU) and Adonis Thomas (Toledo).

The Huskies had first-and-goal at the 3-yard line with just over a minute re-maining, and it looked like all the Hus-kies would need to do was punch in a short touchdown. It wasn’t that easy af-ter delay of game and false start penal-ties pushed them back 10 yards.

Harnish, though, eventually found Perez Ashford for four-yard touchdown. The Huskies led 63-60 and stopped the Rockets on the next drive.

The teams combined for 1,121 yards.

GAME 9: NOVEMBER 1, 2011 | GLASS BOWL

NIU 63, Toledo 60

Huskies almanacTop passer: Chandler Harnish - 265 yards, 6 TDsTop rusher: Chandler Harnish - 133 yardsTop receiver: Nathan Palmer - 4 rec., 120 yards, 3 TDs

Jeremy Wadsworth – The Blade

NIU’s Tommylee Lewis (80) returns the opening kickoff for a touchdown Nov. 1, 2011, against Toledo at the Glass Bowl in Toledo, Ohio.

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By CHAYSE HELD | For the Daily Chronicle

BOWLING GREEN, Ohio – It didn’t quite match the performance a week ear-lier against Toledo, but Northern Illinois University’s offense put up some impres-sive numbers against Bowling Green.

The Huskies finished with 623 yards of total offense, cruising to a 45-14 win at Doyt Perry Stadium. The win was NIU’s fifth straight.

Quarterback Chandler Harnish fin-ished with 445 yards of total offense de-spite sitting most of the fourth quarter. Harnish completed 16-of-26 passes for 294

yards and two touchdowns. He also led all players with 151 yards rushing and a touchdown on 17 carries.

With the two touchdown passes, Har-nish tied George Bork with 60 for the most in NIU history.

“When you run for 200 and they’re under 100, you’re going to win,” NIU football coach Dave Doeren said. “That’s

what I want our program to be all about; stopping the run and running the ball, being physical.”

Receiver Willie Clark had four recep-tions for 109 yards and two touchdowns, including one from backup quarterback Jordan Lynch. It was the first touchdown pass of Lynch’s career.

NIU outscored Bowling Green, 21-0, in the second half after the Falcons scored late in the second quarter to cut their deficit to 24-14 at halftime.

“I’m very pleased,” Doeren said. “I’m proud of the coaches. I’m proud of the players.”

GAME 10: NOVEMBER 8, 2011 | DOYT PERRY STADIUM

NIU 45, Bowling Green 14

Huskies almanacTop passer: Chandler Harnish - 294 yards, 2 TDsTop rusher: Chandler Harnish - 151 yards, TDTop receiver: Willie Clark - 4 rec., 109 yards, 2 TDs

Lori King – The Blade

Bowling Green quarterback Matt Schilz is chased down Nov. 8, 2011, by NIU’s Nabal Jefferson at Doyt Perry Stadium in Bowling Green, Ohio.

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DeKALB – The fireworks boomed with eight seconds remaining. Green and pink, brilliant flashes of white; they hung in the air like confetti.

Good thing the mood didn’t fade eight seconds later.

“Premature celebration a little bit,” Northern Illinois University football coach Dave Doeren said.

The fireworks started after sopho-more kicker Mathew Sims’ 34-yard field goal, capping a wild 41-38 win against Ball State at Huskie Stadium.

It was the Huskies’ sixth straight win and third straight against the Cardinals.

It looked like the Huskies wouldn’t have a chance for a game-winning field goal with a little more than six minutes remaining. Ball State senior safety Sean

Baker intercepted Chandler Harnish’s pass near NIU’s end zone and ran it in for what could have been a game-icing touchdown.

But a roughing the passer penalty was called on Cardinals linebacker Tony Martin, prolonging a drive that ended with Sims’ 23-yard field goal to tie the game.

The Huskies fell behind, 14-0, af-ter the first quarter mostly because of Harnish’s first fumble since the season-opening game against Army, resulting in Ball State safety Josh Howard’s 92-yard touchdown return. The Huskies

were down 17 points midway through the third quarter before answering with 21 straight points.

Sims said he never had kicked a game-winning field goal.

“Just like any other kick,” Sims said. “Just take a swing, and then actually kick it.”

Sims told Doeren before the game he felt comfortable kicking within 45 yards. Doeren said he was confident the boot would split the uprights because the same situation was practiced during the week.

Sims passed that test, too.“We called the whole team up around

him, and guys were three inches from him, just calling him every name in the book, yelling at him,” Doeren said. “And he nailed it right down the middle. I said, ‘That’s a heck of a sign right there.’ ”

GAME 11: NOVEMBER 15, 2011 | HUSKIE STADIUM

NIU 41, Ball State 38

Huskies almanacTop passer: Chandler Harnish - 338 yards, 2 TDsTop rusher: Chandler Harnish - 181 yards, TDTop receiver: Martel Moore - 6 rec., 120 yards, TD


NIU’s Martel Moore (1), Chandler Harnish (12) and Adam Kiel (94) congratulate Jasmin Hopkins (25) on Nov. 15, 2011, at Huskie Stadium.



DeKALB – With one of season’s best defensive efforts, Northern Illinois Uni-versity held on for an 18-12 win against Eastern Michigan at Huskie Stadium.

The victory clinched NIU’s second straight Mid-American Conference West Division title and advanced the Huskies to the MAC Championship Game at Ford Field in Detroit.

The win was NIU’s seventh straight and improved its record to 15-1 in the MAC the past two seasons.

“Really, really excited to go back to Detroit,” NIU football coach Dave Do-eren said. “Finally, we can quit talking about Detroit and go back. We’re just re-ally, really excited to play Ohio. ... It’s going to be a fun week.”

Eastern Michigan trailed by six points

and had a second-and-10 from NIU’s 31-yard line on its final possession. Two straight sacks pushed the Eagles back to a fourth-and-35. Quarterback Alex Gil-lett’s pass struck tight end Garrett Hosk-ins’ hands near the first-down marker, but NIU cornerback Sean Evans’ hit jarred the ball loose.

It was one of many plays NIU’s de-fense made.

With their offense uncharacteristi-cally struggling, the Huskies held the Eagles to 280 yards on 73 plays. Eastern Michigan had 133 rushing yards on 48 carries (2.8 yards per carry) and was held

to 8-of-18 on third-down conversions.With a constant, swirling wind, NIU

quarterback Chandler Harnish had one of his worst passing games of the season, finishing 9-of-19 for 98 yards. Much of his production through the air came on a 54-yard touchdown pass to receiver Willie Clark. But in his final game at Huskie Stadium, the senior had 148 yards rush-ing on 17 carries, including a 68-yard touchdown run that gave NIU an 18-6 lead with 12 seconds remaining in the third quarter.

Despite Harnish’s 246 yards of total offense, the win was about a defense that showed how much it has improved.

Harnish understood the significance.“It was on the defense’s back, and I

was just hoping and praying they would come through,” Harnish said. “And I was confident.”

GAME 12: NOVEMBER 25, 2011 | HUSKIE STADIUM

NIU 18, Eastern Mich. 12

Huskies almanacTop passer: Chandler Harnish - 98 yards, TDTop rusher: Chandler Harnish - 148 yards, TDTop receiver: Willie Clark - 2 rec., 70 yards, TD

Rob Winner - Daily Chronicle

NIU linebacker Jordan Delegal points to the sky Nov. 25, 2011, after a sack of Eastern Michigan quarterback Alex Gillett at Huskie Stadium.

Huskies almanacTop passer: Chandler Harnish - 250 yards, 3 TDsTop rusher: Chandler Harnish - 60 yardsTop receiver: Nathan Palmer - 4 rec., 115 yards, 2 TDs



DETROIT – The inevitable question was asked, just as Northern Illinois Uni-versity quarterback Chandler Harnish expected.

The demons were exorcised. The bad memories were replaced with cel-ebration. The Mid-American Conference championship trophy sat a couple steps away, and it was his.

Did it make up for what happened last year?

“What happened last year?” Harnish asked.

The rhetorical question was more of an answer. After NIU sophomore kicker Mathew Sims’ 33-yard field goal as time expired sealed a 23-20 win in front 13,052 fans at Ford Field and the Huskies’ first MAC championship since 1983, that was all that mattered. Sims’ kick completed the largest second-half comeback in NIU modern history.

This time, there was no magical fourth-and-20; no gut-wrenching defeat. Players no longer had to speak of un-finished business or mention the hypo-theticals of what might have been. They simply mobbed at midfield, moshed in celebration and soaked in their accom-plishment.

“Yeah, we had some bad demons that we wanted to avenge from last year,” Har-nish said, “but this feels pretty good.”

It was an improbable victory, maybe even more shocking than last season’s upset loss to underdog Miami (Ohio). NIU trailed 20-0 at halftime. There were no promising signs of a comeback, not after receiver Jamison Wells’ fumble ended the Huskies’ first drive of the sec-ond half.

NIU’s offense began its comeback with a 39-yard touchdown pass from >>

MAC CHAMPIONSHIP GAME: DECEMBER 2, 2011 | FORD FIELD

NIU 23, Ohio 20


NIU wide receiver Martel Moore hauls in a fourth-quarter touchdown Dec. 2, 2011, at Ford Field in Detroit. Moore’s touchdown was part of the second-half comeback that led to the Huskies’ 23-20 win and first Mid-American Conference championship since 1983.


>> Harnish to senior receiver and the game’s MAC West MVP Nathan Palmer with 6:19 remaining in the third quarter. A 32-yard pass from Harnish to receiver Martel Moore pulled the Huskies within one possession with 7:36 remaining, but Sims missed the extra point attempt.

The defense continued its second-half shutout, giving NIU the football with less than five minutes remaining in the fourth quarter. The Huskies marched down, and a 22-yard pass from Harnish to Palmer tied the game with 2:52 remaining.

Then, after one more defensive stop, Sims made his game-winning kick.

“That one moment, when we were all dancing on the field together – I don’t know how you guys felt, but I felt pretty good,” NIU football coach Dave Doeren said. “That’s what it’s all about, that one single moment that you are the best. Our guys earned every second of it.”

MAC CHAMPIONSHIP GAME: DECEMBER 2, 2011 | FORD FIELD


NIU football coach Dave Doeren and the Huskies celebrate their MAC Championship Game victory Dec. 2, 2011, at Ford Field in Detroit.


Willie Clark (left) and Nathan Palmer celebrate with fans Dec. 2, 2011, in Detroit at Ford Field.



MOBILE, Ala. – One Gatorade bucket wasn’t enough.

Not for this moment. Careers were ending. Legacies were being forever cemented. History was about to show these Northern Illinois University Hus-kies were the most successful in pro-gram history.

So after NIU’s convincing 38-20 Go-Daddy.com Bowl win against Arkansas State at Ladd-Peebles Stadium, seniors dumped two buckets on coach Dave Do-eren.

This game wasn’t as close as the final score. Plenty of talk was made afterward about coach Hugh Freze’s departure to Mississippi and how that affected Arkan-sas State, but it was more than that. The Red Wolves were the upstart program

enjoying one of their finest seasons in program history and trying to get their first bowl victory. The Huskies were the established, mid-major power on their way to another ho-hum bowl win.

There was the defense, holding Ar-kansas State to two field goals after be-ing handed short fields, making sure the score didn’t get out of hand early. And there was Dechane Durante, cementing the win with a 36-yard interception re-turned for touchdown with 8:19 remain-ing in the game.

NIU quarterback Chandler Harnish had a fitting stamp on his career, fin-

ishing 18-of-37 for 274 yards, two touch-downs and his hands raised in a V as the final seconds ticked away. Junior receiver Martel Moore set the stage for what should be an excellent senior season, finishing with 224 yards and a touchdown.

And, boy, didn’t backup Jordan Lynch show he was ready to be a starter, taking over NIU’s offense when Harnish was briefly sidelined with a left ankle tweak in the second quarter and not missing a step.

Finality has its way of putting things in perspective.

Yes, Harnish is the undisputed best quarterback in NIU history. Yes, these seniors will be known as the winningest ever. And, yes, the Huskies defense is legitimate, setting up what should be an-other successful season next fall.

GODADDY.COM BOWL: JANUARY 8, 2012 | LADD-PEEBLES STADIUM

NIU 38, Arkansas St. 20

Huskies almanacTop passer: Chandler Harnish - 274 yards, 2 TDsTop rusher: Jamal Womble - 25 yards, TDTop receiver: Martel Moore - 8 rec., 224 yards, TD

Mike Kittrell – Mobile Press-Register

NIU players, including Willie Clark (10), drench football coach Dave Doeren with water Jan. 8, 2012, at Ladd-Peebles Stadium in Mobile, Ala.


GODADDY.COM BOWL: JANUARY 8, 2012 | LADD-PEEBLES STADIUM


NIU wide receiver Martel Moore evades Arkansas State defenders Jan. 8, 2012, at Ladd-Peebles Stadium in Mobile, Ala.


NIU quarterback Chandler Harnish looks for a receiver Jan. 8, 2012, at Ladd-Peebles Stadium in Mobile, Ala.


NIU’s Nabal Jefferson and Alan Baxter sack Arkansas State quarterback Ryan Aplin on Jan. 8, 2012, at Ladd-Peebles Stadium in Mobile, Ala.


FOR THE RECORD

2011 NIU resultsOpponent ResultArmy .....................................W, 49-26@ Kansas ...............................L, 45-42Wisconsin* ..............................L, 49-7Cal Poly ................................W, 47-30@ Central Michigan ............. L, 48-41Kent State ............................W, 40-10Western Michigan ...............W, 51-22@ Buffalo ............................. W, 31-30@ Toledo .............................W, 63-60@ Bowling Green ............... W, 45-14Ball State ............................. W, 41-38Eastern Michigan ................W, 18-12

MAC Championship GameOhio^ .................................... W, 23-20

GoDaddy.com BowlArkansas State ** .............. W, 38-20

* – at Soldier Field in Chicago^ – at Ford Field in Detroit

** – at Ladd-Peebles Stadium in Mobile, Ala.

MAC Championship game history for NIU

2011Ohio ......................................W, 23-20

2010Miami (Ohio) ......................... L, 26-21

2005Akron ...................................... L, 31-30

NIU bowl history2011 | GoDaddy.com Bowl*

Arkansas State ...................W, 38-202010 | Humanitarian Bowl

Fresno State ........................ W, 40-172009 | International Bowl

South Florida ........................... L, 27-32008 | Independence Bowl

Louisiana Tech .......................L, 17-102006 | Poinsettia Bowl

Texas Christian ....................... L, 37-72004 | Silicon Valley Classic

Troy .......................................W, 34-211983 | California Bowl

Cal State-Fullerton ............. W, 20-13

* – game played Jan. 8, 2012

2011 NIU passingPlayer YardsChandler Harnish .......................3,216Jordan Lynch .................................166

2011 NIU rushingPlayer Net yardsChandler Harnish .......................1,379Jasmin Hopkins ............................ 956Akeem Daniels ............................. 303Jordan Lynch ................................ 246Jamal Womble .............................. 124Perez Ashford .................................85Leighton Settle ...............................84Tommylee Lewis ............................74Nathan Palmer ................................30Jamison Wells ................................ 20Willie Clark ...................................... 18Cameron Bell................................... 18James Spencer.................................. 7Da’Ron Brown ................................... 3

2011 NIU receivingPlayer YardsMartel Moore ................................747Nathan Palmer ............................. 695Perez Ashford .............................. 530Da’Ron Brown ...............................322Willie Clark ................................... 292Akeem Daniels ............................. 252Anthony Johnson.......................... 174Jamison Wells ................................112Jamal Womble ................................58Jasmin Hopkins ...............................54DeMarcus Grady ............................ 51Luke Eakes .......................................49Pat McAvoy ..................................... 16Leighton Settle ............................... 14Jack Marks....................................... 13Tim Semisch ..................................... 7

2011 NIU punt returnsPlayer YardsTommy Davis ..................................53Perez Ashford ................................. 31Courtney Stephen .......................... 16Jimmie Ward .....................................9

2011 NIU interceptionsPlayer InterceptionsDechane Durante ............................. 3Rashaan Melvin ................................ 3Jhony Faustin ....................................2Zach Anderson...................................1Demetrius Stone ...............................1Nabal Jefferson ..................................1Jimmie Ward ......................................1Michael Santacaterina .....................1

2011 NIU kick returnsPlayer YardsTommylee Lewis ..........................755Tommy Davis ................................145Perez Ashford ............................... 122Akeem Daniels ................................72Michael Santacaterina .................. 18Rob Sterling ..................................... 14Jamison Wells ................................. 13Pat McAvoy ..................................... 10

2011 NIU scoringPlayer PointsMathew Sims ................................ 124Jasmin Hopkins ...............................96Chandler Harnish ............................66Nathan Palmer ................................44Martel Moore ..................................42Akeem Daniels ................................30Willie Clark ......................................24Jordan Lynch ................................... 18Perez Ashford ................................. 18Tommylee Lewis ............................ 18Jamal Womble ................................ 12Da’Ron Brown ................................. 12Luke Eakes .........................................6Courtney Stephen ............................6Nabal Jefferson .................................6Dechane Durante .............................6Tim Semisch .....................................6

2011 NIU all purposePlayer YardsChandler Harnish .......................1,379Jasmin Hopkins ..........................1,010Tommylee Lewis ......................... 829Perez Ashford .............................. 768Martel Moore ................................747Nathan Palmer ..............................725Akeem Daniels ..............................627Da’Ron Brown ...............................325Willie Clark ....................................310Jordan Lynch ................................ 246Tommy Davis ................................198Jamal Womble ..............................182Anthony Johnson.......................... 174Jamison Wells ...............................145Leighton Settle ...............................98DeMarcus Grady ............................ 51Luke Eakes .......................................49Dechane Durante ...........................47Michael Santacaterina ..................37Demetrius Stone ............................29Pat McAvoy .....................................26Nabal Jefferson ...............................25

2011 NIU tacklesPlayer Total tacklesPat Schiller .....................................115Jimmie Ward ................................ 100Jordan Delegal ................................82Rashaan Melvin ..............................78Jhony Faustin ..................................70Jamaal Bass .....................................62Dechane Durante ...........................57Demetrius Stone ............................55Sean Progar .....................................52Ron Newcomb ................................49Alan Baxter ......................................48Nabal Jefferson ...............................46Tommy Davis ..................................38Kyle Jenkins .....................................29Michael Santacaterina ..................28Jason Meehan .................................26Sean Evans ......................................24Victor Jacques ............................... 20Joe Windsor .................................... 20Dominique Ware............................. 19Anthony Wells ................................ 16Marckie Hayes ................................ 14Gervais Porter ................................. 13Frank Boenzi .................................... 12Stephen O’Neal ............................... 12Da’Ron Brown ..................................11Tyler Wedel .......................................6Greg Barksdale .................................6Courtney Stephen ............................4Akeem Daniels .................................. 3Zach Anderson.................................. 3Cameron Bell..................................... 3Bobby Winkel ....................................2Scott Wedige ....................................2Pat McAvoy ........................................1Jordan Lynch ......................................1DeMarcus Grady ...............................1Perez Ashford ....................................1Jamison Wells ....................................1George Rainey ...................................1Adam Kiel ...........................................1Ryan Fillingim.....................................1Rob Sterling ........................................1

2011 NIU sacksPlayer SacksSean Progar ....................................5.5Alan Baxter .....................................5.5Ron Newcomb ...............................4.5Stephen O’Neal ..............................3.0Pat Schiller .................................... 2.0Anthony Wells .............................. 2.0Kyle Jenkins .................................... 1.5Jimmie Ward .................................. 1.0

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