2003 Northern Illinois Huskies football team

2003 Northern Illinois Huskies football
Conference	Mid-American Conference
Division	West Division
Record	10–2 (6–2 MAC)
Head coach	Joe Novak (8th season)
Offensive coordinator	Matt Canada (1st season)
MVPs	Michael Turner Vinson Reynolds
Captains	Randee Drew Nick Duffy P. J. Fleck Akil Grant Michael Turner
Home stadium	Huskie Stadium

2003 Mid-American Conference football standings

v t e	Conf.							Overall
Team		W		L					W		L
East Division
No. 10 Miami (OH) x$		8	–	0					13	–	1
Marshall		6	–	2					8	–	4
Akron		5	–	3					7	–	5
Kent State		4	–	4					5	–	7
UCF		2	–	6					3	–	9
Ohio		1	–	7					2	–	10
Buffalo		1	–	7					1	–	11
West Division
No. 23 Bowling Green x		7	–	1					11	–	3
Northern Illinois		6	–	2					10	–	2
Toledo		6	–	2					8	–	4
Western Michigan		4	–	4					5	–	7
Ball State		3	–	5					4	–	8
Eastern Michigan		2	–	6					3	–	9
Central Michigan		1	–	7					3	–	9
Championship: Miami 49, Bowling Green 27
$ – Conference champion x – Division champion/co-champions Rankings from AP Poll

The 2003 Northern Illinois Huskies football team represented Northern Illinois University as a member of the West Division of the Mid-American Conference (MAC) during the 2003 NCAA Division I-A football season. Led by eighth-year head coach Joe Novak, the Huskies compiled an overall record of 10–2 with a mark of 6–2 in conference play, placing second in the MAC's West Division. Despite reaching bowl eligibility, Northern Illinois was not invited to a bowl game since the MAC only had two bowl tie-ins which went to those playing in the conference championship.^[1] The team played home games at Huskie Stadium in DeKalb, Illinois.

Schedule

Date	Time	Opponent	Rank	Site	TV	Result	Attendance	Source
August 28	6:30 pm	No. 15 Maryland*		Huskie Stadium DeKalb, IL	FSN	W 20–13 ^OT	28,018
September 6	12:00 pm	Tennessee Tech*		Huskie Stadium DeKalb, IL		W 42–17	18,123
September 20	6:00 pm	at No. 21 Alabama*		Bryant–Denny Stadium Tuscaloosa, AL	PPV	W 19–16	83,818	[2]
September 27	3:00 pm	Iowa State*	No. 20	Huskie Stadium DeKalb, IL		W 24–16	28,218
October 4	6:30 pm	Ohio	No. 17	Huskie Stadium DeKalb, IL	PPV	W 30–23 ^OT	21,736
October 11	12:00 pm	at Central Michigan	No. 16	Kelly/Shorts Stadium Mount Pleasant, MI		W 40–24	23,268
October 18	3:00 pm	Western Michigan	No. 12	Huskie Stadium DeKalb, IL		W 37–10	28,221
October 25	3:00 pm	at No. 23 Bowling Green	No. 12	Doyt Perry Stadium Bowling Green, OH (College GameDay)	ESPN2	L 18–34	31,007
November 1	1:00 pm	Ball State	No. 21	Huskie Stadium DeKalb, IL (rivalry)	FSN	W 48–23	24,121
November 8	12:00 pm	at Buffalo	No. 23	University at Buffalo Stadium Amherst, NY		W 40–9	5,127
November 15	2:00 pm	at Toledo	No. 21	Glass Bowl Toledo, OH	FSN	L 30–49	20,929
November 22	1:00 pm	Eastern Michigan		Huskie Stadium DeKalb, IL		W 38–24	16,589
*Non-conference game Homecoming Rankings from AP Poll released prior to the game All times are in Central time

^[3]

Rankings

See also: 2003 NCAA Division I-A football rankings

Ranking movements
Legend: ██ Increase in ranking ██ Decrease in ranking
— = Not ranked RV = Received votes

	Week
Poll	Pre	1	2	3	4	5	6	7	8	9	10	11	12	13	14	15	Final
AP	—	RV	RV	RV	20	17	16	12	12	21	23	21	RV	RV	RV	RV	RV
Coaches	—	RV	RV	RV	22	20	18	16	14	22	23	21	RV	RV	RV	RV	RV
BCS	Not released								10	23	22	21	—	—	—	—	Not released

References

1. Hachat, Josh (December 4, 2003). "MAC will get bowled over again". Lancaster Eagle-Gazette. Retrieved December 14, 2024 – via Newspapers.com.
2. "NIU snaps 0–8 losing streak against SEC". ESPN.com. Associated Press. September 20, 2003. Archived from the original on March 4, 2016. Retrieved December 5, 2012.
3. "Northern Illinois Official Athletic Site - Football". Archived from the original on December 28, 2010. Retrieved October 24, 2012.