Some wins are better than others.

Although the scoreboard read NIU-22, Arkansas State-21 at the end, and NIU’s rookie coach Charlie Sadler won’t decline his first victory, Saturday’s home-opener probably won’t be listed under “NIU football milestones” in future Huskie media guides.

“I thought we should have done a better overall job,” Sadler said about Saturday’s game after the benefit of having viewed the game films. “It was a matter of lack of execution. We could have put more points on the board.”

And as far as the bright side—”We were down and the team showed character to come back and win the football game,” Sadler said. “We played a lot harder than we did in our first game (a 55-7 loss at Fresno State).”

What made the win somewhat unsatisfying for NIU (1-1) was not only the lack of execution, but also the lowly status of the opposition.

Arkansas State entered the game at 0-2, including a 28-3 home loss the week before to Northwest Louisiana. The Division I-AA Indians were also hampered by a flu epidemic that left over 30 players unable to practice during the week approaching Saturday’s contest.

The lack of execution Sadler spoke of was evident in the number of missed tackles. Arkansas State’s Jerrold Seymore twice escaped from a pile of NIU tacklers to make long runs, including a 50-yard TD scamper on a punt return.

“What happened was we had five guys hit him at the same time … but no one wrapped him up and the guy made a good run,” Sadler said. “We’re going to try to improve on tackling. We gave up two long runs because of that.”

On the offensive side of the ball, quarterback Stacey McKinney finished 2-of-8 passing with one interception.

“Early in the game, we didn’t hit our receivers. As McKinney settled down, he started hitting them—they have to catch it,” Sadler said of the several catchable passes that were tipped or dropped.

Another factor that puts a damper on the Huskies’ win is the fact that if the game was played under last season’s rules, NIU might have lost.

The NCAA narrowed collegiate goal posts by about five feet this year. With the wider posts, Arkansas State’s field goal try, which went barely wide Saturday, would have probably been good and the Indians would have had a 24-22 lead with 18 seconds left.

‘Fullback Adam Dach not only had the best performance of his career Saturday with 195 rushing yards, the Huskie ironman also recorded three tackles (one solo, two assists) on special teams. Dach also recorded two solo tackles during special teams duty against Fresno State.

‘The Huskies’ 14th-straight home victory tied the mark set between 1962-65 when NIU played home games at Glidden Field.