Can Northern Illinois University’s football team go 3-0-0 on ESPN?

Huskie gridiron boss Jerry Pettibone surely hopes so.

Most of the country—approximately 56.1 million households—can find out on Saturday, Sept. 29, when NIU meets perennial Big Ten Conference doormat Northwestern University at Dyche Stadium in Evanston on the ESPN National Game of the Week.

Kickoff for the NIU-NU contest is set at 11:37 a.m.

To play a Big Ten opponent in a national game on ESPN is great exposure for our football program,” Pettibone said after the network announced the cablecast on Monday. NIU last played Big Ten opponents in 1988, losing 31-20 to Minnesota a week after beating Wisconsin 19-17.

“The last time we were on ESPN, we beat Nevada-Las Vegas (34-31 in 1987) out there and the game finished around 1:15 a.m. our time,” Pettibone said. “By comparison, this is prime time—right in the middle of a Saturday afternoon on the East Coast and Midwest.

“Right now, there’s a potential for the most people ever to watch a Northern Illinois football team play on TV,” added Pettibone. “I think the viewers will see a better Huskie football team than they did three years ago at UNLV.”

In 1983, NIU topped Cal State-Fullerton 20-13 in California Bowl III in its first national ESPN appearance.

Northern Illinois boasts a school-record 52 lettermen and 19 returning starters from a 9-2-0 team that set 31 school offensive records and received votes in both major wire service polls late last season.

The Wildcats lead the series with a 3-0-1 record. Huskie placekicker John Ivanic kicked a 36-yard field goal with 0:06 left for a 16-16 final in the teams’ last meeting in 1985.

Single-game tickets for the Northwestern game are available at the NIU Athletic Ticket Office, Room 106 in Chick Evans Field House. For further information, call 753-0353 or toll free 1-800-332-HOWL.