After compiling the best single-season record (7-4) in his five-year tenure at NIU, head football coach Jerry Pettibone feels there is nowhere to go but up.

“We’re ready to go,” Pettibone said. “I started feeling this way right after spring practice. I’m more optimistic about this team than any of my other teams here.”

The 1989 Huskies have 43 returning lettermen, 16 of them starters, when they open the season by hosting the Titans of Cal State-Fullerton on September 2.

The Huskies follow their season opener by traveling to Lincoln, Neb., for their first-ever game with the Cornhuskers. The Huskers are ranked pre-season number one in the country by The Sporting News. Not only will this game give NIU some national attention, it will also match NIU junior defensive end Cary Caliendo against his brother, Chris, a senior linebacker at Nebraska.

After a week of rest, the Huskies will travel to Manhattan on September 23. Not the Big Apple, but Manhattan, Kan., home of the Kansas State Wildcats. KSU finished last season 0-11, and finished their relationship with coach Stan Parrish. Bill Snyder has taken over the head coach position for the first meeting between the schools.

NIU returns home to face the Leathernecks of Western Illinois on September 30. The Huskies should be ready for this one. WIU coach Bruce Craddock said after last year’s 16-6 NIU victory that “…they (the Huskies) should be in Division I-AA…”

The Southern Illinois Salukis will visit DeKalb the next weekend (October 7). SIU’s new head coach, Bob Smith, will take last year’s 4-7 team and try to avenge last year’s 10-9 loss to NIU on a field goal by John Ivanic.

The Huskies will go down to cajun country to face Louisiana Tech on October 14. The state of Louisiana was not too friendly to the Huskies last fall when they suffered a 45-0 defeat against SW Louisiana. Last year’s Bulldogs were 4-7, including a 19-16 win over SW Louisiana. The Huskies will host SW Louisiana on November 4.

The Nevada-Las Vegas Rebels will be in town October 21, without the “Ickey Shuffle”. Two years ago, the Huskies finished their season at UNLV with a 34-31 victory in a game that was televised live on ESPN. In that game, UNLV’s Ickey Woods scored three touchdowns and captured the 1987 national rushing crown. From there he went on to become a national “psuedo-hero” because of his touchdown dance.

On November 11, the Huskies will host the Toledo Rockets. Toledo defeated NIU by a 33-20 margin last fall, increasing their series lead to 15-5.

The Huskies finish the regular season on the road in Cincinnati. The Bearcats’ new head coach, Tim Murphy, will lead his team into the first-ever meeting between the two schools.

Huskie placekicker John Ivanic was named to Street & Smith’s College Football pre-season All-America squad for the second consecutive year. Also named to the team was linebacker Ron Delisi, who led the Huskie defense with 171 tackles last year and made Associated Press Honorable Mention All-America.

Three-time varsity letter winner offensive guard Dan Smaha did not return for fall drills and will not play this season due to academic reasons said Pettibone. Smaha was named First-Team All-Independent by both Don Heinrich’s College Football and Jim Feist’s 1989 Football Annual for the upcoming season.

Senior quarterback James Darby and sophomore center Gary Lakin have transferred from NIU due to academic reasons.

Pettibone feels that his players are ready for the challenge of proving proof that last year was not a fluke.

“I believe our players really learned how to win last year,” he said. “We want to prove to people that we can win on a consistent basis.”