Huskie sophomore John Ivanic began the 1988 football season as an All-American candidate. Three games, six field goals and 20 points later, the right-footed soccer-style placekicker seems to be measuring up to that lofty billing.

Last week at Wisconsin’s Camp Randall Stadium, his 31-yard field goal with a minute and a half remaining lifted NIU to its first-ever victory over a Big Ten Conference team.

As the Huskies prepare for Saturday’s trip to Minnesota where they will play another Big Ten foe, Ivanic and his teammates have begun thinking about postseason possibilities.

“Everyone is talking bowl game,” Ivanic said. “That would be a successful season. That’s something that hasn’t happened around here in a long time. Obviously, it’s not going to be a Rose Bowl, and that’s okay, too, but it’s something that is possible.”

Getting past Minnesota would be a big stepping stone towards a bowl for the Huskies. The Gophers seem to be stronger than Wisconsin, having stomped Miami (OH) 35-3 last week. But Ivanic doesn’t see it that way.

“Look at what Washington State did to them (the Gophers),” Ivanic said. “41-9? We’ll look at that.”

Such optimism has not always permeated Huskiedom. Two seasons ago, when Ivanic redshirted for NIU as a walk-on freshman, the Huskies finished with a 2-9 record. A few of those 1986 disasters included West Virginia 47, NIU 14; Miami (Fla.), 34, NIU 0 and Iowa 57, NIU 3.

“Everyone expected us to lose around campus,” Ivanic recalled of the ‘86 campaign. “The papers said we were going to lose. The Tribune laughed at us. Opponents laughed at us.”

But the laughing stopped last year when the Huskies earned some respect with a 5-5-1 season. It was Ivanic’s field goal with 0:06 to go against Northwestern that gave NIU a 16-16 tie, ending a 12-game losing streak to Big Ten teams.

But Ivanic’s career began quite differently from the success he has now achieved.

Though born in Brussels, Belgium, Ivanic grew up in the United States. He lived in Indianapolis, Ind., until the age of five, in Columbus, Ohio, until he was 12 and in Moline, Ill., during his teens until coming to DeKalb.

Ivanic attended Rock Island-Alleman High School where he played linebacker, offensive lineman and placekicker during his freshman season. At 5-foot-9 and weighing less than the 177 pounds he now carries, Ivanic’s career as anything but a placekicker was short-lived.

By his senior year, he had developed into a consistent, if not awesome, field goal kicker. He booted 8-of-8 three pointers that season and caught the eye of the NIU recruiters, thanks to a call from Ivanic’s father.

Though he was not offered a scholarship by NIU, Ivanic decided to try out for the Huskies anyway. NIU was the only Division I-A school to show an interest in him, and Ivanic wanted to pursue his goal of competing against the same teams he had watched play at Ohio State when he was younger.

After having watched the Huskies from the sidelines his first year at NIU and getting his “bubble burst”, Ivanic developed a new determination to succeed.

“It warned me to learn from the older guys,” Ivanic said. “Watch, see what they do, see how they practice, the way they react to different situations.”

Ivanic got his chance in 1987 and has yet to look back. In fact, he’s begun looking forward.

“I like to dream,” Ivanic said. “You know, Soldier Field, 65,000 people, Monday night. (But) that’s a long way down the road.”