SHREVEPORT, La. | It has been one roller coaster of a season for the 2008 NIU football team. From the heartbreaking season-opening loss at Minnesota, to the midseason three-game winning streak, to the 16-0 loss to Navy in the final game of the regular season.

Four of the Huskies’ six losses this season came by four points or less. Not to mention NIU used three different starting quarterbacks (Chandler Harnish, Dan Nicholson and DeMarcus Grady) on their way to a 6-6 record.

The wildest ride might have been the period between the Navy loss on Nov. 25 and the bowl selections on Dec. 7. After the loss, the chances of NIU making a bowl were slim but the Huskies’ dreams came true when they were invited to take on Louisiana Tech in the Independence Bowl in Shreveport, La.

“I was surprised, to be honest,” said NIU defensive end Larry English, the 2008 MAC MVP. “It was a shock to a lot of people I think.”

NIU (6-6, 5-3 MAC) will take on Louisiana Tech Sunday at Independence Stadium. Game time is 7:15 pm and can be seen on ESPN.

The teams met regularly from 1993-95 when they were both members of the Big West Conference. Louisiana Tech won the last meeting, 40-14 in 1996.

The Bulldogs (7-5, 5-3 WAC) finished second in the WAC behind Boise State, who had its undefeated season snapped when it lost to TCU Tuesday night in the Poinsettia Bowl.

The Bulldogs are led by second-year head coach Derek Dooley. Prior to coming to Louisiana Tech, Dooley spent two seasons as tight ends coach for the Miami Dolphins, and was an assistant coach at LSU from 2000-2004, where he was part of the 2003 National Championship team.

Dooley is the son of legendary Georgia head coach Vince Dooley, who served as Georgia’s head coach for 22 years and won six SEC titles and the 1980 National Championship.

Louisiana Tech will be playing in its first bowl game since the 2001 Humanitarian Bowl, which it lost 49-24 to Clemson.

Offensively, Louisiana Tech is led by first-team All-WAC running back Daniel Porter. Porter is third in the WAC with 1,086 rushing yards and has scored eight touchdowns.

On the defensive side, first-team All-WAC safety Antonio Baker finished second in the conference with 111 tackles. First-team All-WAC defensive tackle D’Anthony Smith currently has five sacks and 64 tackles.

Like Dooley, this is NIU head coach Jerry Kill’s first bowl appearance as a head coach.

“My first year at Northern Illinois to have an opportunity to be in a bowl game is a great thing,” Kill said. “Not only for our coaching staff, but certainly for our seniors.”

NIU is making its fourth major bowl appearance and playing in their third bowl game in the last five years. The Huskies previously played in the 1983 California Bowl, the 2004 Silicon Valley Classic and the 2006 Poinsettia Bowl.

In the team’s last bowl appearance the Huskies were beaten 37-7 by TCU, a loss which English says still stings. NIU’s last bowl victory was a 34-21 win over Troy in 2004.

“We have a lot of guys on the team that were around two years ago when we got blown out,” English said. “Me personally, my stomach’s still sick from that. I still have a bad taste in my mouth.”

Sunday’s game marks NIU’s first bowl appearance outside of California. The Huskies will be playing in Louisiana Tech’s backyard, with Shreveport being about 30 minutes away from the Tech’s campus in Ruston, La.

“I think we like playing away games,” Harnish said. “You kind of like to silence the crowd, make the good play here and there. We want to prove to people that we deserve to be in this situation.”

One thing the Huskies are certain about is that they aren’t happy to just be in a bowl game, they want to win.

“We’re definitely taking on the approach that this is a business trip,” English said. “We’ve got an objective we want to accomplish.”