With half the season completed, NIU looked to continue perfection in its final six games.

The Huskies were able to do so easily in game seven, beating Central Michigan 40-24.

Yet, the win came at a price, as NIU lost middle linebacker Nick Duffy. The senior suffered a broken right fibula against CMU, according to an Oct. 13, 2003 Northern Star article.

“It was huge,” said former quarterback Josh Halid about the loss of Duffy. “I think Nick’s a guy you just don’t replace. He was kind of the emotional leader.”

So far that season, the Huskies had stayed fairly healthy. However, after CMU, the injuries started to add up and hit crucial players.

Former head coach Joe Novak pointed to the injuries on defense as being crucial losses. Novak said the 2003 defense might have been the best he coached. However that defense dealt with injures to strong safety Akil Grant, cornerback Randee Drew, and defensive ends Travis Moore and Jason Frank.

But NIU continued to win despite the injuries. In week eight, the Huskies slaughtered the Western Michigan Broncos 37-10. The win moved NIU up to No. 12 in the Associated Press poll. Even more impressive, in the first BCS poll the Huskies were ranked No. 10.

“I kept saying, this might be the last week I’ll ever see Northern Illinois in the top 15,” said Mike Sabock, former defensive end coach. “That’s almost a once in a lifetime experience at a school like Northern Illinois.”

Now at 7-0, the stage was set for NIU to stay in the top 15. For the third time that season, the Huskies would face a ranked opponent, as it traveled to No. 23 Bowling Green. ESPN took notice of the clash between MAC giants, making the decision to send Game Day.

“The whole league was very competitive,” said Mike Korcek, sports information director emeritus. “It might have been the greatest year of the league.”

That competitiveness and the injuries finally caught up to the Huskies as they lost 34-18 to the Falcons. Sabock would never see NIU in the top 15 of any poll after the loss. In next week’s polls, NIU dropped to No. 23 in the BCS and No. 21 in the AP.

The Huskies would put together back-to-back wins after the Bowling Green loss. It started with a 48-23 win over Ball State, followed by a 40-9 victory against Buffalo, but the results didn’t affect the rankings.

Focusing on winning the MAC West, the Huskies needed wins in their final two games against Toledo and Eastern Michigan, along with Bowling Green to lose to either Kent State or Ball State to make the MAC Championship.

On Nov. 15, 2003, these dreams were crushed. The Huskies suffered their second loss of the season, and the second in conference, as they lost 49-30 to Toledo.

“You asked anybody on that team, they would have traded the Maryland win, the Alabama win, for a win at Bowling Green and Toledo,” said former wide receiver P.J. Fleck. “Anybody would have done that. I think I speak for all of them when I say that.”

NIU finished the season at 10-2. But with two conference losses, the Huskies sat out of the MAC championship game.

The Huskies were also out of both the AP and the BCS polls.

“Because of the injuries, we lost two games,” Korcek said. “All of a sudden the Cinderella tale ended. It turned midnight and we went back into pumpkins.”