It was hard not to look ahead of their schedule, but that’s what the Huskies had to do.

After a victory over No. 15 Maryland in the season opener, the Huskies faced Division I-AA opponent Tennessee Tech. NIU had to take care of the Golden Eagles while knowing in just three weeks it would face a ranked Alabama.

The Huskies easily defeated the Golden Eagles, 42-17 on Sept, 6 2003, and headed into a bye week before their match up with the Crimson Tide.

“No one gave us a shot of winning,” said quarterback Josh Haldi. “We had two solid weeks to prepare.”

Those two weeks would be needed to prepare for Alabama. The Crimson Tide ended the 2002 at 10-3, finishing No. 11 in the Associated Press poll.

The coaching staff questioned, how were they going to orchestrate a successful attack against their South Eastern Conference opponent?

“I remember on Monday afternoon [Coach Joe] Novak came in and said, ‘What do you like against these guys?'” said former offensive line coach Sam Pittman. “I said, ‘Well coach, there isn’t a whole lot.'”

After careful consideration, the Huskies decided to be bold. The final game plan – run the football and physically dominate Alabama.

“We specifically went in with a game plan that we were going to take it to them,” said former running backs coach DaAndre Smith.

NIU offensive coordinator Matt Canada prepared something special of his own before the team headed to Tuscaloosa, Ala.

Canada’s daughter asked her father how the players would know that she was rooting for them in the 80,000-plus crowd. The assistant coach told her that at the end of the game the Huskies would be in the victory formation. As the team knelled its way to a win, every player would hold up a ‘V’, showing they knew she was in the stands.

During the two weeks, the entire team, even on the sidelines, practiced holding up a ‘V,’ but no one knew if this would be used on Saturday, Sept. 20, 2003.

NIU head coach Joe Novak had faith in his team, knowing they could win. However, once in Bryant-Denny Stadium for a Friday walkthrough, the game took on another level.

“[Alabama] has national championship flags around the stadium – they had 12,” Novak said. “I had to count again. I thought they had two for each one.”

Just like Maryland, Alabama scored first. But as the Crimson Tide went for the extra point, NIU blocked the kick and returned it for a safety.

Down 9-5 at halftime, the Huskies continued with their game plan. NIU running back Michael Turner would finish the night with 156-yards on 27 carries.

However, the senior wouldn’t find the end zone. Instead, NIU quarterback Josh Haldi connected with wide receiver Shatone Powers in the third quarter for his first of two touchdowns. Holding a

12-9 lead after the Powers touchdown, Haldi would give NIU another seven points on a 48-yard

pass to wide receiver Dan Sheldon.

Up 19-16, NIU held the ball with 2:39 left to go, knowing they had secured the win. And that’s when the side line held up their hands, holding their index and middle finger apart, making a ‘V.’

“The one thing I remember is that it was not a fluke,” said tight ends coach Bill Bleil. “Our kids were knocking them off the ball and they didn’t want any more. They just came out and played hard.”

Alabama and its fans were stunned. The mighty 12 time national champion had fallen to Northern Illinois University. But instead of booing, harassing or throwing garbage at the Huskies, the Crimson Tide faithfully stood up and applauded the team from DeKalb.

“There was people outside our locker room, a lot of them Alabama people and they cheered,” Novak said. “I must have had 75-100 Alabama people e-mail the next day, and not one was negative.”

Negativity was nowhere to be found with this team. Players celebrated as they went through airport security at 2 a.m. Their faces lit up as fans greeted their arrival in DeKalb.

NIU had proven the win over Maryland was no fluke. The world was watching.