As I sat around Saturday night I began to wonder, why is NIU 0-3?

My first thought was a lack of talent. With no Josh Haldi, Garrett Wolfe, or P.J. Fleck, could this team simply be less talented? But this idea was quickly disregarded.

To begin, 21 of the 22 starters on Saturday are recruits from the 2004 and 2005 class. These recruits were picked up after the golden era of Huskie football.

Names such as Britt Davis, Melvin Rice, Phil Brown and Justin Anderson all signed up to become Huskies. All were three-star recruits according to Rivals.com

And it’s not like this talent has disappeared. Anderson, the starting tailback, had 213 total yards of offense. Quarterback Dan Nicholson completed 20 of 28 passes for 160 yards. Heck, place-kicker Chris Nendick hit 45- and 47-yard field goals.

Yet despite another statistically sound performance, the Huskies left their third game without a win.

So it was back to the drawing board. Actually it wasn’t so much a drawing board as my refrigerator that doubles as a chalkboard. Thank you chalkboard spray paint!

And that’s when it hit me. Chalkboards – could the coaching staff be the source?

With all the talk of coaches leaving NIU, maybe there has been too much change over the last few years.

However, of the 10 Huskie coaches, five of them have been with NIU since the 2003 season or longer. Could five new coaches really be the source of the Huskies’ woes?

According to NIU head coach Joe Novak, it shouldn’t be. He has said repeatedly that new coaches can tweak the playbook, but they are unable to throw it away.

So it doesn’t seem like the institutions have been changed greatly since four years ago.

Tired and frustrated, I began to eat some chips and salsa. Within seconds, though, I was suffering from heartburn. And that’s when my final thought hit me.

Could the Huskies have lost their heart? While these players have the raw talent and the institutions, could they be without the passion of former generations.

But this didn’t seem to be the answer either. After Nendick missed the winning field goal, defensive end Brandon Bice fell to the artificial turf, ripped off his helmet and remained on the ground for an extended period of time.

It wasn’t till Nicholson came by and picked him up that the redshirt sophomore got off his knees.

Down another dead end, I decided it was time to use a lifeline. I grabbed my cell phone and sent out a text to a wide array of friends to see what their thoughts were.

My research question, “Why did NIU lose today?” The answers varied.

My first response was, “I don’t care.” Not much of an answer.

A buddy then sent me a classic answer. “Penalties. We came out of the half flat with no energy. It was a game of big plays and basic mistakes like holding killed our plays.”

But my favorite response came later in the night. It simply said, “You’re the sports writer, you [expletive] tell me.”

There’s no quote, no simple solution or easy fix that I can provide the public with. If there was I would call Novak right now and tell him the solution.

This is only an opinion piece, it’s not a solution guide. But I do know some things.

I know that NIU is 0-3, I know that the Huskies are frustrated, and I know that Novak is in the last year of his contract.

And I’m pretty sure if this is the coach’s last year, he doesn’t want to end his career like he ended his first season at NIU – a one-win season.