Coming into Saturday’s season-opener against Iowa at Soldier Field, NIU head coach Joe Novak knew one thing for certain about the Hawkeyes: They had two great running backs.

Novak couldn’t have been more right as senior Albert Young and Damian Sims rushed for 145 yards and 113 yards, respectively, to pace Iowa to a 16-3 win.

“I think probably the biggest difference in the game was they got their running game going and we didn’t,” Novak said.

Even though Iowa dominated the ground game, NIU had its chances, especially early in the first quarter. The Huskies started their first drive at the Iowa 44-yard line and the second at midfield, but both times came away with nothing.

“Field position was such an important part of the game,” Novak said. “We had it at the beginning and didn’t do anything with it.”

After a scoreless first quarter, Iowa’s Andy Brodell returned an NIU punt 56 yards to the NIU 20-yard-line, eventually scored on a 7-yard touchdown run by Young. A missed extra point made the score 6-0 with 12:19 remaining in the half.

Iowa built its lead to 13-0 later in the quarter by putting together an eight-play, 95-yard scoring drive. A 33-yard field goal late in the quarter by Chris Nendick gave NIU its only points of the game.

The turning point came during the Huskies’ opening drive after halftime. Nicholson hit wide receiver Greg Turner for a 40-yard pass on a flea flicker to set up a first-and-goal at Iowa’s three. But a false start penalty the very next play sent the Huskies back five yards.

“We had 10 guys on the field,” Novak said. “We had a miscommunication. We were trying to call a time out.”

Iowa then intercepted a second-down pass intended for Greg Turner and returned it to the Iowa 28 yard-line.

“We tried to get our tight end in the back of the endzone but I had to move a little bit so I lost sight of him,” said Nicholson, who finished with 214 yards and three interceptions. “I wish I could have kept it a little tighter to Greg.”

After that, NIU couldn’t get much going offensively on the ground or through the air. The Huskies were given a lot of underneath passes that amounted to short gains and Nicholson couldn’t find Britt Davis through the air after connecting with him five times for 70 yards in the first half.

“I kind of got away from him a little bit in the second half,” Nicholson said. “They were in that cover two [defense] and it was hard to get him down-field.”

As for Novak, he knows this is just the first of 12 games.

“I’m disappointed but not discouraged,” the 12-year coach said. “A play here and a play there. A little better in the kicking game and it could be flipped around possibly.”