After putting together an eight-year streak of indisputably classic albums, even Bob Dylan hit a snag.

In 1970, the rock icon put out “Self-Portrait,” which will be best remembered as one of Dylan’s most forgettable albums.

For the last three years, NIU football has been on an upward climb, enjoying three straight seasons that have gotten progressively sweeter.

In 2002, an overtime victory over Wake Forest and a near-win at Wisconsin symbolized that the times were a-changin’. The following year began with seven straight wins that catapulted the Huskies to No. 12 in the AP rankings.

But in both of those golden seasons, the Huskies couldn’t bring it all back home in the form of a MAC championship or bowl game. But with a win over Troy at the Silicon Valley Football Classic at the end of 2004, the Huskies got the latter.

Still, no MAC championship.

This year, like every year, was supposed to be the season the Huskies finally got that elusive MAC trophy. But then, the Huskies hit a snag: a down-to-the-wire 48-42 loss to Akron in the first MAC game of the season.

As Dylan would say, “Tell me that it isn’t true.”

After a string of thrilling seasons, NIU’s season is on the brink of becoming the football equivalent of Dylan’s “Self-Portrait.”

If NIU can’t pull out a win at Huskie Stadium Wednesday against Miami-Ohio, you can throw a MAC championship and bowl game out the window. Forget Toledo. NIU first needs to shut down quarterback Josh Betts and Miami’s trio of All-MAC receivers: Marcus Johnson, Terna Nandle and Martin Nance, who was named the MAC East’s Offensive Player of the Week Monday.

It’s true that no team in the MAC can brag about its defense, but the RedHawks still have the best of the bunch, giving up an average of 24.5 points per game.

To be fair, NIU’s offense will be as potent as any Miami has faced – yes, that includes Ohio State – but the Huskie defense will need to actually make stops if the Huskies have any hope of winning. That’s easier said than done, as defensive stops have been about as rare as a good Ben Affleck movie in NIU’s

three games against Division I-A opponents.

Sure, the Huskies held Division I-AA Tennessee Tech to a field goal, but if you take that game out, the NIU defense has given up 39.7 points per game.

That, friends, will not cut it.

Wednesday is the single most important game on NIU’s schedule. If the Huskies walk away with a loss, the rest of the games won’t really matter, as NIU will be fighting for pride, not a championship.