EVANSTON – This may come as a shock, but I would like to congratulate NIU football coach Joe Novak on one gutsy decision.

With the bad taste of the Northwestern loss still in our mouths it’s hard to believe that going for two at the end of the game was a good decision, but it was.

And let’s not forget, just one year ago Southern Illinois trailed NIU by one in the final seconds and failed to convert its two-point conversion, leading to a Huskie win. After the fact, Novak said, “To go for that two-pointer at the end, I’m not sure I would’ve had the nerve to do that.”

Maybe if the game was played under last season’s Novak, NIU would have been better off, but it wasn’t the decision to go for two that was wrong; the play called was.

The play in question was a short pass to wide receiver Sam Hurd, who had played well up to that point, but he slipped and watched Phil Horvath’s throw float over his head.

The Huskies had no business calling for a pass on that play. As we saw in the fortunate win over SIU last season, too much can go wrong when you throw the ball for that small amount of yardage.

Besides, the Huskies only needed three yards to get the two points and the win. Garrett Wolfe averaged 7.2 yards per carry – you do the math.

Which leads me to wonder: Where was Garrett Wolfe?

The Huskie horse that rushed for 245 yards and kept NIU in the game was not even on the field.

The team’s home-run hitter was on the sideline watching like the rest of us without getting a shot at doing what he does best: getting in the end zone.

A.J. Harris was on the field, however, which practically screamed “pass” to the Wildcats defense.

Even Harris, who had a whopping five yards on five carries, could have pounded out three yards on the ground, but we will never know what could have been.

I know there are many fans out there who say you should go for the tie on the road and the win at home, but I disagree.

A win would have helped the Huskies’ program much more than the loss hurts, considering this was a non-conference game against a Big Ten opponent.

And to everyone who is worried about the 0-2 start, be patient. Last season the Huskies started 1-2 and ended up with in first bowl game in 21 years.

Assuming they can beat Tennessee Tech – and they will – the Huskies will be a battle-tested team ready to run, not pass, through the rest of the MAC.