After a long Saturday afternoon of college football, I found myself lying back and watching ESPN with my friends to catch the 11 p.m. SportsCenter. As the football results scrolled across the bottom of the screen, I watched intently to see how badly NIU whooped Akron in their own backyard.

How shocking it was when the numbers “Akron 48, NIU 42” came rolling through my vision. That couldn’t be right, could it? There must have been a mistake.

Wasn’t this the same Huskie team that last year put a licking on the Zips by a 49-19 margin?

No. This is not the same team you saw last year that won its first bowl game since 1983. While it may get better before it gets worse, this loss in all likelihood doomed the Huskies’ postseason before October.

Argument #1: NIU had a killer schedule to kick off the season. The MAC schedule should be a breeze.

Let’s not kid ourselves. The MAC this year is far from impressive, and Akron was one of those teams NIU was supposed to roll right over.

Say what you will about junior quarterback Luke Getsy, but he is no Charlie Frye. Frye was 11th in NCAA history in total offense with 11,478 yards and was drafted in the third round of the 2005 NFL Draft. Getsy’s career statistics entering this season? Three completions in 13 attempts for 32 yards.

But against the Huskies, Getsy went off and pulled a Frye with 406 yards and five touchdowns while standing upright the entire game.

Argument #2: NIU’s potent offense will make up for its defensive deficiencies.

NIU’s bend-but-not-break defense was officially busted Saturday. Not only did the Huskies not record a sack for the third time this year, the defense proceeded to squander a 14-point lead and surrendered 42 points over the first three quarters.

Phil Horvath’s 486-yard, six TD performance was more than impressive. But he was forced to throw out of desperation when the Huskies found themselves down 21 points in the fourth quarter.

With the departure of playmaking linebackers Javan Lee and Brian Atkinson along with safety Lionel Hickenbottom, this defense does not have a leadership element to dominate teams.

Argument #3: The running game will carry this team to a MAC title.

When coach Joe Novak has a top-five rushing offense in the nation, of course he will ride his three-headed horse of Garrett Wolfe, A.J. Harris and Adrian Davis. But Akron did something only one team all last year could do: the Zips held the Huskies under 100 yards rushing. If any other MAC teams watch the tape of that game – and they will – Novak will have to change his running schemes so this doesn’t happen again.

Argument #4: If NIU runs the table, a MAC title is guaranteed.

It’s possible, until Nov. 16, when NIU travels to Toledo. Every year, the Huskies need to beat the Rockets for a shot at the MAC title, and every year Toledo wins.

And this season, it’s at Toledo’s house. Enough said.