SAN JOSE, Calif. – The hype and anticipation is over. All the waiting and wondering of how it was going to end has passed by.

Now, with a bowl victory behind them, Josh Haldi and the rest of the NIU senior class have all the time in the world to sit back and reflect about the most successful careers in Huskies football history.

“I can’t believe it’s kind of come to an end,” said Haldi, who is part of the first class in NIU history to have five winning seasons. “It’s a perfect way to go out: getting a bowl opportunity and obviously winning. I don’t think it’s hit me and a lot of these guys that we’re done playing here and now we have to figure out what to do with the rest of our lives, but we’ve got some time down the road to reflect.”

After beating Troy 34-21 in the rain and mud at the Silicon Valley Football Classic on Dec. 30, the fifth-year seniors ended their time with a 39-19 record.

The bowl victory, in front of 21,456 fans, was the first for the Huskies since beating Cal State-Fullerton in the California Bowl in 1983.

“I couldn’t have asked for a better situation when I came in here,” Haldi said. “To have five winning seasons and to be around these guys for those five years is something I’m going to remember for the rest of my life. It’s been the best five years of my life.”

The Huskies’ hopes of capturing their first post-season victory in 21 years hit a wall early in the first quarter when the Trojans sprinted to a 14-0 lead to start the game.

“When it was 14-0, like everyone else, I was awfully nervous,” NIU coach Joe Novak said. “Our kids have been in that position before. In the last three or four years, I think we’ve been behind more than we’ve been ahead in games. I was really proud of the way they kept their poise.”

After a Garrett Wolfe 50-yard touchdown run, the Huskies rattled off 34 unanswered points to run away with the game.

“We played a really good team,” Troy coach Larry Blakeney said. “But we made some errors in all three phases of the game. I was proud of our team and how they didn’t shut it down.”