A wise man once said that patience is a virtue. It’s a guarantee that the old geezer wasn’t talking about this season and the NIU football team. But that expression couldn’t hold any truer in this scenario.

In what could very well start as a 1-3 season, make no mistake, this Huskies team will not end as a bust.

Fair-weather fans will have their chance to whine and complain, as the season begins with four brutal games.

Things begin with two road matchups against Bowl Championship Series teams and home dates with the nation’s top Division I-AA team and a perennial MAC title contender.

Early on in this season, it could get uglier than D-tackle Martin Wilson in a miniskirt.

NIU fans, however, will not be like Bears devotees, racking their brains endlessly waiting for things to turn around.

After the first four games, five of the next six opponents had a combined 25-47 record last season, with Akron (7-5) the only team that was above .500.

Mixed in between is Toledo – the rock NIU keeps stubbing its toe on right before lowering their head going into the finish line.

This year won’t hold the glossy record that last year’s 10-2 mark did. Don’t expect to see these dawgs anywhere near the No. 12 spot in the BCS rankings that they had last season. And those Sports Illustrated features, regular mentions on ESPN and cover stories in USA Today may become nothing more than a distant memory.

But none of that will matter if NIU is crowned the champ of the MAC Dec. 2.

This, the 2K4 season, will present the Huskies with the best chance to obtain the conference crown that has eluded them since 1983.

Toledo has the preseason hype in the MAC, relieving the Huskies of any undue pressure. A few kinks in the road early on will prevent DeKalb from being a common meeting ground for media outlets from across the country. And key home contests with Bowling Green and Toledo will present a great advantage to allow NIU to play in its first bowl game since that same 1983 season when they played in the California Bowl.

The first home game of the season pits NIU against Southern Illinois, who, thanks to a bevy of transfers, can boast of Athlon Magazine’s top spot in its preseason rankings for Division I-AA teams.

Coach Ralph Friedgen and his Maryland Terrapins will certainly be aiming to “protect their house”, as the 90-second commercial featuring Friedgen from Under Armor suggests.

Then, the 4 1/2 hour trip west to Iowa State will present a team looking to redeem themselves from last season. The Cyclones haven’t been your typical Big 12 power the past two years, but don’t expect NIU to intimidate ISU, which has the second toughest non-conference schedule in the nation.

In the fourth game of the year, NIU and Bowling Green will tango in a developing rivalry to kickoff MAC play on a nationally televised ESPN game.

Things get easier after BG, but in this season, it isn’t how things begin, but more who is holding the hardware at the end of the year.