NIU football’s incoming freshman class is stepping into territory that hasn’t been explored since the mid-1960s.

The entire team – with the exception of one player – has never experienced a losing season while wearing cardinal and black.

Senior offensive tackle Mark Orszula, who redshirted in 1999 when the team last finished under .500, returned to the Huskies this season. He wasn’t with the team the last two years, as he recovered from nearly losing his leg in a forklift accident.

“This team has accomplished a lot in the past six years,” Orszula said. “Last year, especially, people began to realize how good this team was, and we gained a lot of respect.”

The last time a Huskie class went its entire four years with winning records, Lyndon B. Johnson was in the White House and the Huskies were three years removed from their first and only national title.

“It’s kind of hard to believe it’s been so long,” Orszula said.

The last time NIU had a winning record for four years or more years was 1962-’66.

The recent success of Huskies football is quickly helping make memories of the 23-game losing streak (1996-’98) fade into the past. Since the streak ended in 1998, the Huskies have gradually improved.

“It’s pretty amazing how far they’ve come in the time since the streak,” said Larry English, a true freshman expected to contribute this year at defensive end.

English said the recent success of the program did play a part in him choosing NIU.

“When you see [NIU] beating teams like Maryland and Alabama, it makes you really want to be there,” English said. “I just saw them as a team on the rise with a lot of good things happening.”

Senior offensive tackle Jake VerStraete has noticed a difference from the team his freshman year to the squad now that it’s used to winning.

“Back when we were younger, we went into the games knowing we were the underdogs, and we were kind of hoping for a win,” VerStraete said. “A lot of times, we are favorites, and if we’re not, we know we still have a chance to win. Everyone takes us real serious now, and they don’t think of us as the joke of the nation.”

NIU Head Coach Joe Novak agreed.

“These guys now expect to win, and in this profession and this game, that’s half the battle,” Novak said. “It’s mental, and right now these kids think they’re good. They’re confident and they’re used to winning.”

With all the winning seasons the players have endured, they still have not accomplished their goal from day one.

“The whole team’s goal ever since we got here is to be MAC champs, and we haven’t accomplished that,” VerStraete said. “So that’s the main thing we want to accomplish this year.”