Ready or not, it’s here. The kickoff Saturday at Maryland begins the best time of the year to be in DeKalb: football season.

One could feel the excitement and intensity last season as NIU tore through its first eight opponents without a loss. Suddenly, people who had paid little-to-no attention to sports were watching NIU highlights on SportsCenter.

Now, it’s time for all of that again. The tailgating, the ThunderStix and all else that comes with college football.

However, this season may not be like last season. Who will fill Michael Turner’s shoes and run for 1,738 rushing yards? Who will take over P.J. Fleck’s 1,028 receiving yards? Who will kick the field goals? Steve Azar has been doing it for the last four years.

Oh yeah, didn’t NIU lose Nick Duffy, Todd Ghilani, Randee Drew and Akil Grant, too?

All these questions are probably running through the minds of most NIU fans. Yes, this season will be different. How different is the question.

NIU won’t take anyone by surprise this year. Last year, Maryland may have been a bit stunned by the Huskies’ level of play, but be assured that they won’t make the same mistake this year.

The same goes for Iowa State, who will be looking to avenge last year’s loss at Huskie Stadium. Division I-AA power Southern Illinois will have nothing to lose when coming to DeKalb Sept. 11.

So, what’s the good news for Huskie fans? While the non-conference schedule is a tough one, the MAC schedule couldn’t be much better.

Bowling Green and Toledo, the two teams that broke up NIU’s undefeated season last year by handing the Huskies road losses, will be coming to DeKalb this time around. These two games will be key, as Toledo is ranked as the best team in the MAC, and Bowling Green will likely compete for the MAC West title with NIU.

The rest of NIU’s games are winnable, meaning if NIU wins against Toledo and Bowling Green, a long-sought-after MAC title is easily attainable.

NIU coach Joe Novak predicts that his team’s offense will be as good, if not better, than last year, and with good reason. A fast and strong A.J. Harris could step right in where Turner left off, and with a strong returning offensive line, both Harris and returning senior quarterback Josh Haldi will have a good cushion to work with.

There are plenty of questions that won’t be answered until the the games actually start, but there’s still a good deal of Huskie strength left from last year’s 10-2 effort.

Overall, NIU fans may be looking at the best season in the school’s history. Even if there isn’t a high-profile win against Maryland, topping Toledo would be just as huge – after all, that game will actually matter.

Everyone will have their own opinion on where Huskie football will stand, but ready or not, it’s about to start. Unlike last season’s thrilling start with an unhappy ending, this year may be just the opposite.

But NIU would take a bowl game over an undefeated non-conference record any day.