NIU football coach Joe Novak has the task of preparing his Huskies for each Saturday, but after the game Novak’s day isn’t over.

Each Saturday, Novak has the responsibility of keeping up with rest of college football. The NIU boss is one of 63 Division I coaches who votes in the ESPN/USA Today Coaches Poll.

In his third year as a voter, this season is a little different for Novak as he is able to see his own team in the rankings.

“Everybody that does vote in these polls has a hard time putting a MAC school in the Top 10,” Novak said. “They can sneak you up to 12, but actually pulling the trigger and getting you in the Top 10, I think, is hard.”

The process the coaches go through is a long and strenuous one, Novak said.

He said a typical Saturday for him consists of coaching his own game, coming home, watching other college football games, researching who won and lost earlier in the day, checking margin of victory and quality of opponents, and finally phoning in his Top 25 before going to bed.

Last Saturday, Novak wasn’t able to go to bed until the conclusion of then-No. 21 Oregon State’s game against Washington. OSU lost 38-17, forcing them out of the poll.

“The hardest part is getting all the votes in Saturday night,” Iowa State coach Dan McCarney said. “It’s an honor. I’ve been a part of this all nine years I’ve been here. You take more of an interest around the country so that you can be fair when you’re voting.”

The Cyclones took on the Huskies on Sept. 27 and gave McCarney a personal look at NIU and where they deserved to be ranked. He said where the Huskies are in the polls reflects what they’ve been able to do.

The Huskies are the only MAC school ranked among the 25 teams in the ESPN/USA Today Coaches Poll. Bowling Green is just outside at No. 26, despite giving No. 10 Purdue its only loss.

“There’s no question that the MAC and other small conferences get slighted in the polls because of lack of TV coverage,” McCarney said.

Being a part of the poll is appreciated by some coaches, but not all. Washington’s State’s Bill Doba doesn’t even vote, despite being listed as one of the 63 coaches on the board.

“I just find someone on my staff that has an interest in it and reads the papers,” Doba said. “Then they do it for me. They do a much better job then I would.”

Novak said he’s honored to be a part of the poll.

“I enjoy it because I am a fan,” Novak said. “I feel privileged to be able to vote in that poll and I want to make sure I take it seriously and work at it and do the best that I can in my mind at it.”