NIU wasn’t supposed to beat 14-point-favorite Alabama on Saturday.

And why not? The Crimson Tide have 12 national championships and 21 SEC championships.

NIU once won the California Bowl. The 28,018 people that attended the NIU-Maryland game could fit in Bryant-Denny Stadium nearly three times over.

But, after the Huskies’ 19-16 upset win over No. 21 Alabama, NIU coach Joe Novak and his team acted like they were the favorites.

Novak summed this feeling up in one sentence: “Our kids believed they could win.”

This statement was a far cry from the beginning of Novak’s tenure at NIU, when he won three games in his first three years.

But, in the course of the last eight years, Novak has given a sense of confidence to a program with virtually no history. It could be seen and heard in the voices of the players.

“We came down here without a doubt in our minds,” wide receiver Dan Sheldon said. “There was a lot of confidence and a lot of believing in each other.”

It all started in 2000 when Novak brought a self-proclaimed “average” team down to play Auburn.

Despite the 31-14 setback, NIU came out with a new attitude, something that has been with the team ever since.

“Coming in and playing freshman year, we went down to Auburn and barely lost,” linebacker Nick Duffy said. “Today, there was never a doubt in my mind we could win. There’s the story about me always wanting to play in the Big House [Michigan]. I just want to show people we can play.”

And play they did.

NIU won by sticking to the game plan Novak brought in eight years ago – run the ball.