NIU football coach Joe Novak has been looking forward to this day since Nov. 19, 2000.

In one day, the NIU football team will finally take the field against South Florida at Huskie Stadium. No more hitting pads against their teammates. No more what-ifs. The time has finally arrived.

This is a season of many expectations. The goals Novak set the first day he came to NIU in 1995 have started to be reached. The big one left is the Mid-American Conference Championship.

NIU lost four defensive players and four players on the offensive side, three coming from the offensive line. Many think this season will be one step back from last season’s magic and it very well could be.

But with the core of their skilled positions returning, the Huskies can challenge the top teams in the MAC and compete for the league’s title.

With the strong non-conference schedule the Huskies have, it will show how competitive they will be in the MAC this season. NIU faces big tests by Illinois and Wake Forest right off the bat.

Last season, the Huskies faced a surprising Auburn team and almost walked away with a victory. NIU lost 31-14, thanks to Rudi Johnson’s 56-yard touchdown run. The game showed that the Huskies could play with the big boys, reel off three straight wins and have a season-high ranking of No. 31 in the Sagarin Rankings in the middle of October.

Novak hopes the Huskies can duplicate that with the Illinois and Wake Forest games. Novak needs to see the results right away because NIU faces the three best teams in the MAC in four weeks, first with Toledo and then Marshall and Western Michigan at home.

But talk of a MAC Championship will cease if the Huskies lose quarterback Chris Finlen. The Huskies lost Dan Urban to baseball last season, leaving them with no experience at the back-up position.

If Finlen goes down, so do the Huskies. The Huskies can put the ball in the hands of Thomas Hammock and Michael Turner, but then you have no one to pass, making the team one-dimensional and easy to contain. Finlen is the key to the MAC Championship. No Finlen, no MAC Championship.

The day Novak has been waiting for has finally arrived. After last season, expectations are high.

This might not be the season NIU gets to the MAC Championship and might not be at the level yet.

But the time of winning the MAC Championship is coming closer after every game.

It all starts Thursday.