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The Student News Site of Northern Illinois University

Northern Star
The Student News Site of Northern Illinois University

Northern Star

Huskies go for win No. 9

By Mark Pickrel | November 7, 2003

Oct. 2, 1999, marked a turning point for NIU football. Then-fourth-year football coach Joe Novak took his 0-4 Huskies to Buffalo for a MAC game. NIU hadn’t won a game since the previous October, and was riding an eight-game losing streak. Novak’s...

Toughest places to play in MAC

By Mark Pickrel | November 6, 2003

During football coach Joe Novak’s first year at NIU, the team averaged 12,964 people for its five home games - less than half of the stadium’s 30,075 total capacity. Seven years later, things have changed at NIU. Huskie Stadium has sold out three...

Buffalo game won’t be on TV

By Chris Jurmann | November 6, 2003

Fans will need to buy a plane ticket or plan a road trip to see the NIU football team play at Buffalo on Saturday. “The game will not be televised because no one is producing the game,” said Scott Lowenberg, NIU’s director of marketing and promotions....

What’s in a number?

By Adam Zolmierski | November 5, 2003

Sophomore running back A.J. Harris came to NIU wanting to wear No. 32, his high school number, or No. 28. The only problem standing in Harris’ way of wearing those numbers was starting tailback Thomas Hammock (No. 28) and then-backup Michael Turner...

NIU still has shot at title

By Chris Jurmann | November 5, 2003

It isn’t over yet! As easy as it seems to dismiss the NIU football team’s hopes for a truly magical season, there is plenty left to cheer about this year. With Miami-Ohio’s win over Bowling Green Tuesday night, all NIU needs is to win its three...

MAC loses Marshall, C. Florida

By Frank Rusnak | November 5, 2003

Marshall and Central Florida both will join Conference USA on July 1, 2005, as announced Tuesday. The loss of both teams will bring the total number of MAC teams to 12, the minimum number needed for a conference championship game. “I don’t think it...

MAC showdown tonight

By Mark Pickrel | November 4, 2003

The future of the NIU football team will be directly affected by the 6:30 p.m. Bowling Green at Miami-Ohio game today on ESPN2. If Miami (7-1, 4-0 MAC) can beat Bowling Green (7-1, 4-0 MAC), the Huskies will move into a tie for the lead in the MAC West...

In the shoes of an NIU football player

By Steve Brown | November 4, 2003

NIU wide receiver P.J. Fleck remembers a time when being a football player wasn’t such a bragging right. “When I first came here, people didn’t care that we were on the football team because we were so bad,” the Sugar Grove native said. “Now...

Cardinals fly into DeKalb

By Adam Zolmierski | October 31, 2003

From Sept. 28, 1996, to Oct. 17, 1998, NIU didn’t win a game while under coach Joe Novak. The 23-game losing streak was the longest by any team at that time. However, last year Novak was named MAC Coach of the Year as the Huskies finished in a tie for...

Rising above defeat

By Steve Brown | October 30, 2003

Down 24-3 at halftime in Saturday’s Bowling Green game, NIU senior cornerback Randee Drew played his usual role of the encourager. “I told everybody, ‘Don’t worry about it; we’ve been here before,’” Drew said. “‘Just come back out there...

First year coach has BSU winning

By Mark Pickrel | October 30, 2003

First-year Ball State football coach Brady Hoke didn’t inherit a talent at quarterback like Josh Harris.

Nor did he have the luxury of two-year all-conference cornerback Janssen Patton like first-year Bowling Green coach Gregg Brandon had.

But, Hoke, the first-year coach who spent the last eight years at Michigan, has weathered a quarterback controversy and led Ball State to a 3-1 conference mark and a tie for second place in the the MAC West going into this week’s game against NIU (7-1, 3-1 MAC).

“He’s done a great job,” NIU coach Joe Novak said. “Any time there is a coaching change, there is a renewed enthusiasm.”

Ball State (4-4, 3-1 MAC) was picked to finish sixth in the MAC Preseason Media Poll, but with a 38-14 upset win over Toledo last Saturday, Hoke finds his team in the middle of a conference race. The win came one week after losing 49-3 to Miami-Ohio.

Coming into the year, Hoke had two senior quarterbacks competing for the starting job.

Both Talmadge Hill and Andy Roesch played in eight games last season, with Roesch compiling a 129.28 passer efficiency rating, compared to Hill’s 105.52.

“That’s a tough way to start your first job,” Novak said. “Talmadge Hill had ability, but I think they questioned his decision-making. He’s a threat to run. He’s a talent.”

Hill was plagued by nine interceptions last year against five touchdowns.

Roesch played in BSU’s first two games against Indiana State and Missouri, but has thrown only 10 passes since.

Roesch was 1-for-10 with three interceptions against Miami-Ohio.

Hill, meanwhile, has played in all of BSU’s games and has three games with three touchdown passes. Hill also threw for a career-high 307 yards on 22-for-27 passing and no interceptions.

Hoke also has been helped by seven senior starters on defense, five of them fifth-year seniors.

Senior linebacker Lorenzo Scott is third in the MAC with 97 tackles and also has four sacks.

NIU-Bowling Green rivalry keeps developing

By Adam Zolmierski | October 30, 2003

A rivalry has been brewing over the past two seasons. NIU and Bowling Green want nothing more than to prove they are the cream of the crop in the MAC. The last two seasons, the Huskies and BGSU have seen success both in football and basketball. Saturday’s...

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