The 2016 Northern Illinois Huskies football team represented

Northern Illinois University Northern Illinois University (NIU) is a public research university in DeKalb, Illinois. It was founded as Northern Illinois State Normal School on May 22, 1895, by Illinois Governor John P. Altgeld as part of an expansion of the state's system ...

as a member of the West Division of the

Mid-American Conference The Mid-American Conference (MAC) is a National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA) Division I collegiate athletic conference with a membership base in the Great Lakes region that stretches from Western New York to Illinois. Nine of the twel ...

(MAC) during the

2016 NCAA Division I FBS football season The 2016 NCAA Division I FBS football season was the highest level of college football competition in the United States organized by the National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA). The regular season began on August 26, 2016 and ended on Dec ...

. Led by fourth-year head coach

Rod Carey Roderick Charles Carey (born July 24, 1971) is an American football coach and former player. He served as the head football coach at Northern Illinois University from 2012 to 2018 and Temple University from 2019 to 2021. Early years Carey was bo ...

, the Huskies compiled an overall record of 5–7 with a mark of 5–3 in conference play, placing third in the MAC's West Division. The team played home games at

Huskie Stadium Brigham Field at Huskie Stadium is a college football stadium in the central United States, located on the campus of Northern Illinois University in DeKalb, Illinois. Opened in 1965, it is the home field of the NIU Huskies of the Mid-America ...

DeKalb, Illinois DeKalb ( ) is a city in DeKalb County, Illinois, United States. The population was 43,862 according to the 2010 census, up from 39,018 at the 2000 census. The city is named after decorated Franconian- French war hero Johann de Kalb, who died ...

Preseason

For the second straight year, the Huskies were picked to finish third in the division in 2016 in the poll released during the 2016 MAC Media Day at Ford Field in Detroit.

Schedule

Game summaries

Wyoming

The Cowboys beat the Huskies in triple overtime, 40–34. NIU quarterback Drew Hare went 24-for-39 for 327 yards, with three touchdowns and no interceptions. Receiver Kenny Golladay gained 144 yards on 10 catches with one touchdown and got 82 yards and another touchdown rushing. However, the Huskies had 12 penalties for 108 yards. The game was scheduled to start at 8:30 p.m. Mountain Time, but began almost two hours late due to lightning. The game ended at 2:35 a.m. MT, which was 3:35 a.m. for NIU fans back in Illinois.

South Florida

San Diego State

Western Illinois

Ball State

Western Michigan

Central Michigan

Buffalo

Bowling Green

Toledo

The Huskies lost to the Rockets 31–24. The loss eliminated Northern Illinois from bowl game eligibility, ending their conference-record streak of eight straight bowl games. NIU had beaten Toledo in their six previous matchups. This was the first football game ever played at

Guaranteed Rate Field Guaranteed Rate Field is a baseball stadium located on the South Side, Chicago, South Side of Chicago, Illinois, United States. It serves as the home stadium of the Chicago White Sox, one of the city's two Major League Baseball (MLB) teams, and i ...

, the recently-renamed stadium of the

Chicago White Sox The Chicago White Sox are an American professional baseball team based in Chicago. The White Sox compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the American League (AL) Central division. The team is owned by Jerry Reinsdorf, and p ...

Eastern Michigan

Kent State

Postseason awards

All-MAC

References

{{Northern Illinois Huskies football navbox

Northern Illinois Northern Illinois is a region generally covering the northern third of the U.S. state of Illinois. The region is by far the most populous of Illinois with nearly 9.7 million residents as of 2010. Economics Northern Illinois is dominated by th ...

Northern Illinois Huskies football seasons

Northern Illinois Huskies football The Northern Illinois Huskies football team are a college football program representing Northern Illinois University (NIU) in the Football Bowl Subdivision (FBS) of college football. NIU football plays its home games at Huskie Stadium on the cam ...