The 2018 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

2018 NCAA Division I FBS football season The 2018 NCAA Division I FBS football season was the highest level college football competition in the United States organized by the National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA) in 2018. The regular season began on August 25, 2018, and ended ...

. Led by

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 ...

in his sixth and final season as head coach, the Huskies compiled an overall record of 8–6 with a mark of 6–2 in conference play, winning the MAC's West Division title. Northern Illinois advanced to the

MAC Championship Game The MAC Football Championship Game is a football game between the winners of the East and West divisions of the Mid-American Conference (MAC) to determine the conference champion. History The game has been played since 1997, when the conferenc ...

, where they defeated East Division champion Buffalo to win the program's fifth MAC championship. The Huskies were invited to the

Boca Raton Bowl The Boca Raton Bowl is an annual National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA) sanctioned post-season Division I Football Bowl Subdivision (FBS) college football bowl game played in Boca Raton, Florida, since December 2014 on the campus of Fl ...

, where they lost to UAB. 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 ...

Previous season

The

Huskies Husky is a general term for a dog used in the polar regions, primarily and specifically for work as sled dogs. It refers to a traditional northern type, notable for its cold-weather tolerance and overall hardiness. Modern racing huskies that mai ...

finished the 2017 season 8–5, 6–2 in MAC play to finish in a tie for second place in the West Division. The Huskies received an invitation to the

Quick Lane Bowl The Quick Lane Bowl is a post-season college football bowl game certified by the NCAA that began play in the 2014 season. Backed by the Detroit Lions of the National Football League, the game features a bowl-eligible team from the Big Ten Confere ...

, their 11th bowl game in the previous 14 years. There they lost to

Duke Duke is a male title either of a monarch ruling over a duchy, or of a member of royalty, or nobility. As rulers, dukes are ranked below emperors, kings, grand princes, grand dukes, and sovereign princes. As royalty or nobility, they are ran ...

36–14.

Preseason

Award watch lists

Preseason media poll

The MAC released their preseason media poll on July 24, 2018, with the Huskies predicted to finish as champions of the West Division.

Schedule

Game summaries

At Iowa

Utah

Central Michigan

At Florida State

At Eastern Michigan

At Ball State

Ohio

At BYU

At Akron

Toledo

Miami (OH)

At Western Michigan

vs Buffalo (MAC Championship Game)

vs UAB (Boca Raton Bowl)

Coaching staff

Players drafted into the NFL

References

{{Mid-American Conference football champions

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 Mid-American Conference football champion 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 ...