The 2012 Northern Illinois Huskies football team represented Northern Illinois University in the 2012 NCAA Division I FBS football season. The Huskies competed in the West Division of the Mid-American Conference. They were led by second year head coach Dave Doeren for the regular season and Rod Carey in the 2013 Orange Bowl. They played their home games at Huskie Stadium.
With their win over Kent State in the MAC Championship Game on November 30, NIU moved to 12–1, the most regular-season wins in the program's 113-year history. NIU also moved to No. 15 in the final Bowl Championship Series rankings, while Big East champion Louisville was No. 21. Since the MAC is a non-AQ conference, its conference champion must finish 16th or higher and be ranked ahead of at least one AQ conference champion to qualify for a BCS game. As a result, NIU played in the Orange Bowl against Florida State. It was the first major-bowl appearance in school history, as well as the first-ever major-bowl appearance for a MAC team.
Head coach Doeren did not coach the Huskies in the Orange Bowl after accepting the head coaching job at North Carolina State. Co-offensive coordinator Rod Carey was named his successor, and coached the bowl game.
Schedule
Date |
Time |
Opponent# |
Rank# |
Site |
TV |
Result |
Attendance |
September 1 |
2:30 pm |
vs. Iowa* |
|
Soldier Field • Chicago, IL |
ESPNU |
L 17–18 |
52,117[1] |
September 8 |
6:00 pm |
Tennessee–Martin* |
|
Huskie Stadium • DeKalb, IL |
ESPN3 |
W 35–7 |
16,010[2] |
September 15 |
11:00 am |
at Army* |
|
Michie Stadium • West Point, NY |
CBSSN |
W 41–40 |
30,176[3] |
September 22 |
2:30 pm |
Kansas* |
|
Huskie Stadium • DeKalb, IL |
ESPN3 |
W 30–23 |
18,374[4] |
September 29 |
2:30 pm |
Central Michigan |
|
Huskie Stadium • DeKalb, IL |
ESPN3 |
W 55–24 |
16,292[5] |
October 6 |
1:00 pm |
at Ball State |
|
Scheumann Stadium • Muncie, IN (Battle of the Bronze Stalk) |
ESPN3 |
W 35–23 |
11,238[6] |
October 13 |
2:30 pm |
Buffalo |
|
Huskie Stadium • DeKalb, IL |
CSNC |
W 45–3 |
14,419[7] |
October 20 |
11:00 am |
at Akron |
|
Summa Field at InfoCision Stadium • Akron, OH |
ESPN+ |
W 37–7 |
7,074[8] |
October 27 |
11:00 am |
at Western Michigan |
|
Waldo Stadium • Kalamazoo, MI |
ESPN+ |
W 48–34 |
12,974[9] |
November 3 |
2:30 pm |
Massachusetts |
|
Huskie Stadium • DeKalb, IL |
|
W 63–0 |
11,114[10] |
November 14 |
8:00 pm |
Toledo |
|
Huskie Stadium • DeKalb, IL |
ESPN2 |
W 31–24 |
17,813[11] |
November 23 |
12:00 pm |
at Eastern Michigan |
#24 |
Rynearson Stadium • Ypsilanti, MI |
ESPN3 |
W 49–7 |
1,349[12] |
November 30 |
6:00 pm |
vs. #18 Kent State |
#19 |
Ford Field • Detroit, MI (MAC Championship Game) |
ESPN2 |
W 44–37 2OT |
18,132[13] |
January 1 |
7:30 pm |
vs. #13 Florida State* |
#16 |
Sun Life Stadium • Miami Gardens, FL (Orange Bowl) |
ESPN |
L 10–31 |
72,073 |
*Non-conference game. Homecoming. #Rankings from AP Poll released prior to game. All times are in Central Time. |
Rankings
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Ranking movements
Legend: ██ Increase in ranking. ██ Decrease in ranking.
NR = Not ranked. RV = Received votes. ( ) = First place votes.
|
Week |
Poll |
Pre |
1 |
2 |
3 |
4 |
5 |
6 |
7 |
8 |
9 |
10 |
11 |
12 |
13 |
14 |
Final |
AP |
RV |
NR |
NR |
NR |
NR |
NR |
NR |
NR |
RV |
RV |
RV |
RV |
24 |
19 |
16 |
22 |
Coaches' |
RV |
NR |
NR |
NR |
NR |
NR |
NR |
RV |
RV |
RV |
RV |
RV |
23 |
18 |
16 |
24 |
Harris |
Not released |
NR |
NR |
RV |
RV |
RV |
RV |
24 |
19 |
16 |
Not released |
BCS |
Not released |
NR |
NR |
NR |
NR |
NR |
NR |
21 |
15 |
Not released |
Roster
Game notes
vs Iowa
|
1 |
2 |
3 |
4 |
Total |
Hawkeyes |
3 |
3 |
3 |
9 |
18 |
Huskies |
0 |
10 |
7 |
0 |
17 |
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Overall record |
Last meeting |
Result |
0–7 |
2007 |
IOWA, 16–3 |
UT Martin
|
1 |
2 |
3 |
4 |
Total |
Skyhawks |
0 |
0 |
0 |
7 |
7 |
Huskies |
7 |
14 |
7 |
7 |
35 |
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Overall record |
Last meeting |
Result |
0-0 |
First meeting |
|
@ Army
|
1 |
2 |
3 |
4 |
Total |
Huskies |
14 |
14 |
0 |
13 |
41 |
Black Knights |
7 |
12 |
15 |
6 |
40 |
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Overall record |
Last meeting |
Result |
1–1 |
2011 |
NIU, 49–26 |
Kansas
|
1 |
2 |
3 |
4 |
Total |
Jayhawks |
3 |
7 |
7 |
6 |
23 |
Huskies |
6 |
7 |
0 |
17 |
30 |
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Overall record |
Last meeting |
Result |
1–1 |
2011 |
KAN, 45–42 |
Central Michigan
|
1 |
2 |
3 |
4 |
Total |
Chippewas |
7 |
7 |
10 |
0 |
24 |
Huskies |
14 |
10 |
10 |
21 |
55 |
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Overall record |
Last meeting |
Result |
21–25–1 |
2011 |
CMU, 48–41 |
@ Ball State
|
1 |
2 |
3 |
4 |
Total |
Huskies |
7 |
7 |
7 |
14 |
35 |
Cardinals |
3 |
13 |
7 |
0 |
23 |
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Overall record |
Last meeting |
Result |
17–20–2 |
2011 |
NIU, 41–38 |
Buffalo
|
1 |
2 |
3 |
4 |
Total |
Bulls |
3 |
0 |
0 |
0 |
3 |
Huskies |
7 |
21 |
14 |
3 |
45 |
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Overall record |
Last meeting |
Result |
7–1 |
2010 |
NIU, 31–30 |
@ Akron
|
1 |
2 |
3 |
4 |
Total |
Huskies |
10 |
10 |
10 |
7 |
37 |
Zips |
0 |
7 |
0 |
0 |
7 |
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Overall record |
Last meeting |
Result |
7–5 |
2010 |
NIU, 50–14 |
@ Western Michigan
|
1 |
2 |
3 |
4 |
Total |
Huskies |
7 |
10 |
14 |
17 |
48 |
Broncos |
14 |
7 |
0 |
13 |
34 |
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Overall record |
Last meeting |
Result |
14–23 |
2011 |
NIU, 51–22 |
Massachusetts
|
1 |
2 |
3 |
4 |
Total |
Minutemen |
0 |
0 |
0 |
0 |
0 |
Huskies |
14 |
21 |
21 |
7 |
63 |
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Overall record |
Last meeting |
Result |
0-0 |
First meeting |
|
Toledo
|
1 |
2 |
3 |
4 |
Total |
Rockets |
7 |
7 |
0 |
10 |
24 |
Huskies |
0 |
7 |
21 |
3 |
31 |
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Overall record |
Last meeting |
Result |
10–29 |
2011 |
NIU, 63–60 |
@ Eastern Michigan
|
1 |
2 |
3 |
4 |
Total |
#23 Huskies |
14 |
14 |
7 |
14 |
49 |
Eagles |
7 |
0 |
0 |
0 |
7 |
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Overall record |
Last meeting |
Result |
26–14–2 |
2011 |
NIU, 18–12 |
|
1 |
2 |
3 |
4 |
OT |
2OT |
Total |
#19 Huskies |
3 |
14 |
10 |
7 |
3 |
7 |
44 |
#18 Golden Flashes |
10 |
0 |
3 |
21 |
3 |
0 |
37 |
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Overall record |
Last meeting |
Result |
16–3 |
2011 |
NIU, 40–10 |
|
1 |
2 |
3 |
4 |
Total |
#16 Huskies |
3 |
0 |
7 |
0 |
10 |
#12 Seminoles |
7 |
7 |
3 |
14 |
31 |
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Overall record |
Last meeting |
Result |
0–0 |
First meeting |
N/A |
References
|
Venues |
|
Bowls & rivalries |
|
Culture & lore |
|
People |
|
Seasons |
|
National championship seasons in bold
|