# 2018 Northern Illinois Huskies football team

The 2018 Northern Illinois Huskies football team represented Northern Illinois University as a member of the West Division of the Mid-American Conference (MAC) during the 2018 NCAA Division I FBS football season. Led by Rod Carey 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, where they defeated East Division champion Buffalo to win the program's fifth MAC championship. The Huskies were invited to the Boca Raton Bowl, where they lost to UAB. The team played home games at Huskie Stadium in DeKalb, Illinois.

## Preseason
### Award watch lists

| Award | Player | Position | Year |
| Lott Trophy | Sutton Smith | DE | JR |
| Rimington Trophy | Luke Shively | C | SR |
| Chuck Bednarik Award | Sutton Smith | DE | JR |
| Bronko Nagurski Trophy | Sutton Smith | DE | JR |
| Outland Trophy | Max Scharping | T | SR |
| Wuerffel Trophy | Max Scharping | T | SR |
| Ted Hendricks Award | Sutton Smith | DE | JR |

### 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.
West Division :
| Predicted finish | Team | Votes (1st place) |
| 1 | Northern Illinois | 133 (15) |
| 2 | Toledo | 125 (7) |
| 3 | Western Michigan | 87 (1) |
| 4 | Eastern Michigan | 67 |
| 5 | Central Michigan | 58 (1) |
| 6 | Ball State | 34 |

## Schedule

| Date | Time | Opponent | Site | TV | Result | Attendance |
| September 1 | 2:30 p.m. | at Iowa* | Kinnick StadiumIowa City, IA | BTN | L 7–33 | 67,510 |
| September 8 | 6:30 p.m. | Utah* | Huskie StadiumDeKalb, IL | ESPNews | L 6–17 | 16,762 |
| September 15 | 2:30 p.m. | Central Michigan | Huskie StadiumDeKalb, IL | ESPN+ | W 24–16 | 12,354 |
| September 22 | 3:30 p.m. | at Florida State* | Doak Campbell StadiumTallahassee, FL | ESPNU | L 19–37 | 65,633 |
| September 29 | 5:00 p.m. | at Eastern Michigan | Rynearson StadiumYpsilanti, MI | ESPN+ | W 26–23 $^{3OT}$ | 14,779 |
| October 6 | 3:00 p.m. | at Ball State | Scheumann StadiumMuncie, IN (Bronze Stalk Trophy) | ESPN3 | W 24–16 | 7,159 |
| October 13 | 2:30 p.m. | Ohio | Huskie StadiumDeKalb, IL | ESPN+ | W 24–21 | 12,138 |
| October 27 | 2:30 p.m. | at BYU* | LaVell Edwards StadiumProvo, UT | ESPNU | W 7–6 | 51,084 |
| November 1 | 6:00 p.m. | at Akron | InfoCision StadiumAkron, OH | CBSSN | W 36–26 | 16,401 |
| November 7 | 7:00 p.m. | Toledo | Huskie StadiumDeKalb, IL | ESPN2 | W 38–15 | 5,887 |
| November 14 | 7:00 p.m. | Miami (OH) | Huskie StadiumDeKalb, IL | ESPNU | L 7–13 | 4,878 |
| November 20 | 6:00 p.m. | at Western Michigan | Waldo StadiumKalamazoo, MI | ESPNU | L 21–28 | 18,278 |
| November 30 | 6:00 p.m. | vs. Buffalo | Ford FieldDetroit, MI (MAC Championship Game) | ESPN2 | W 30–29 | 10,255 |
| December 18 | 6:00 p.m. | vs. UAB* | FAU StadiumBoca Raton, FL (Boca Raton Bowl) | ESPN | L 13–37 | 22,614 |
| *Non-conference gameAll times are in Central time |||||||

## Game summaries
### At Iowa

| | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | Total |
| Northern Illinois | 0 | 0 | 0 | 7 | 7 |
| • Iowa | 0 | 3 | 14 | 16 | 33 |
| Series Record | Previous meeting | Result |
| 1–8 | August 31, 2013 | NIU, 30–27 |

### Utah

| | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | Total |
| • Utah | 0 | 0 | 7 | 10 | 17 |
| Northern Illinois | 3 | 0 | 0 | 3 | 6 |
| Series Record | Previous meeting | Result |
| First meeting |||

### Central Michigan

| | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | Total |
| Central Michigan | 0 | 3 | 7 | 6 | 16 |
| • Northern Illinois | 0 | 14 | 7 | 3 | 24 |
| Series Record | Previous meeting | Result |
| 15–17 | November 24, 2017 | CMU, 31–24 |

### At Florida State

| | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | Total |
| Northern Illinois | 0 | 7 | 6 | 6 | 19 |
| • Florida State | 14 | 6 | 3 | 14 | 37 |
| Series Record | Previous meeting | Result |
| 0–1 | January 1, 2013 | FSU, 31–10 |

### At Eastern Michigan

| | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | OT | 2OT | 3OT | Total |
| • Northern Illinois | 3 | 10 | 0 | 0 | 7 | 0 | 6 | 26 |
| Eastern Michigan | 10 | 0 | 0 | 3 | 7 | 0 | 3 | 23 |
| Series Record | Previous meeting | Result |
| 24–5–2 | October 26, 2017 | NIU, 30–27 |

### At Ball State

| | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | Total |
| • Northern Illinois | 7 | 7 | 7 | 3 | 24 |
| Ball State | 0 | 6 | 3 | 7 | 16 |
| Series Record | Previous meeting | Result |
| 17–18 | November 9, 2017 | NIU, 63–17 |

### Ohio

| | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | Total |
| Ohio | 0 | 7 | 14 | 0 | 21 |
| • Northern Illinois | 3 | 6 | 0 | 15 | 24 |
| Series Record | Previous meeting | Result |
| 11–10 | November 24, 2015 | OHIO, 26–21 |

### At BYU

| | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | Total |
| • Northern Illinois | 0 | 0 | 7 | 0 | 7 |
| BYU | 3 | 0 | 3 | 0 | 6 |
| Series Record | Previous meeting | Result |
| First meeting |||

### At Akron

| | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | Total |
| • Northern Illinois | 7 | 17 | 5 | 7 | 36 |
| Akron | 7 | 3 | 16 | 0 | 26 |
| Series Record | Previous meeting | Result |
| 8–5 | October 12, 2013 | NIU, 27–20 |

### Toledo

| | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | Total |
| Toledo | 3 | 6 | 0 | 6 | 15 |
| • Northern Illinois | 7 | 10 | 14 | 7 | 38 |
| Series Record | Previous meeting | Result |
| 14–30 | November 2, 2017 | TOL, 27–17 |

### Miami (OH)

| | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | Total |
| • Miami | 0 | 3 | 10 | 0 | 13 |
| Northern Illinois | 0 | 0 | 7 | 0 | 7 |
| Series Record | Previous meeting | Result |
| 9–8 | October 17, 2015 | NIU, 45–12 |

### At Western Michigan

| | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | Total |
| Northern Illinois | 7 | 0 | 14 | 0 | 21 |
| • Western Michigan | 7 | 6 | 8 | 7 | 28 |
| Series Record | Previous meeting | Result |
| 19–23 | November 15, 2018 | NIU, 35–31 |

### vs Buffalo (MAC Championship Game)

| | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | Total |
| • Northern Illinois | 0 | 10 | 7 | 13 | 30 |
| Buffalo | 7 | 15 | 7 | 0 | 29 |
| Series Record | Previous meeting | Result |
| 11–1 | October 14, 2017 | NIU, 14–13 |

### vs UAB (Boca Raton Bowl)

| | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | Total |
| • UAB | 10 | 17 | 10 | 0 | 37 |
| Northern Illinois | 7 | 3 | 3 | 0 | 13 |
| Series Record | Previous meeting | Result |
| First Meeting |||

## Coaching staff

| Name | Title | Years at NIU |
| Rod Carey | Head coach | 8 |
| Jeff Knowles | Def. Coord./lb coach | 6 |
| Mike Uremovich | Off. Coord./Asst. Head Coach/TE/fb coach | 3 |
| Steve Crutchley | WR Coach | 2 |
| Craig Harmon | QB Coach | 7 |
| Melvin Rice | CB Coach | 4 |
| Joe Tripodi | OL Coach/Run Game Coord. | 9 |
| Walter Stewart | DL Coach | 1 |
| Tyler Yelk | Safeties Coach | 1 |
| Jake Landry | RB Coach | 1 |
| Dan Sabock | Special Teams Coord. | 1 |

## Players drafted into the NFL

| Round | Pick | Player | Position | NFL team |
| 2 | 55 | Max Scharping | Offensive tackle | Houston Texans |
| 6 | 175 | Sutton Smith | Linebacker | Pittsburgh Steelers |