# 2016 Northern Illinois Huskies football team

The 2016 Northern Illinois Huskies football team represented Northern Illinois University as a member of the West Division of the Mid-American Conference (MAC) during the 2016 NCAA Division I FBS football season. Led by fourth-year head coach Rod Carey, 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 in DeKalb, Illinois.

## 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

| Date | Time | Opponent | Site | TV | Result | Attendance |
| September 3 | 9:30 p.m. | at Wyoming* | War Memorial StadiumLaramie, WY | CBSSN | L 34–40 $^{3OT}$ | 18,483 |
| September 10 | 6:30 p.m. | at South Florida* | Raymond James StadiumTampa, FL | CBSSN | L 17–48 | 36,557 |
| September 17 | 2:30 p.m. | San Diego State* | Huskie StadiumDeKalb, IL | CBSSN | L 28–42 | 14,513 |
| September 24 | 2:30 p.m. | No. 13 Western Illinois* | Huskie StadiumDeKalb, IL | ESPN3 | L 23–28 | 15,496 |
| October 1 | 2:30 p.m. | at Ball State | Scheumann StadiumMuncie, IN (Bronze Stalk Trophy) | ASN | W 31–24 | 7,249 |
| October 8 | 5:30 p.m. | at Western Michigan | Waldo StadiumKalamazoo, MI | CBSSN | L 30–45 | 28,042 |
| October 15 | 2:30 p.m. | Central Michigan | Huskie StadiumDeKalb, IL | ESPN3 | L 28–34 $^{3OT}$ | 8,495 |
| October 22 | 2:30 p.m. | Buffalo | Huskie StadiumDeKalb, IL | ESPN3 | W 44–7 | 11,801 |
| November 1 | 7:00 p.m. | Bowling Green | Huskie StadiumDeKalb, IL | ESPNU | W 45–20 | 4,790 |
| November 9 | 7:00 p.m. | vs. Toledo | Guaranteed Rate FieldChicago, IL (Huskie Chi–Town Showdown) | ESPN2 | L 24–31 | 10,180 |
| November 16 | 7:00 p.m. | at Eastern Michigan | Rynearson StadiumYpsilanti, MI | ESPNU | W 31–24 $^{OT}$ | 15,603 |
| November 25 | 11:00 a.m. | at Kent State | Dix StadiumKent, OH | CBSSN | W 31–21 | 4,450 |
| *Non-conference gameRankings from STATS Poll released prior to the gameAll times are in Central time ||||||||

## Game summaries
### Wyoming

| | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | OT | 2OT | 3OT | Total |
| NIU | 7 | 6 | 7 | 7 | 0 | 7 | 0 | 34 |
| • Wyoming | 3 | 10 | 14 | 0 | 0 | 7 | 6 | 40 |
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

| | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | Total |
| NIU | 0 | 7 | 0 | 10 | 17 |
| • South Florida | 14 | 13 | 14 | 7 | 48 |

### San Diego State

| | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | Total |
| • San Diego State | 14 | 14 | 0 | 14 | 42 |
| NIU | 0 | 7 | 14 | 7 | 28 |

### Western Illinois

| | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | Total |
| • Western Illinois | 14 | 0 | 14 | 0 | 28 |
| NIU | 0 | 7 | 0 | 16 | 23 |

### Ball State

| | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | Total |
| • NIU | 10 | 14 | 0 | 7 | 31 |
| Ball State | 10 | 7 | 0 | 7 | 24 |

### Western Michigan

| | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | Total |
| NIU | 0 | 17 | 6 | 7 | 30 |
| • Western Michigan | 14 | 7 | 10 | 14 | 45 |

### Central Michigan

| | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | OT | 2OT | 3OT | Total |
| • Central Michigan | 0 | 14 | 0 | 7 | 0 | 7 | 6 | 34 |
| NIU | 0 | 7 | 7 | 7 | 0 | 7 | 0 | 28 |

### Buffalo

| | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | Total |
| Buffalo | 0 | 7 | 0 | 0 | 7 |
| • NIU | 10 | 20 | 7 | 7 | 44 |

### Bowling Green

| | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | Total |
| Bowling Green | 7 | 6 | 7 | 0 | 20 |
| • NIU | 14 | 10 | 14 | 7 | 45 |

### Toledo

| | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | Total |
| • Toledo | 0 | 3 | 14 | 14 | 31 |
| NIU | 7 | 7 | 7 | 3 | 24 |
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, the recently-renamed stadium of the Chicago White Sox.

### Eastern Michigan

| | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | OT | Total |
| • NIU | 0 | 0 | 17 | 7 | 7 | 31 |
| Eastern Michigan | 14 | 7 | 0 | 3 | 0 | 24 |

### Kent State

| | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | Total |
| • NIU | 7 | 0 | 10 | 14 | 31 |
| Kent State | 0 | 7 | 7 | 7 | 21 |

## Postseason awards
### All-MAC

| Team | Player | Position | Year |
| 1st | Max Scharping | OL | SO |
| 1st | Kenny Golladay | WR | SR |
| 1st | Aregeros Turner | Return Spec. | SR |
| 2nd | Levon Myers | OL | SR |
| 2nd | Joel Bouagnon | RB | SR |
| 2nd | Shawun Lurry | DB | JR |