It Was a Dismal Season

Northern Illinois' 2007 football season finally came to an end this last Saturday with a loss to Ball State. The Huskies' final record was 2-10.

I had figured this wasn't going to be a great season. Hey, last year wasn't that good either, but we did have a winning season and went to a bowl (even though we were hopelessly outclassed).

I figured we'd lose to Iowa and Wisconsin, and probably to Toledo, since we just can't beat those guys. By the third game, I knew this was going to be a long one.

Our excuse was injuries. I doubt that any other team has ever had as many injuries. We lost 12 players for the entire season and 13 others were out for multiple games.

Plus, Northern lost five games by a combined total of 17 points: 3, 2, 1, 4, and 7. Hey, that would have made us 7-5. There were only two blowouts: Wisconsin 44-3 and the worst of all, Toledo 70-21.

We did have a couple consolation prizes. A Northern rusher again cracked the 1000 yard mark, even though he was not the starter at the beginning of the season. Justin Anderson ran for 1,245 yards in 274 carries and 7 TDs. He made second team MAC (Mid-American Conference).

He follows talented NIU rushers Garrett Wolfe and Michael Turner, both of whom are playing in the NFL.

Defensive end Larry English won the MAC Vern Smith Leadership Award as the league's MVP. He led the MAC in sacks with 10.5, and also had 17 tackles for a loss of yardage and 67 overall.

This was our first losing season in 7 seasons, including the great 10-2 season in 2003 when Northern ranked as high as #12. This included wins over then-top 20 teams Maryland and Alabama as well as Iowa State. That was one great year, EVEN though we didn't go to a bowl game (thanks a lot Toledo).

Here's Hoping for a Better One Next Year. --RoadDog