1997 Northern Illinois Huskies football team

1997 Northern Illinois Huskies football
Conference	Mid-American Conference
Division	West Division
Record	0–11 (0–8 MAC)
Head coach	Joe Novak (2nd season)
MVP	Deon Mitchell, Steve Smith
Captain	Kent Booth, Jamie Macdonald, Steve Smith
Home stadium	Huskie Stadium

1997 Mid-American Conference football standings

v t e	Conf							Overall
Team		W		L					W		L
East Division
Marshall x$		7	–	1					10	–	3
Miami (OH)		6	–	2					8	–	3
Ohio		6	–	2					8	–	3
Bowling Green		3	–	5					3	–	8
Kent State		3	–	5					3	–	8
Akron		2	–	7					2	–	9
West Division
Toledo x		7	–	1					9	–	3
Western Michigan		6	–	2					8	–	3
Ball State		4	–	4					5	–	6
Eastern Michigan		4	–	5					4	–	7
Central Michigan		1	–	7					2	–	9
Northern Illinois		0	–	8					0	–	11
Championship: Marshall 34, Toledo 14
$ – Conference champion x – Division champion/co-champions

The 1997 Northern Illinois Huskies football team represented Northern Illinois University as a member of the West Division of the Mid-American Conference (MAC) during the 1997 NCAA Division I-A football season. Led by second-year head coach Joe Novak, the Huskies compiled an overall record of 0–11 with a mark of 0–8 in conference play, placing last out of six teams in the MAC's West Division. Northern Illinois played home games at Huskie Stadium in DeKalb, Illinois.

Schedule

Date	Time	Opponent	Site	TV	Result	Attendance	Source
August 28	6:30 pm	at Central Michigan	Kelly/Shorts Stadium Mount Pleasant, MI	SCC	L 10–44	19,495
September 6	6:30 pm	No. 21 Kansas State*	Huskie Stadium DeKalb, IL		L 7–47	26,873
September 13	3:00 pm	Western Michigan	Huskie Stadium DeKalb, IL		L 13–21	8,003
September 20	6:00 pm	at NC State*	Carter–Finley Stadium Raleigh, NC		L 14–41	51,500	[1]
October 4	1:00 pm	at Bowling Green	Doyt Perry Stadium Bowling Green OH		L 10–35	17,148
October 11	3:00 pm	Vanderbilt*	Huskie Stadium DeKalb, IL		L 7–17	17,567	[2]
October 18	1:00 pm	at Toledo	Glass Bowl Toledo, OH		L 14–41	22,183
October 25	3:00 pm	Ball State	Huskie Stadium DeKalb, IL (rivalry)	SCC	L 14–21	10,031
November 1	1:00 pm	Ohio	Huskie Stadium DeKalb, IL		L 30–35	10,215
November 8	1:00 pm	Eastern Michigan	Huskie Stadium DeKalb, IL		L 10–38	5,866
November 15	12:00 pm	at Miami (OH)	Yager Stadium Oxford, OH		L 0–42	6,508
*Non-conference game Homecoming Rankings from AP Poll released prior to the game All times are in Central time

[3]

References

1. "N.C. State hands NIU another loss". Chicago Tribune. September 21, 1997. Retrieved July 26, 2024 – via Newspapers.com.
2. "Northern fumbles its big chance". Chicago Tribune. October 12, 1997. Retrieved July 27, 2024 – via Newspapers.com.
3. "1997 Northern Illinois Huskies Schedule and Results". Sports-Reference. Retrieved December 5, 2013.