2016 Northern Illinois Huskies season
| 2016 Northern Illinois Huskies | |||
|---|---|---|---|
 | |||
| Conference | American Athletic Conference West Division | ||
| 2016 record | 8-5 (6-1 AAC) | ||
| Head coach | LaserCats (1st year) | ||
| Home stadium | Huskie Stadium (Capacity: 23,575) | ||
Seasons
| |||
NIU's inaugural season went better than most expected. The team finished with a 6-1 record in conference play, and earned a bowl bid. They faced NC State in the Mile High Bowl. However, Northern Illinois would go on to lose their bowl game, and move to the Mid-American Conference for the 2017 season. The team's kicker, Wilson Mitchell, would go into the NFL draft after the 2016. Mitchell went undrafted, but was signed as a UDFA by the Philadelphia Eagles prior to the start of the 2017 NFL season.
Schedule
| Week | Opponent | Rank | Location | Result | Record | Conf. Record |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Oregon State | DeKalb, IL | 23-17 | 1-0 | 0-0 | |
| 2 | at ECU | Greenville, NC | 26-7 | 2-0 | 1-0 | |
| 3 | North Texas | DeKalb, IL | 21-7 | 3-0 | 1-0 | |
| 4 | at Houston | Houston, TX | 24-31 | 3-1 | 1-1 | |
| 5 | Rice | DeKalb, IL | 17-14 | 4-1 | 2-1 | |
| 6 | at Boise State | Boise, ID | 28-31 | 4-2 | 2-1 | |
| 7 | Bye | |||||
| 8 | at Arkansas | Fayetteville, AR | 7-21 | 4-3 | 2-2 | |
| 9 | at Tulane | New Orleans, LA | 20-10 | 5-3 | 3-1 | |
| 10 | #3 Penn State | DeKalb, IL | 17-34 | 5-4 | 3-1 | |
| 11 | Temple | DeKalb, IL | 23-14 | 6-4 | 4-1 | |
| 12 | at SMU | Dallas, TX | 23-7 | 7-4 | 5-1 | |
| 13 | Bye | |||||
| 14 | Cincinnati | DeKalb, IL | 28-17 | 8-4 | 6-1 | |
Individual Awards and Accolades
|
Robert Morris - CB
Calvin Hayes - PR
Richard Gomez - ILB
|
Keith Powers - LOLB
Wilson Mitchell - K
|
