Ranking the Top 131 College Football Programs of the Last 40 Years: 68. Northern Illinois
They actually are pretty far north in Illinois
Back to our regularly scheduled programming after #69 Oregon State. Northern Illinois comes in as the 3rd best MAC team. The Jordan Lynch teams of 2012/13 won the hearts of many and did good getting them this high. NIU from 2010-13 was a certified Group of 5 dynasty, going 46-10 with 2 MAC titles. Notable recent players include Jordan Lynch, Kenny Golladay, and Jimmie Ward. Coaches from the last 40 years include Bill Mallory, Lee Corso, Jerry Kill, and Dave Doeren.
Best Seasons and Highlights
+------+-------------------+------+--------------+--------+
| rank | team | year | resume score | record |
+------+-------------------+------+--------------+--------+
| 17 | Northern Illinois | 2012 | 23.335 | 12-2 |
| 21 | Northern Illinois | 2013 | 20.241 | 12-2 |
| 17 | Northern Illinois | 1983 | 18.413 | 10-2 |
| 22 | Northern Illinois | 2010 | 17.777 | 11-3 |
| 26 | Northern Illinois | 2011 | 15.929 | 11-3 |
| 27 | Northern Illinois | 2003 | 14.765 | 10-2 |
| 32 | Northern Illinois | 2014 | 10.4 | 11-3 |
| 29 | Northern Illinois | 1989 | 9.005 | 9-2 |
| 29 | Northern Illinois | 2004 | 7.123 | 9-3 |
| 43 | Northern Illinois | 2002 | 2.499 | 8-4 |
| 43 | Northern Illinois | 2005 | -1.192 | 7-5 |
| 60 | Northern Illinois | 2021 | -5.128 | 9-5 |
| 59 | Northern Illinois | 2017 | -5.796 | 8-5 |
| 55 | Northern Illinois | 2000 | -6.645 | 6-5 |
| 57 | Northern Illinois | 2001 | -7.634 | 6-5 |
| 65 | Northern Illinois | 2015 | -8.114 | 8-6 |
| 56 | Northern Illinois | 1990 | -9.417 | 6-5 |
| 70 | Northern Illinois | 2018 | -9.864 | 8-6 |
| 66 | Northern Illinois | 2009 | -10.33 | 7-6 |
| 64 | Northern Illinois | 2006 | -10.599 | 7-6 |
| 61 | Northern Illinois | 1988 | -11.321 | 7-4 |
| 62 | Northern Illinois | 1987 | -16.719 | 5-5-1 |
| 79 | Northern Illinois | 2008 | -19.59 | 6-7 |
| 73 | Northern Illinois | 1984 | -20.168 | 4-6-1 |
| 73 | Northern Illinois | 1992 | -20.372 | 5-6 |
| 91 | Northern Illinois | 2016 | -23.061 | 5-7 |
| 82 | Northern Illinois | 1999 | -25.088 | 5-6 |
| 105 | Northern Illinois | 2019 | -29.6 | 5-7 |
| 82 | Northern Illinois | 1985 | -29.88 | 4-7 |
| 84 | Northern Illinois | 1994 | -30.033 | 4-7 |
| 88 | Northern Illinois | 1993 | -33.504 | 4-7 |
| 119 | Northern Illinois | 2020 | -39.941 | 0-6 |
| 117 | Northern Illinois | 2022 | -40.211 | 3-9 |
| 97 | Northern Illinois | 1995 | -45.233 | 3-8 |
| 96 | Northern Illinois | 1986 | -46.479 | 2-9 |
| 106 | Northern Illinois | 1998 | -48.058 | 2-9 |
| 97 | Northern Illinois | 1991 | -50.466 | 2-9 |
| 114 | Northern Illinois | 2007 | -53.826 | 2-10 |
| 111 | Northern Illinois | 1996 | -68.031 | 1-10 |
| 111 | Northern Illinois | 1997 | -70.122 | 0-11 |
+------+-------------------+------+--------------+--------+
Overall Score: 13938 (68th)244-230-2 record
6 conference titles
4-10 bowl record
2 consensus All-Americans
23 NFL players drafted
2003 narrowly misses out on the top 5 seasons, a season in which NIU got as high as #12 in the AP Poll with wins over #15 Maryland, #21 Alabama, and Iowa State. They also had a 1000 yard WR that year by the name of PJ Fleck. NIU’s produced some notable RBs like Michael Turner (2000-03), who finished 2nd in the nation in rushing yards twice, and was a 2x All-Pro in the NFL. Garrett Wolfe (2004-06) was just 5’7, but in 3 years became the NCAA’s 18th all time leading rusher with 5,164 yards. In 2006 against #1 Ohio State, Wolfe had 171 rushing and 114 receiving yards, accounting for 285 of NIU’s 343 yards. RB LeShon Johnson was a consensus All-American in 1993, leading the nation in rushing and finishing 6th in Heisman voting. DE Sutton Smith was the other consensus All-American in 2017, winning MAC Defensive POTY with 14 sacks and 16 TFL, leading the nation with 30 total TFL.
Top 5 Seasons
Worst Season: 1997 (0-11 overall, 0-8 MAC)
NIU and the terrible, horrible, no good, very bad season. After ending 1996 on a 7 game losing streak, they’d extend that to 18 games by the end of 1997. The season started with a 10-44 loss to Central Michigan…a team that would go 1-9 the rest of the way, and ended with a 0-42 loss to Miami (OH). 7 losses were by 25+ points, with the Huskies scoring just 11.7 PPG while giving up 34.7 PPG. The team wasn’t devoid of talent, they were just fetuses. Freshmen OT Ryan Diem and WR Justin McCareins would both be drafted 4 years later, with Diem going on to block for Peyton Manning on the Indianapolis Colts for 10 years. Kicker Brian Clark went 6/9 on FGs.
5. 2011 (11-3 overall, 7-1 MAC)
While most college fans know about Jordan Lynch QBing NIU, most don’t know about Chandler Harnish, who led the Huskies the 4 years prior. Harnish won 2011 MAC Offensive POTY, leading the Huskies in passing for the 4th straight season and finishing as the school’s career passing leader. Coming off an 11-3 year, there was some hope in upsetting Kansas/Wisconsin in the first 3 weeks. KU scored a touchdown with 9 seconds left to win 45-42, and Wisconsin dominated 49-7. MAC play didn’t start too smoothly either, with a 41-48 loss to Central Michigan to fall to 2-3 on the year. It was a sign of the grind that lied ahead for NIU. After going up 31-10 on Buffalo in the 4th quarter, the Huskies blew the lead but thankfully Buffalo missed their extra point to lose by 1. After came the MAC game of the season, a 63-60 win over 4-0 MAC team Toledo in which NIU won with 20 seconds left. Harnish threw for 6 TD and ran for 133 yards. Needing to win out to make the MAC title game as Toledo continued to win, NIU eeked out a few more close victories to finish 9-3 and make the MAC championship game for the 2nd straight season. Not wanting to be disappointed a 2nd time, they overcame a 0-20 deficit against Ohio to win 23-20 and claim their first conference title since 1983. A bowl win over Sun Belt champ Arkansas State further punctuated the season, and NIU finished 26th in my rankings. Harnish threw for 3216 yards 28 TD 6 INT while rushing for a whopping 1379 yards and 11 TD on 7.1 YPC.
4. 2010 (11-3 overall, 8-0 MAC)
After coming up short 2 of the first 3 weeks against Iowa State and Illinois, NIU took advantage of Tim Brewster’s uninspired Minnesota team, beating the eventual 3-9 Gophers 34-23. The 2010 NIU squad was much more dominant in MAC play than 2011, with an 8-0 record and average score of 48-16. Best wins included 31-17 over 8-4 Temple, 65-30 over 8-5 Toledo, and 71-3 over Eastern Michigan, a game where NIU ran for 544 yards and future starting QB Jordan Lynch had 2 carries for 142 yards and 2 TD. In the MAC title game, NIU entered as 17.5 point favorites over 8-4 Miami (OH), whose season was a nice story after going 1-11 the previous year. Miami shocked bettors everywhere with a late TD pass to win the title 26-21, and #24 NIU was shunned from the rankings. The season luckily ended on a high, with a 40-17 win over Fresno State in the Humanitarian Bowl. QB Chandler Harnish and RB Chad Spann formed the best backfield in the MAC, with both making 1st Team All-conference. Harnish threw for 2530 yards 21 TD 5 INT with an additional 836 rushing yards and 7 TD on 6.1 YPC. Spann won the MAC Offensive POTY, rushing for 1388 yards and 22 TD, setting a school record for rushing TD in a season.
3. 1983 (10-2 overall, 8-1 MAC)
In a very strong year for the MAC, Northern Illinois came out on top to win their first MAC title ever. The year opened with a 37-34 upset win over Kansas, who’d go on to beat #10 USC just a few weeks later. After a subsequent loss to Wisconsin, the 9 game round robin MAC grind began. A 4-0 conference start included wins over eventual 6-5 teams Ball State and Western Michigan, but NIU hadn’t played anyone from the top 4 in the MAC yet. That set up a match with Bowling Green (4-2, 3-1 MAC), who’d finish 8-3 on the year. Down 0-20 at halftime, NIU rallied for a thrilling 24-23 victory, keeping pace with Toledo on top of the conference. After a shutout win over Miami (OH), 7-1 NIU (6-0 MAC) headed to 5-3 Central Michigan (4-2 MAC), but lost to fall to 2nd in the conference behind Toledo. That set up a must-win game with 9-0 Toledo (7-0 MAC), in which the Rockets could clinch the MAC title. NIU showed up big time, winning 26-20, and both teams were tied for 1st heading into the final week. NIU blew out Ohio 41-17, while Toledo lost to NIU’s old foe Central Michigan! The Huskies won the MAC title outright at 8-1 in the MAC, with 9-2 Toledo, 8-3 Bowling Green, and 8-3 Central Michigan trailing close behind. NIU headed to their first bowl ever, beating none other than Cal State Fullerton 20-13 to clinch their first bowl win and double digit win season ever. 7 players went on to be drafted into the NFL from this team, so they definitely had talent for a small school.
2. 2013 (12-2 overall, 8-0 MAC)
Coming off a high of the best season in school history, NIU set out to prove it wasn’t a fluke. Mission accomplished. In the opener against Iowa, safety Jimmie Ward picked off Jake Rudock’s pass and NIU kicked a game winning 36 yard FG to beat the Hawkeyes 30-27. Despite a 12-0 start on the year, games would be hit and miss. Just a few weeks after beating Iowa, NIU barely scraped out a 43-39 win over an overlooked Eastern Illinois team led by QB Jimmy Garoppolo. Just a week later, NIU shellacked Purdue 55-24, but continued their up and down season with narrow wins over weak MAC teams Kent State and Akron. The polls caught wind of NIU’s bipolar play on the field—despite a 12-0 start from a team that went 12-2 the previous year, they only got as high as #16 by the time the MAC championship rolled around. Bowling Green’s potent offense and stingy defense gave NIU their toughest test all season, and the Falcons won the MAC title 47-27 in an upset. NIU’s season ended with a whimper by losing 14-21 to Utah State in the bowl, thus ending QB Jordan Lynch’s career.
NIU’s rushing offense was one of the best in the country, ranking 3rd in YPC with 6.4, with 11 players rushing for 6.0+ YPC (minimum 1 carry). Lynch had a tremendous year, throwing for 2892 yards 24 TD 8 INT and setting the NCAA QB record for rushing yards with 1920 and 23 TD on 6.6 YPC. Lynch won MAC Offensive POTY, earned 1st Team All-American status, and was a Heisman finalist. S Jimmie Ward was 3rd Team All-American with 94 tackles, 7 INT, and 10 PBU, and was a 1st round selection by the San Francisco 49ers in the 2014 NFL Draft. WR/KR Tommylee Lewis, standing just 5’7 168 lbs, most known for being blatantly pass interfered with in the Rams-Saints 2018 NFC Title Game, was an Honorable Mention All-American, rushing for 356 yards on 11.9 YPC, catching 86 balls for 715 yards, and getting a kick return TD as well.
1. 2012 (12-2 overall, 8-0 MAC)
This is probably the NIU team you remember, the one that played Florida State in the Orange Bowl. People suspected they’d be good, but not Orange Bowl good. Certainly not after week 1, a 17-18 loss to Iowa where QB Jordan Lynch completed just 6 of 16 passes for 54 yards. Lynch improved his passing as the year went on though, just as NIU as a whole improved as the season went on. A few weeks later was a 30-23 win over Kansas featuring 134 rushing yards from Lynch. Again just a few weeks later, a pivotal 35-23 comeback win over MAC contender Ball State put NIU in the driver’s seat for the MAC West along with Toledo. NIU kept winning, and Lynch would rush for 100+ yards in 11 straight games, his streak ending in the Orange Bowl. A late season matchup between 9-1 NIU and 8-2 Toledo clinched the MAC West for NIU, winning 31-24 with 569 yards of total offense from Lynch. The MAC title game was a rare one for the MAC, with the winner going to the Orange Bowl. #18 Kent State was led by All-American RB Dri Archer, while NIU had All-American QB Jordan Lynch. NIU’s defense shut down Archer, holding him to just 15 yards on 12 carries in a 44-37 2OT win. NIU outgained Kent State by nearly 300 yards, but penalties and costly turnovers kept the Golden Flashes in it.
NIU put up a respectable effort against a Florida State team that would win the national title the next season, losing 10-31. The Huskies finished ranked for the first time ever at #22, the best season in school history. Lynch threw for 3000+ yards with 25 TD 6 INT, and of course rushed for a whopping 1815 yards and 19 TD. Lynch earned MAC Offensive POTY, 2nd Team All-American, and finished 7th in Heisman voting. NIU had a dominant defense as well, giving up less than 20 PPG with DLs Alan Baxter and Sean Progar notching 9.5 and 8.5 sacks, respectively, both making 1st Team All-MAC. Jimmie Ward was 1st Team as well, leading NIU in tackles and INTs.
5th Quarter
Agree or disagree with NIU’s placement on the list? 2012 NIU didn’t make my top 50 Group of 5 teams since 1983, do you agree or disagree with that assessment? How would 2012 NIU have done in a Power 5 conference like the Big Ten that year? Is Jordan Lynch the greatest pure rushing QB in college football history, amassing nearly 4000 rushing yards over 2 seasons? For NIU/MAC fans, who was the better coach, Jerry Kill or Dave Doeren?
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