Northern Illinois Football

Northern Illinois has an offer on the table from the Mountain West to leave the Mid-American Conference for its league as a football-only school beginning with the 2026 season, per Brett McMurphy of Action Network, who cited industry sources.

That decision on whether to stay or go is "imminent." If NIU does leave, then it's unclear which league the non-football teams will play in moving forward, sources noted to McMurphy.

On September 26, McMurphy reported on the Mountain West's interest in adding Northern Illinois and Toledo as football-only members before 2026.

NIU released a statement on the matter one day later, per the Associated Press.

"Conference realignment is a highly dynamic situation, and NIU appreciates the interest in our strong brand and proven commitment to the success of our student athletes. At this time, we have not received a formal offer to consider a change."

The Pac-12 is adding five current Mountain West schools beginning with the 2026-27 collegiate sports season: Boise State, Colorado State, Fresno State, San Diego State and Utah State.

Six schools who currently play all their sports in-conference now will remain: UNLV, Air Force, San Jose State, Wyoming, Nevada and New Mexico.

Hawai'i has been a football-only member since 2012 but will join full-time in 2026. UTEP is also joining as a full-time member in 2026. UC Davis is joining in 2026 in every sport but football. Grand Canyon is joining in 2026 in 17 sports (the school does not have a football team).

Understandably, the Mountain West would still like to add to the league, especially with only eight football schools on tap beginning in 2026. Perhaps NIU is next up.

Northern Illinois says it has not yet received a "formal offer" to leave the Mid-American Conference for the Mountain West, but "appreciates" the reported interest in its program.

Action Network's Brett McMurphy reported on Thursday that the Mountain West had notified the MAC of interest in adding Northern Illinois and Toledo as football-only members ahead of the 2026 season.

"Conference realignment is a highly dynamic situation, and NIU appreciates the interest in our strong brand and proven commitment to the success of our student athletes," Northern Illinois said in a statement published by the Associated Press. "At this time, we have not received a formal offer to consider a change."

The Mountain West announced on Thursday that Air Force, Nevada, New Mexico, San Jose State, UNLV, Wyoming and football-only member Hawaii will remain after five former conference schools departed for the Pac-12.

Departing schools included Boise State, Colorado State, Fresno State, San Diego State and Utah State.

In order to qualify for NCAA minimum requirements, the Mountain West will need eight full members. That will require the addition of two full members by 2028, the AP noted.

The potential additions of NIU and Toledo would not help the Mountain West meet that standard, so the league's expansion efforts would need to continue even if it does decide to pursue the MAC schools.

ESPN's Pete Thamel recently reported that the Mountain West could consider Sun Belt program Texas State as one of these additional full members.

The Mid-American Conference currently contains 12 members, including NIU and Toledo alongside Akron, Ball State, Bowling Green State, Buffalo, Central Michigan, Eastern Michigan, Kent State, Miami, Ohio and Western Michigan. UMass Amherst is set to join the conference in 2025.

The MAC has remained largely unchanged, excepting the addition of UMass, amid the ongoing seismic changes in conference alignment, remaining a conference mainly populated by schools located in Ohio and Michigan.

The Mountain West's attempts to recover from the exodus of its former members for the Pac-12, on the other hand, has led the conference to reportedly pursue to schools well to the east of the Mountain Time Zone.

It remains to be seen if the Mountain West will make a formal offer to NIU. If Northern Illinois accepts the swap, college athletics programs could be set for even more travel in the coming years as conferences continue to expand their geographical reach.

With several of its members departing for the Pac-12, the Mountain West Conference is eyeing a pair of teams from the Mid-American Conference.

Per Action Network's Brett McMurphy, the Mountain West Conference notified the MAC of its interest in Northern Illinois and Toledo as football-only members in 2026.

Along with NIU and Toledo, the Mountain West is eyeing Texas State out of the Sun Belt, per ESPN's Pete Thamel. The Bobcats would be an all-sports addition, unlike Toledo and NIU.

NIU and Toledo have consistently found success in the MAC, winning seven of the last 13 conference championships. Last year, NIU finished 7-6 with an appearance in the Camellia Bowl while Toledo went 11-3, reaching as high as No. 23 in the AP Poll and playing in the Arizona Bowl.

NIU has had a strong start to the 2024 season, knocking off No. 5 Notre Dame in Week 2 to earn a spot in the AP Top 25. The Huskies are 2-1 after losing to Buffalo in Week 4. Toledo is 3-1 to start the year, picking up a signature win over Mississippi State in Week 3.

Texas State struggled for much of the past decade since its move to the FBS level in 2012, but the Bobcats have had a resurgence under new head coach G.J. Kinne, going 8-5 a year ago with a win in the First Responder Bowl.

Texas State is 2-1 so far this season with its only loss coming to Arizona State.

Over the past few weeks, the Mountain West has lost Boise State, Colorado State, Fresno State, San Diego State and Utah State to the Pac-12, leaving it with just seven teams. Even if the Mountain West can add NIU and Toledo, it would still need two more all-sport members to meet NCAA requirements.

Bringing in Texas State would be one step in the right direction as the Mountain West looks to avoid crumbling due to conference realignment.

Northern Illinois head coach Thomas Hammock led his team to the biggest upset win in program history on Saturday as the Huskies took down No. 5 Notre Dame in South Bend.

After the monumental win, Hammock was overcome with emotion, and rightfully so.

"I'm so proud of our kids, the coaches, everybody," he said. "They believed, they believed. And we came in and got it done."

This is what it's all about.

NIU's @NIUCoachHammock is overcome with emotion after leading his team to the win at Notre Dame! @NIU_Football | @NIUAthletics | #MACtion pic.twitter.com/K7oS9tsrTC

— MACtion (@MACSports) September 7, 2024

Hammock praised his team for doing exactly what they were supposed to rather than trying to be heroes against the giant that was the Fighting Irish.

"They listened to what I said," Hammock said. "I told them all week, we don't need luck, we just got to be our best. And they were their best today and we were able to get it done."

When asked where his emotion was coming from, Hammock explained how much the win meant for his players.

"All these guys that have been with our program, they've been through the ups and downs and they continue to fight," he said. "It's like they're my kids, I'm happy for the adversity they pushed through, no matter the situation. I just couldn't be more proud."

Hammock wasn't the only one overcome with emotion after the win. The radio call by Andy Garcia, the voice of the Huskies, on the final play of the game shows just how special the win was.

Here’s the NIU Football Radio by @AGarciaInSports of the last play of the Huskies upset of #5 Notre Dame in South Bend

(Courtesy of WDKB) pic.twitter.com/s9zjoP95xP

— Herb Lawrence (@Ecnerwal23) September 7, 2024

Saturday's win couldn't have been more dramatic. The two teams were neck and neck the entire game, and the Huskies got a crucial interception in the final minutes, capitalizing with a field goal from Kanon Woodill to take the lead.

With just 31 seconds remaining, Notre Dame managed to get in field goal range, but Northern Illinois blocked the game-winning field goal attempt to seal the win.

THIS. IS. MACTION!!!!! @NIU_Football | #MACtion pic.twitter.com/RF0ClUF0ui

— MACtion (@MACSports) September 7, 2024

Getting an upset win like Saturday's is special no matter who the coach is, but it's even more special for Hammock, who played for Northern Illinois from 1999-2002. Hammock returned to his alma mater in 2019 and has found some success over the past few years.

He's posted a pair of winning seasons, including last year when the Huskies went 7-6, winning the Camellia Bowl. He also led Northern Illinois to a conference title in 2021.

Northern Illinois was once a powerhouse of the MAC, regularly winning conference titles and even appearing in the AP Top 25 several times. The Huskies are still one of the top teams in their conference, but they're hoping Saturday's miraculous win will propel them to the next level.

Northern Illinois is the monster of the MAC, the defending champ playing in the conference championship game for the sixth year in a row. But the Huskies have covered the spread just once over those previous five title tilts. For the third year in a row, NIU meets Bowling Green in the MAC Championship Game on Friday night at Ford Field.

Point spread: Falcons opened as eight-point favorites, according to sportsbooks monitored by Odds Shark (line updates and matchup report).

College football pick, via Odds Shark computer: 42.0-32.4 Falcons

Why the Bowling Green Falcons can cover the spread

The Falcons just completed a 9-3 regular season in which they also went 9-3 against the spread, beating Ball State last week, 48-10, and covering as 23-point favorites on the road. Following an upset loss to Toledo the week before, Bowling Green bounced out to a 27-0 lead at the half, eventually outgaining the Cardinals, 576-264.

The Falcons have now hit the 40-point mark eight times this season and outgained 10 of 12 opponents, five of them by more than 200 yards. They also beat two Big Ten teams this season (although you can take that for what it's worth), and took a pretty good Memphis team to the limit in a 44-41 defeat back in September.

Why the Northern Illinois Huskies can cover the spread

Northern Illinois dropped its MAC opener back in October at Central Michigan, then won six in a row to put itself in position for a sixth straight West Division title. The Huskies stumbled in an upset loss last week to Ohio but backed into the MAC Championship Game when Western Michigan upset Toledo last Friday.

NIU trailed the Bobcats 20-7 at the half and lost starting quarterback Ryan Graham, who was already subbing for an injured Drew Hare, to an injury. It rallied to within five points with just under two minutes to go but came up empty on an onside kick and couldn't get the ball back.

In relief of Graham, true freshman Tommy Fielder hit on nine of 17 throws for 113 yards and a touchdown and ran the ball three times for 20 yards.

Smart pick

These teams have split the last two MAC title games; two years ago, the Falcons upset the favored Huskies, 47-27, while last year Northern Illinois took revenge, 51-17. But the Huskies might be down to their third-string quarterback for this one, and have actually been outgained in three of their last four games.

Meanwhile, after getting blown out in this game last year, perhaps Bowling Green has a case of revenge in store for Friday. Also, BGU is 5-0 ATS this season as double-digit chalk. Take the Falcons.

Betting trends

Bowling Green is 1-4 SU in its last five games against Northern Illinois.

Northern Illinois is 2-8 ATS in its last 10 games in December.

Bowling Green is 6-1 ATS in its last seven games.

All point spread and lines data courtesy of Odds Shark. All quotes gathered firsthand unless otherwise noted. Check out Twitter for injury and line-movement updates and get the free odds tracker app.

The Northern Illinois Huskies will be out for revenge when they meet the Bowling Green Falcons in the Mid-American Conference Championship Game for the second year in a row Friday at Detroit’s Ford Field. The West Division champion Huskies entered last year’s MAC title game unbeaten at 12-0 before getting upset by the East Division champion Falcons 47-27 as three-point favorites.

Point spread: The Huskies opened as 2.5-point favorites, according to sportsbooks monitored by Odds Shark. (Line updates and matchup report)

College football pick, via Odds Shark computer: 26.7-25.7 Huskies

Why the Northern Illinois Huskies can cover the spread

If revenge was not enough of a factor, the Huskies are quite simply a much better team than the Falcons this year, and that shows in the spread. Like Bowling Green with Jordan Lynch, they also do not have to deal with Matt Johnson, who shredded their defense for 393 yards and five touchdowns en route to the MAC title.

Northern Illinois should be able to contain his replacement James Knapke, as he has thrown only 12 touchdowns with 10 interceptions this season for the Falcons. Knapke has not thrown a touchdown pass in either of the team’s last two games, both of which have resulted in losses.

Why the Bowling Green Falcons can cover the spread

Bowling Green did it last season and can do it again here. The Falcons do not have to contend with Heisman Trophy finalist Lynch, the NIU quarterback who passed for 219 yards and rushed for 126 more in last year’s game, accounting for all three touchdowns.

Despite losing their quarterback Johnson to a season-ending hip injury in a 59-31 loss to the Western Kentucky Hilltoppers back on August 29, they were still able to win the MAC East with a 5-3 record and are bowl-eligible with a 7-5 mark overall.

Bowling Green has the experience of last year’s victory against Northern Illinois to draw from here and should be able to use that to its advantage.

Smart Pick

The Huskies are riding a six-game winning streak into Ford Field and needed to win their last two games in order to beat out the Toledo Rockets for their return trip to Detroit. Despite not covering the 3.5-point spread in a 27-24 home win over Toledo, Northern Illinois beat the line in those two following games, including last week’s 31-21 road victory against the Western Michigan Broncos as an eight-point underdog.

Neither of these teams has really fared well ATS in MAC play this season, although the Huskies have covered three of their past four. With revenge also working in their favor this time around, look for Northern Illinois to not only win the MAC Championship Game for the third time in four years, but also cover the spread.

Betting Trends

• The total has gone under in five of Northern Illinois's last five games
• Bowling Green is 12-6 SU in its last 18 games

All point spread and lines data courtesy of Odds Shark, all quotes gathered firsthand unless otherwise noted. Check out Twitter for injury and line movement updates and get the free odds tracker app.

The Northern Illinois Huskies were on a marvelous 7-1 ATS run but lost their last two games vs. the numbers. In the process, NIU also blew a shot at a second consecutive BCS bowl, getting upset in the MAC Championship Game.

So the Huskies are battling a bit of a slump going into a Poinsettia Bowl matchup with the Aggies of Utah State on Thursday, Dec. 26 in San Diego. They've now lost two of their last 26 games.

Point spread: Huskies opened as 2.5-point favorites over the Aggies; the total was 57. (Line updates and matchup report)

Odds Shark computer prediction: 32.1-31.2 Huskies

Why the Aggies can cover the Poinsettia Bowl spread

Utah State returned 14 starters from a team that went 11-2 last year but had to replace its head coach after Gary Andersen bolted to Wisconsin. The Aggies started slowly, losing back-to-back games in October to fall to 3-4, but then won five in a row to win the Mountain West Conference's Mountain Division in its first season as a member.

Utah State played rather poorly in the MWC Championship Game at Fresno State yet still had a chance to force overtime before a late drive ended with an interception.

Nonetheless the Aggies are playing in a bowl for the third straight season. USU lost quarterback Chuckie Keeton to a knee injury in October, but freshman Darell Garretson has performed admirably in his place. On the season, Utah State has averaged 241 yards per game passing and 180 YPG rushing, while defensively the Aggies rank 12th in the country overall and 10th vs. the run (allowing just 107 YPG on the ground).

The computer has picked a 32-31 final, which would give the cover to Utah State at +1.5.

Why the Huskies can cover the Poinsettia Bowl spread

Northern Illinois also had to replace its head coach after Dave Doeren took off for NC State. But with Heisman hopeful QB Jordan Lynch and the entire offensive line back from last year, the Huskies were the favorites to win the MAC for the third straight season.

NIU proceeded to win its first 12 games, beating a couple of Big Ten teams, reaching No. 14 in the BCS standings. But the Huskies' BCS hopes were snuffed out when they got upset by Bowling Green in the MAC Championship Game, 47-27.

With Lynch handling most of the load, the Huskies have averaged 313 YPG on the ground this season and 223 YPG through the air. And while NIU ranks 91st in the country in total defense, some of that has to do with the Huskies playing with leads, sometimes large, almost all season.

Smart Pick

Utah State was somewhat fortunate to reach the MWC Championship Game, thanks in part to a kind conference schedule, but the Aggies also got better as the season progressed. They survived a change at quarterback and held their last six foes to an average of 13 PPG. Northern Illinois, meanwhile, rolled through a significant portion of its schedule, although it also was fortunate to miss several of the contenders in the MAC.

Lynch will receive most of the attention heading into this game, but Bowling Green figured out how to slow him down—keep the ball away from him. Utah State is capable of doing the same. Take the points with the Aggies, and if you believe in zig-zag over-under patterns, Poinsettia Bowl betting odds history reveals a trend that would see this game play OVER the total.

Trends:

• Over-unders alternated past eight seasons, OVER is due
• UNDER is 5-0-1 past six NIU bowl games
• NIU 24-2 SU past 26 games overall
• Utah State is 8-4 ATS past 12 games

Note: All spread and odds data powered by Odds Shark - follow us on Twitter for injury updates and line move updates.

Jordan Lynch and his Northern Illinois Huskies had the big stage all to themselves on Friday night.

The MAC Championship game was televised nationally on ESPN2, all the marquee conference title showdowns are scheduled for Saturday and there was serious Heisman buzz around the star signal-caller. That a trip to a BCS bowl was all but assured if the Huskies beat Bowling Green makes the outcome even more difficult to swallow for Northern Illinois.

Bowling Green dismantled Lynch and the Huskies on both sides of the ball, winning to the tune of 47-27. It was Northern Illinois’ first loss of the year and will prevent it from qualifying for a BCS bowl game for the second season in a row.

Frankly speaking, it also cost Lynch his outside chance at the Heisman Trophy. He finished the game with two interceptions, which will undoubtedly leave a bad taste in the mouths of voters who may not have seen Lynch for the entire season.

Before the loss, Lynch had more momentum than anyone this side of Jameis Winston in the race for college football’s most famous award. He was in second place in the most recent USA Today Heisman Survey behind only Winston and had a sizable lead over AJ McCarron, Braxton Miller and Andre Williams.

In a similar exercise, Lynch also ranked second in the most recent Heisman Watch on ESPN behind Winston. Williams, McCarron and Ka’Deem Carey rounded out the top five, with Miller right on the fringe.

Lynch was receiving so much love in the Heisman discussion largely because Northern Illinois was undefeated and counted wins against Iowa and Purdue to its resume. In fact, those two Big Ten victories were more than Northwestern and Purdue tallied on the season combined.

Much like a one-loss team that doesn’t win the MAC immediately falls out of discussion for a BCS slot, losing to Bowling Green virtually eliminates all the momentum Lynch had going into the MAC championship game when it comes to the Heisman. There are a number of contenders who were nipping at Lynch’s heels before this blowout loss who now have opportunities to make statements on the national stage themselves.

Miller is playing in the Big Ten championship game against Michigan State and has a chance to reach the national title contest, while Teddy Bridgewater of Louisville knocked off Cincinnati on Thursday night with a handful of incredible plays down the stretch. Furthermore, overwhelming favorite Winston should pick apart Duke’s secondary in the ACC title game. 

The question now becomes, will Lynch even earn an invitation to New York, because winning the award simply isn’t going to happen.

The guess here is no.

Follow and interact with Bleacher Report writer Scott Polacek on Twitter @ScottPolacek.

Last year’s setback against Florida State in the Orange Bowl was the best thing that could have happened to the Northern Illinois football program.

In fact, that 31-10 loss back in January has fueled a Huskies squad that has a realistic shot at winning their first BCS bowl in school history. 

Through 12 games, the team has tossed aside every opponent and hurdled every obstacle in its path.

Only two teams have managed to come within six points of Northern Illinois all season. Both occurred within the first three games.

Since then, the Huskies have rolled, winning their last nine contests by an average margin of 23.8 points.

Now, the team just has to maneuver past Bowling Green in the MAC title game on Saturday to record the school’s first-ever perfect regular season. But most importantly, Northern Illinois is just one win away from securing a berth into a BCS bowl and a chance at redemption.

The biggest difference for this year’s squad is that quarterback Jordan Lynch hasn’t had to do it alone.

In 2012, the senior carried the Huskies. He threw for 3,138 yards, 25 touchdowns and six interceptions on 60.2 percent passing while adding another 1,815 yards and 19 scores on 294 carries.

But other than Lynch, the team was short on options. No other player rushed for more than 500 yards and only Martel Moore (75 REC, 1,083 YDs, 13 TDs) managed to top 600 receiving yards.

So it came as no surprise when the Seminoles were able to easily shut down Northern Illinois with ease.

However, this season it’s been a different story.

In the backfield, running back Cameron Stingily has offered a helping hand. The junior has racked up 1,007 yards and nine touchdowns on 180 carries in 11 games.

The same can be said about the receiving corps, as Da’Ron Brown (42 REC, 689 YDs, 9 TDs) and Tommylee Lewis (74 REC, 623 YDs, 3 TDs) have been able to keep secondaries guessing. Sophomore Juwan Brescacin (24 REC, 398 YDs, 4 TDs) has also emerged as a threat in recent weeks.

It’s all added to provide the Huskies with a much-improved offense this year as compared to 2012:

	2012 (Rank)	2013 (Rank)
W-L	12-2	12-0
PPG	38.6 (13)	42.8 (9)
Total YPG	469.6 (20)	542.3 (4)
Passing YPG	231.4 (64)	223.4 (74)
Rushing YPG	238.2 (12)	318.9 (4)

With a worthy supporting cast alongside him, Lynch is better fit to lead the team to postseason success.

But that’s not all that is working in Northern Illinois’ favor. The team also benefits from having the experience of playing in a BCS bowl the year before.

Instead of erasing that Florida State loss from memory, the Huskies should do exactly the opposite.

That game film should be put on repeat. Re-watch all the poor execution, the missed blocking assignments and all the incomplete passes.

Watch it again and again until the anger is too much to keep inside.

Last year, Northern Illinois’ players appeared to be happy just to be there. They seemed content with simply being the first MAC team to play in a BCS bowl.

This time around, it’s about unfinished business. About proving all the critics and naysayers wrong.

But more importantly, this time, it’s about respect.

Due to having the last pick in 2013, the Fiesta Bowl is the likely BCS destination for Northern Illinois if it qualifies.

If that’s the case, the team would go head-to-head against the Big 12 champion. That looks to be Oklahoma State as of now, but Baylor and Texas are still in the running.

Although all three teams would present major challenges for the Huskies, none of those three are anything like the Seminoles. A team that entered last season’s Orange Bowl ranked in the top 10 both offensively and defensively while being an upset-loss to NC State away from playing for the BCS title.

With a larger supporting cast, big-game experience and a favorable matchup, it’s hard to bet against Northern Illinois in a BCS bowl game. Not to mention, Lynch has been playing phenomenally in recent weeks.

The clock struck 12 before the team could complete its Cinderella story a year ago.

Now, it’s time to prove the slipper still fits.

All stats and rankings used in this article are courtesy of NCAA.com.

For complete coverage and everything college football, you can reach Sebastian on Facebook, on Twitter and via email at Sebastian.LenaBR@gmail.com.