2011 Northern Illinois Huskies football team

The 2011 Northern Illinois Huskies football team represented Northern Illinois University in the 2011 NCAA Division I FBS football season. The Huskies competed in the West Division of the Mid-American Conference. They were led by first year head coach Dave Doeren. They played their home games at Huskie Stadium. NIU finished the season 11–3, 7–1 in MAC play to win the West Division Title. The Huskies defeated Ohio in the MAC Championship game to win their first MAC Championship after two previous trips to the Championship game.[2] The Huskies were invited to the GoDaddy.com Bowl where they defeated Arkansas State.

2011 Northern Illinois Huskies football
MAC champion MAC West Division co-champion GoDaddy.com Bowl champion
MAC Championship Game, W 23–20 vs. Ohio
GoDaddy.com Bowl, W 38–20 vs. Arkansas State
Conference	Mid-American Conference
	West
2011 record	11–3 (7–1 MAC)
Head coach	Dave Doeren (1st season)
Offensive coordinator	Matt Canada (1st season)
Defensive coordinator	Jay Niemann (1st season)
Home stadium	Huskie Stadium (Capacity: 24,000)[1]

2011 Mid-American Conference football standings
	Conf							Overall
Team		W		L					W		L
East Division
Ohio xy		6	–	2					10	–	4
Temple		5	–	3					9	–	4
Kent State		4	–	4					5	–	7
Bowling Green		3	–	5					5	–	7
Miami		3	–	5					4	–	8
Buffalo		2	–	6					3	–	9
Akron		0	–	8					1	–	11
West Division
Northern Illinois xy$		7	–	1					11	–	3
Toledo x		7	–	1					9	–	4
Western Michigan		5	–	3					7	–	6
Ball State		4	–	4					6	–	6
Eastern Michigan		4	–	4					6	–	6
Central Michigan		2	–	6					3	–	9
Championship: NIU 23, Ohio 20
$ – Conference champion x – Division champion/co-champions y – Championship game participant

The season marked the Huskies' fourth consecutive trip to a bowl game and their second consecutive win.

Schedule

Date	Time	Opponent	Site	TV	Result	Attendance
September 3	6:00 p.m.	Army*	Huskie Stadium DeKalb, IL	ESPN3	W 49–26	17,003[3]
September 10	6:00 p.m.	at Kansas*	Memorial Stadium Lawrence, KS	FCS	L 42–45	48,084[4]
September 17	2:30 p.m.	vs. No. 8 Wisconsin*	Soldier Field Chicago, IL	ESPN3	L 7–49	41,068[5]
September 24	2:30 p.m.	Cal Poly*	Huskie Stadium DeKalb, IL		W 47–30	14,321[6]
October 1	2:30 p.m.	at Central Michigan	Kelly/Shorts Stadium Mount Pleasant, MI	ESPN3	L 41–48	16,539[7]
October 8	2:30 p.m.	Kent State	Huskie Stadium DeKalb, IL		W 40–10	14,251[8]
October 15	2:30 p.m.	Western Michigan	Huskie Stadium DeKalb, IL	CSNC	W 51–22	20,277[9]
October 22	11:00 a.m.	at Buffalo	UB Stadium Amherst, NY	ESPN+	W 31–30	13,370[10]
November 1	6:00 p.m.	at Toledo	Glass Bowl Toledo, OH	ESPN2	W 63–60	19,004[11]
November 8	7:00 p.m.	at Bowling Green	Doyt Perry Stadium Bowling Green, OH	ESPN2	W 45–14	13,752[12]
November 15	7:00 p.m.	Ball State	Huskie Stadium DeKalb, IL (Battle for the Bronze Stalk)	ESPNU	W 41–38	12,391[13]
November 25	10:00 a.m.	Eastern Michigan	Huskie Stadium DeKalb, IL	ESPNU	W 18–12	15,111[14]
December 2	7:00 p.m.	vs. Ohio	Ford Field Detroit, MI (MAC Championship Game)	ESPN2	W 23–20	13,052[15]
January 8, 2012	8:00 p.m.	vs. Arkansas State	Ladd–Peebles Stadium Mobile, AL (GoDaddy.com Bowl)	ESPN	W 38–20	38,734[16]
*Non-conference game Homecoming Rankings from Coaches' Poll released prior to the game All times are in Central time

Points by quarter

1 2 3 4 Total Northern Illinois 93 149 119 114 475 Opponents 94 78 76 136 384

Regular season

Army

	1	2	3	4	Total
Black Knights	6	0	0	20	26
Huskies	14	21	14	0	49

Kansas

	1	2	3	4	Total
Huskies	7	14	14	7	42
Jayhawks	7	14	14	10	45

Wisconsin

	1	2	3	4	Total
#8 Badgers	14	14	14	7	49
Huskies	7	0	0	0	7

Cal Poly

	1	2	3	4	Total
Mustangs	0	7	10	13	30
Huskies	13	21	0	13	47

Central Michigan

	1	2	3	4	Total
Huskies	0	10	6	25	41
Chippewas	17	0	14	17	48

Kent State

	1	2	3	4	Total
Golden Flashes	3	0	0	7	10
Huskies	7	20	6	7	40

Western Michigan

	1	2	3	4	Total
Broncos	6	9	0	7	22
Huskies	0	13	24	14	51

Buffalo

	1	2	3	4	Total
Huskies	3	14	14	0	31
Bulls	3	7	0	20	30

Toledo

	1	2	3	4	Total
Huskies	21	7	14	21	63
Rockets	14	10	14	22	60

Bowling Green

	1	2	3	4	Total
Huskies	14	10	7	14	45
Falcons	7	7	0	0	14

Ball State

	1	2	3	4	Total
Cardinals	14	10	7	7	38
Huskies	0	14	14	13	41

Eastern Michigan

	1	2	3	4	Total
Eagles	3	0	3	6	12
Huskies	7	5	6	0	18

Ohio (2011 MAC Championship Game)

	1	2	3	4	Total
Bobcats	10	10	0	0	20
Huskies	0	0	7	16	23

Arkansas State (2012 GoDaddy.com Bowl)

	1	2	3	4	Total
Red Wolves	13	0	0	7	20
Huskies	7	14	7	10	38

References

1. "2011 Northern Illinois Football Media Supplement" (PDF). Northern Illinois University. Retrieved August 18, 2012.
2. "CHAMPS! Huskies win MAC football crown". NIU Today. Retrieved 2016-08-01.
3. http://espn.go.com/ncf/boxscore?gameId=312462459
4. http://espn.go.com/ncf/boxscore?gameId=312532305
5. http://espn.go.com/ncf/boxscore?gameId=312602459
6. http://espn.go.com/ncf/boxscore?gameId=312672459
7. http://espn.go.com/ncf/boxscore?gameId=312742117
8. "Kent State Golden Flashes vs. Northern Illinois Huskies Box Score". ESPN.com. October 8, 2011.
9. http://scores.espn.go.com/ncf/boxscore?gameId=312882459
10. http://scores.espn.go.com/ncf/boxscore?gameId=312952084
11. http://scores.espn.go.com/ncf/boxscore?gameId=313052649
12. http://sports.espn.go.com/ncf/boxscore?gameId=313120189
13. http://scores.espn.go.com/ncf/boxscore?gameId=313192459
14. http://espn.go.com/ncf/boxscore?gameId=313282459
15. http://sports.espn.go.com/ncf/boxscore?gameId=313362459
16. http://scores.espn.go.com/ncf/boxscore?gameId=320082459