The 2012 Northern Illinois Huskies football team represented

Northern Illinois University Northern Illinois University (NIU) is a Public university, public research university in DeKalb, Illinois. It was founded as Northern Illinois State Normal School on May 22, 1895, by Illinois Governor John P. Altgeld as part of an expansion of ...

as a member of the West Division of the

Mid-American Conference The Mid-American Conference (MAC) is a National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA) Division I collegiate athletic conference with a membership base in the Great Lakes region that stretches from Western New York to Illinois. Nine of the tw ...

(MAC) during the

2012 NCAA Division I FBS football season The 2012 NCAA Division I FBS football season was the highest level of college football competition in the United States organized by the National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA). The regular season began on August 30, 2012 and ended on De ...

. Northern Illinois compiled an overall record of 12–2 with a mark of 8–0 in conference play, winning the MAC West Division title. The Huskies advanced to the

MAC Championship Game The MAC Football Championship Game is a football game between the winners of the East and West divisions of the Mid-American Conference (MAC) to determine the conference champion. History The game has been played since 1997, when the conferenc ...

, where they beat

Kent State Kent State University (KSU) is a public research university in Kent, Ohio. The university also includes seven regional campuses in Northeast Ohio and additional facilities in the region and internationally. Regional campuses are located in Ash ...

to win the program's third MAC championship. Northern Illinois was invited to the Orange Bowl, where they lost to

Florida State Florida State University (FSU) is a public research university in Tallahassee, Florida. It is a senior member of the State University System of Florida. Founded in 1851, it is located on the oldest continuous site of higher education in the sta ...

. Second-year head coach

Dave Doeren David William Doeren (born December 3, 1971) is an American football coach who is currently the head football coach at North Carolina State University, a position he has held since the 2013 season. Doeren previously served as the head football c ...

led the team during the regular season and the MAC title game before resigning to become the head footbal coach at North Carolina State University.

Rod Carey Roderick Charles Carey (born July 24, 1971) is an American football coach and former player. He served as the head football coach at Northern Illinois University from 2012 to 2018 and Temple University from 2019 to 2021. Early years Carey was bo ...

was appointed interim head coach for the

bowl game In North America, a bowl game is one of a number of post-season college football games that are primarily played by teams belonging to the NCAA's Division I Football Bowl Subdivision (FBS). For most of its history, the Division I Bowl Subdiv ...

. The team's 12 wins was the most in any of the program's 113-year history. Since the MAC was a non-automatic qualifying (non-AQ) conference for the

Bowl Championship Series The Bowl Championship Series (BCS) was a selection system that created four or five bowl game match-ups involving eight or ten of the top ranked teams in the NCAA Division I Football Bowl Subdivision (FBS) of American college football, includ ...

, its conference champion had to finish 16th or higher in the BCS rankings and be ranked ahead of at least one AQ conference champion to qualify for a BCS game. With their win in the MAC Championship Game, the Huskies moved to No. 15 in the final BCS rankings, while

Louisville Louisville ( , , ) is the largest city in the Commonwealth of Kentucky and the 28th most-populous city in the United States. Louisville is the historical seat and, since 2003, the nominal seat of Jefferson County, on the Indiana border. ...

, champion of the Big East Confernece, was ranked No. 21. As a result, Northern Illinois received a BCS bid to the Orange Bowl. It was the first major-bowl appearance in program history and the first major-bowl appearance for any MAC team. The season marked the Huskies' fifth consecutive trip to a bowl game. The team played home games at

Huskie Stadium Brigham Field at Huskie Stadium is a college football stadium in the central United States, located on the campus of Northern Illinois University in DeKalb, Illinois. Opened in 1965, it is the home field of the NIU Huskies of the Mid-Ameri ...

DeKalb, Illinois DeKalb ( ) is a city in DeKalb County, Illinois, United States. The population was 43,862 according to the 2010 census, up from 39,018 at the 2000 census. The city is named after decorated Franconia Franconia (german: Franken, ; Franconi ...

Schedule

Rankings

Roster

Game summaries

vs Iowa

UT Martin

@ Army

Kansas

Central Michigan

@ Ball State

Buffalo

@ Akron

@ Western Michigan

Massachusetts

Toledo

@ Eastern Michigan

#18 Kent State (
MAC Championship Game The MAC Football Championship Game is a football game between the winners of the East and West divisions of the Mid-American Conference (MAC) to determine the conference champion. History The game has been played since 1997, when the conferenc ...
)

#12 Florida State ( Orange Bowl)

References

{{Mid-American Conference football champions Northern Illinois Northern Illinois Huskies football seasons Mid-American Conference football champion seasons

Northern Illinois Huskies football The Northern Illinois Huskies football team are a college football program representing Northern Illinois University (NIU) in the Football Bowl Subdivision (FBS) of college football. NIU football plays its home games at Huskie Stadium on the ...