NIU hopes to turn back clock to '02
Perhaps this sounds like blasphemy since, as the NFL's Herm Edwards famously once explained, you play to win the game.
But if Northern Illinois coach Joe Novak walks out of Camp Randall Stadium as angry after today's game as he felt after the Huskies' 2002 trip to Wisconsin, then Novak will be more than a little pleased by his Huskies.
That would mean struggling NIU outplayed Wisconsin (11 a.m., Big Ten Network) and it took a few special circumstances for the Badgers to come away with the win.
Just like on Sept. 14, 2002.
That's when Northern Illinois, despite outgaining No. 22 Wisconsin by 180 yards and sacking Brooks Bollinger a school-record 10 times, came out on the short end of a 24-21 score.
Bollinger produced the winning touchdown on a 2-yard run with 1:21 to go -- a play that was set up by, um, a questionable pass-interference call in the end zone.
And that wasn't the only intriguing flag on the final drive.
"That was about as irritated as I ever was with the striped shirts," Novak said Tuesday. "Don't get me started."
Novak likes to think there are parallels between this year's game and that 2002 meeting. Mostly, it's the fact that both times NIU had to fight for its second win over a Big Ten team with a half-dozen starters unavailable.
But the Huskies' 2002 team featured many of the players who, two weeks after the Wisconsin verdict, led NIU to 17 wins in its next 20 games -- including all-time achievements such as a victory at Alabama.
This year's team might be fine in 2008 and seasons beyond, but nothing's going right these days.
"If we do play our best game of the year, it still might not be enough," Novak said. "Who knows if we're going to play our best game -- we've been waiting all year to play our best game. We haven't done it yet."
Novak finds it amazing that NIU leads the Mid-American Conference in scoring defense (24.9 ppg) and pass efficiency defense (123.91 rating) despite missing several anticipated contributors.
Might NIU's defense be able to stifle a banged-up Wisconsin offense and turn back the clock to 2002?
"We look forward to the hostile environment," said senior safety Mark Reiter. "It is very motivating. When you get that many people cheering against you, you just get the chills running down your back.
"You just want to go out there, and to hear them be silenced is just the highlight of your day."
Northern Illinois (1-6) at Wisconsin (5-2)
When: 11 a.m. at Camp Randall Stadium
TV: Big Ten Network Radio: WSCR 670-AM
Series: Wisconsin 9-1
Coaches: Joe Novak (62-72, 12th year at NIU); Bret Bielema (17-3, second year at Wisconsin)
Players to watch: Former walk-on Ryan Morris (West Chicago) played solid last week in his first start at quarterback, but junior Dan Nicholson's ankle should be good enough for him to reclaim the job today. Redshirt freshman Zach Larsen has provided a hard-hitting presence at middle linebacker, while John Tranchitella has moved back to his more natural outside linebacker spot. … Wisconsin likes to ride sophomore tailback P.J. Hill, the nation's No. 15 rusher with 825 yards and 11 scores, but he's a bit banged up. Senior QB Tyler Donovan throws to all-Big Ten tight end Travis Beckum almost seven times per game.
The skinny: It has been 19 years since NIU registered its first and only win over a Big Ten foe. If this day is to mark the doubling of that total, then the Huskies need to win the turnover battle big, something they've failed to do all year. It'd be nice for NIU if Justin Anderson, the nation's No. 9 rusher with 868 yards and 5 TDs, can control the ball and force Wisconsin's mistake-prone defense to smarten up in order to win.
-- Lindsey Willhite