This MAC team will never forget their 2018 victory over BYU
Last Saturday, the Northern Illinois University football team made history when they toppled fifth-ranked Notre Dame in South Bend. The Huskies blocked a Notre Dame field goal attempt as time expired to secure the first win against a top-5 team in their program's history.
It was an emotional win, and the kind of win a team never forgets. Especially NIU.
A few days removed from the upset, Josh Frydman, a local Illinois reporter, took to X to share NIU's unique tradition for celebrating their program's greatest wins throughout history. The tradition is known as the "boneyard", a nod to their canine mascot mixed with a nickname for a cemetery. Honestly, I love it.
The @NIU_Football “boneyard” where the Huskies stack their marquee wins over major programs. They’ll add the 19th bone after their first W vs. a top 5 team. We’ll hear from @NIUCoachHammock and the Huskies after knocking off Notre Dame tonight on @WGNNews & @GNSportsTV. pic.twitter.com/VR4iNS5I6E
— Josh Frydman (@Josh_Frydman) September 10, 2024
While certainly a fun shrine to some of the highest points in their football team's history, immortalizing some of these wins as the greatest wins in NIU history is kind of underwhelming.
Don't get me wrong, most of these wins are certainly praiseworthy for a smaller program without the resources of a power conference. But when taken into context, some of these wins are not as earth-shattering as one may expect.
Take for example their 2003 victory over the Alabama Crimson Tide. They wanted 'Bama, and took them down! How cool is that? Well, once you realize that this Alabama team finished with a 4-9 record, you start to comprehend that NIU didn't catch the Tide at the peak of their powers--the Huskies weren't exactly a giant slayer that season.
NIU also celebrates two wins over the Kansas Jayhawks, including a 2012 victory over a team that would finish the season 1-11 with a lone win against South Dakota State, and a 1983 victory over a 4-win Jayhawk roster.
One win that caught my attention was the team's victory over BYU in 2018 when the Cougars finished the regular season 6-6 with losses to Cal, Boise State, and Utah State. That was an incredibly painful contest where both teams refused to field an offense and freshman QB Zach Wilson was still struggling to find his groove while filling in for Tanner Mangum. The Cougars lost on a missed PAT, 6-7.
At this point, you're still reading this article, which means you're at least partially as interested as I am when it comes to Northern Illinois' greatest wins. I've taken the Liberty to go down the list and tally up their opponents' records in an attempt to find the greatest win in NIU history, and fully comprehend the scope of "the boneyard".
NIU's Greatest Games
Year | Opponent | Opponent Record |
|---|---|---|
2012 | Kansas | 1-11 |
2013 | Purdue | 1-11 |
2010 | Minnesota | 3-9 |
2017 | Nebraska | 4-8 |
2013 | Iowa | 8-5 |
2021 | Georgia Tech | 3-9 |
2023 | Boston College | 7-6 |
2018 | BYU | 7-6 |
2003 | Iowa State | 2-10 |
2003 | Alabama | 4-9 |
2009 | Purdue | 5-7 |
1989 | Kansas State | 1-10 |
2002 | Wake Forest | 7-6 |
2003 | Maryland | 11-3 |
1983 | Kansas | 4-6-1 |
1988 | Wisconsin | 1-10 |
2014 | Northwestern | 5-7 |
1990 | Kansas State | 5-6 |
2024 | Notre Dame | 1-1* |
Total Record: | 80-140 |
Opponents in bold finished with a winning record.
* final record unavailable.
Average win total: 4.2
I don't mean to belittle their wall of accomplishments, and for a program of their size, taking down a big-name program is a commendable achievement, even on a down year. Now, after going through these games, I can understand a bit more why their win over BYU earned this honor.
If Notre Dame wins out, the upset over the Irish will be their greatest win in program history, but anything can happen. Unfortunately for NIU, their history suggests that if a team loses to their squad early in the season, the loser is in for a difficult year.
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