2002 Northern Illinois Huskies football team

The 2002 Northern Illinois Huskies football team represented Northern Illinois University as a member of the West Division of the Mid-American Conference (MAC) during the 2002 NCAA Division I-A football season. Led by seventh-year head coach Joe Novak, the Huskies compiled an overall record of 8–4 with a mark of 7–1 in conference play, sharing the MAC's West Division title with Toledo. By virtue of their head-to-head win over Northern Illinois, the Toledo Rockets advanced to the MAC Championship Game. Despite reaching bowl eligibility, the Huskies were not invited to a bowl game. Northern Illinois played home games at Huskie Stadium in DeKalb, Illinois.

2002 Northern Illinois Huskies football
MAC West Division co-champion
Conference	Mid-American Conference
Division	West Division
Record	8–4 (7–1 MAC)
Head coach	Joe Novak (7th season)
Offensive coordinator	Dan Roushar (5th season)
MVPs	Michael Turner Larry Williams
Captains	Eric Didesch P. J. Fleck Thomas Hammock Vince Thompson Tim Vincent Larry Williams
Home stadium	Huskie Stadium
Seasons ← 2001 2003 →

2002 Mid-American Conference football standings

v t e	Conf.							Overall
Team		W		L					W		L
East Division
No. 24 Marshall x$		7	–	1					11	–	2
UCF		6	–	2					7	–	5
Miami (OH)		5	–	3					7	–	5
Ohio		4	–	4					4	–	8
Akron		3	–	5					4	–	8
Kent State		1	–	7					3	–	9
Buffalo		0	–	8					1	–	11
West Division
Toledo xy		7	–	1					9	–	5
Northern Illinois x		7	–	1					8	–	4
Bowling Green		6	–	2					9	–	3
Ball State		4	–	4					6	–	6
Western Michigan		3	–	5					4	–	8
Central Michigan		2	–	6					4	–	8
Eastern Michigan		1	–	7					3	–	9
Championship: Marshall 49, Toledo 45
$ – Conference champion x – Division champion/co-champions Rankings from AP Poll

Schedule

Date	Time	Opponent	Site	TV	Result	Attendance	Source
August 29	6:30 pm	Wake Forest*	Huskie Stadium DeKalb, IL	FSN	W 42–41 ^OT	19,653
September 7	6:00 pm	at South Florida*	Raymond James Stadium Tampa, FL		L 6–37	23,559
September 14	11:00 am	at No. 22 Wisconsin*	Camp Randall Stadium Madison, WI	ESPN Plus	L 21–24	77,460
September 21	6:30 pm	Western Illinois*	Huskie Stadium DeKalb, IL		L 26–29	23,598
September 28	1:00 pm	Kent State	Huskie Stadium DeKalb, IL		W 13–6	16,302
October 5	1:00 pm	at Ball State	Ball State Stadium Muncie, IN (rivalry)		W 41–29	14,499
October 12	1:00 pm	at Miami (OH)	Yager Stadium Oxford, OH		W 48–41	15,234
October 19	1:00 pm	Central Michigan	Huskie Stadium DeKalb, IL		W 49–0	20,186
October 26	12:00 pm	at Western Michigan	Waldo Stadium Kalamazoo, MI		W 24–20	15,049
November 9	1:30 pm	No. 20 Bowling Green	Huskie Stadium DeKalb, IL	FSN	W 26–17	25,822
November 16	12:00 pm	at Eastern Michigan	Rynearson Stadium Ypsilanti, MI		W 49–21	5,567
November 23	11:00 am	Toledo	Huskie Stadium DeKalb, IL	FSN	L 30–33	20,154
*Non-conference game Rankings from AP Poll released prior to the game All times are in Central time

Roster

2002 Northern Illinois Huskies football team roster
Players			Coaches
Offense Pos. # Name Class TE 89 Brad Cieslak Fr WR 82 P. J. Fleck Sr QB 6 Ryan Gilbert Jr QB 10 Josh Haldi So TB 28 Thomas Hammock Sr RB 24 A. J. Harris Fr WR 84 Sam Hurd Fr WR Edgar Rodriquez  Fr WR 83 Shatone Powers Fr TB 8 Jeremy Pugh  Fr WR 88 Turner Pugh Jr TE 80 Pat Raleigh Fr FB 34 Mike Scaramella Jr G 64 Shaun Schroeder Jr WR 5 Dan Sheldon So G 69 Graham Sleight Jr RB 32 Michael Turner Jr	Defense Pos. # Name Class DT 91 Leonard Cooksey Jr DT 51 Eric Didesch Sr FS Keafta Dokes Fr SS 37 Justin Dole Sr CB 18 Randee Drew Jr LB 45 Nick Duffy Jr CB 29 Deon Smith  Fr SS 48 Ray Smith Fr LB 40 Willie Smith So	Special teams Pos. # Name Class	Head coach Joe Novak Coordinators/assistant coaches George McDonald – Wide receivers Legend (C) Team captain (S) Suspended (I) Ineligible Injured Redshirt Roster Last update: October 2, 2002