Huskies head to Fayetteville hoping to extend streak

Northern Illinois quarterback Anthony Maddie (1) looks to a pass against Northwestern during the first half of an NCAA college football game in Evanston, Ill., Saturday, Sept. 6, 2014. (AP Photo/Nam Y. Huh)

FAYETTEVILLE -- The last time Northern Illinois' football team played at Arkansas 20 years ago, the Huskies were roadkill.

Arkansas' 30-27 victory over Northern Illinois at Reynolds Razorback Stadium on Nov. 12, 1994, was part of a 3-39 road record for the Huskies in 1991-1998.

Times have changed for Northern Illinois.

The Huskies (3-0) will bring a 17-game road winning streak -- the nation's longest -- into Saturday night's game at Arkansas (2-1).

Most victories in the road streak have come against the Huskies' fellow Mid-American Conference teams, but they have also beaten three Big Ten teams. They won 30-27 at Iowa and 55-24 at Purdue last season and 23-15 at Northwestern on Sept. 6 this season.

Northern Illinois extended its road winning streak by beating UNLV 49-34 last Saturday night. Rod Carey, the Huskies' second-year head coach, has yet to lose a road game, going 9-0 so far.

Central Michigan was the last home team to beat Northern Illinois, 48-41, on Oct. 1, 2011.

"There's no magical dust we wave on our heads when we go on the road," Carey said Monday. "I think this team travels well, and they understand what they have to do to get themselves ready to be on the road.

"Obviously, we're going down to a tough environment to play. It's going to be loud. Arkansas has a great fan base. We just have to do like we've done."

While the Huskies played in the Orange Bowl two years ago -- where they lost to Florida State 31-10 after trailing 17-10 in the fourth quarter -- Northern Illinois still needs to play power conference teams on the road for financial reasons.

"Life for MAC teams, you play on the road quite a bit," Carey said. "Last year we had seven. This year we have seven again.

"I think confidence comes from repetition, whether that's practice or going on the road. We have a lot of repetition going on the road. I think that probably breeds some of the confidence, but it still comes down to execution and making plays."

Beating Northwestern, located in Evanston, Ill., close to Northern Illinois' campus in DeKalb, was especially big for the Huskies in the battle for bragging rights in the Chicago area.

"It is significant," Carey said after the Northwestern game. "We don't stick our heads in the sand and say this isn't special. It certainly is."

Northern Illinois alumni celebrated beating Northwestern by taking out a full-page ad in the Chicago Tribune touting the Huskies as "Chicago's Big-Time College Team!" The ad included a challenge to Illinois with the message, "Next? We Are Looking at You Illini."

Arkansas Coach Bret Bielema said the ad reminded him of Fresno State's slogan -- "Anybody, Anytime, Anywhere" -- under former coach Pat Hill.

"They're an extremely confident group," Bielema said of the Huskies. "I think they really buy into that."

Northern Illinois' road winning streak includes two victories at Toledo.

"I think it's a program philosophy for them right now," Toledo Coach Matt Campbell said of the Huskies' road success. "They believe in who they are. T

hey really do a great job in their execution on both sides of the ball and in the special teams game.

"When that culture is created within a program, it just travels with you."

Kent State Coach Paul Haynes, the Razorbacks' defensive coordinator in 2012, said the Huskies won't be intimidated playing at Arkansas.

"Arkansas is a special place, and it'll be loud and it'll be rocking like crazy, but they've been in some big venues and tackled them," Haynes said. "They're tough, and that starts from the top.

"Their head coach is a tough guy, and they're very good on fundamentals. They don't beat themselves."

Northern Illinois, which returned 15 starters from last season's 12-2 team, has reloaded with redshirt sophomore quarterback Drew Hare taking over for Jordan Lynch, who finished seventh and third in the Heisman Trophy voting in 2012 and 2013.

"Jordan was a big part of it, but not the only part," Haynes said. "They've got a lot of great football players. They've got good personnel."

Carey said the Huskies have had a lot of quality players in addition to Lynch, such as running backs Michael Turner and Garrett Wolfe and quarterback Chandler Harnish.

"The expectations are that you can't and you won't replace great players like that, but you can and will have someone in there playing that position and the expectations are such that you go in and you execute," Carey said. "To meet big expectations, it takes daily work ethic.

"There's an old saying about success isn't owned, it's rented, and the rent's due every day."

Sports on 09/16/2014