2004 NORTHERN ILLINOIS HUSKIES FOOTBALL TEAM

2004 Northern Illinois Huskies football
2004 Northern Illinois Huskies football
MAC West Division co-champion; Silicon Valley Football Classic champion
Silicon Valley Football Classic, W 34–21 vs. Troy
Conference	Mid-American Conference
	West Division
Record	9–3 (7–1 MAC)
Head coach	Joe Novak (9th season);
Offensive coordinator	John Bond (1st season)
Defensive coordinator	Denny Doornbos (1st season)
MVP	Garrett Wolfe, Brian Atkinson
Captain	Brian Atkinson, Josh Haldi, Lionel Hickenbottom, Jake VerStraete
Home stadium	Huskie Stadium
	Seasons ← 2003 2005 →

2004 Mid-American Conference football standings
v t e
Team	W		L	W		L
East Division
Miami (OH) x	7	–	1	8	–	5
Akron	6	–	2	6	–	5
Marshall	6	–	2	6	–	6
Kent State	4	–	4	5	–	6
Ohio	2	–	6	4	–	7
Buffalo	2	–	6	2	–	9
UCF	0	–	8	0	–	11
West Division
Toledo xy$	7	–	1	9	–	4
Northern Illinois x	7	–	1	9	–	3
Bowling Green	6	–	2	9	–	3
Eastern Michigan	4	–	4	4	–	7
Central Michigan	3	–	5	4	–	7
Ball State	2	–	6	2	–	9
Western Michigan	0	–	8	1	–	10
Championship: Toledo 35, Miami 27
$ – Conference champion x – Division champion/co-champions y – Championship game participant

The 2004 Northern Illinois Huskies football team represented Northern Illinois University as a member of the West Division of the Mid-American Conference (MAC) during the 2004 NCAA Division I-A football season. Led by ninth-year head coach Joe Novak, the Huskies compiled an overall record of 9–3 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 Northern Illinois, Toledo Rockets advanced to the MAC Championship Game. Northern Illinois was invited to the Silicon Valley Football Classic, where they beat Troy. The team played home games at Huskie Stadium in DeKalb, Illinois.

Schedule

Date	Time	Opponent	Site	TV	Result	Attendance	Source
September 4	5:00 pm	at No. 22 Maryland*	Byrd Stadium College Park, MD		L 20–23	51,830
September 11	3:00 pm	Southern Illinois*	Huskie Stadium DeKalb, IL	CSNC	W 23–22	28,071	^[1]
September 18	11:30 am	at Iowa State*	Jack Trice Stadium Ames, IA	FSN	L 41–48	39,902
September 24	6:00 pm	Bowling Green	Huskie Stadium DeKalb, IL	ESPN2	W 34–17	25,819
October 2	3:00 pm	Akron	Huskie Stadium DeKalb, IL	CSNC	W 49–19	26,266
October 9	5:00 pm	at UCF	Florida Citrus Bowl Orlando, FL		W 30–28	16,555
October 16	3:00 pm	Central Michigan	Huskie Stadium DeKalb, IL	CSNC	W 42–10	27,385
October 23	2:00 pm	at Western Michigan	Waldo Stadium Kalamazoo, MI	ESPN Plus	W 59–38	14,461
October 30	3:00 pm	at Ball State	Ball State Stadium Muncie, IN ( rivalry)	CSNC	W 38–31 ^OT	10,149
November 9	6:30 pm	Toledo	Huskie Stadium DeKalb, IL	ESPN2	L 17–31	27,719
November 20	12:00 pm	at Eastern Michigan	Rynearson Stadium Ypsilanti, MI	CSNC	W 34–16	4,251
December 30	10:00 pm	vs. Troy*	Spartan Stadium San Jose, CA ( Silicon Valley Football Classic)	ESPN2	W 34–21	21,456
*Non-conference game Homecoming Rankings from AP Poll released prior to the game All times are in Central time

^ Jauss, Bill (September 12, 2004). "NIU holds off Salukis' rally". Chicago Tribune. p. 3:13. Retrieved December 29, 2021 – via Newspapers.com.
^ "Northern Illinois Official Athletic Site - Football". Archived from the original on November 19, 2012. Retrieved October 24, 2012.

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v t e Northern Illinois Huskies football
Venues	Glidden Field (1903–1948, 1951–1965) Dekalb Township High School football field (1949–1950) Huskie Stadium (1965–present)
Bowls & rivalries	Bowl games Ball State: Bronze Stalk Trophy
Culture & lore	" Huskie Fight Song" Huskie Band
People	Head coaches NFL draftees Statistical leaders
Seasons	1899 1900 1901 1902 1903 1904 1905 1906 1907 1908 1909 1910 1911 1912 1913 1914 1915 1916 1917–1919 1920 1921 1922 1923 1924 1925 1926 1927 1928 1929 1930 1931 1932 1933 1934 1935 1936 1937 1938 1939 1940 1941 1942 1943 1944 1945 1946 1947 1948 1949 1950 1951 1952 1953 1954 1955 1956 1957 1958 1959 1960 1961 1962 1963 1964 1965 1966 1967 1968 1969 1970 1971 1972 1973 1974 1975 1976 1977 1978 1979 1980 1981 1982 1983 1984 1985 1986 1987 1988 1989 1990 1991 1992 1993 1994 1995 1996 1997 1998 1999 2000 2001 2002 2003 2004 2005 2006 2007 2008 2009 2010 2011 2012 2013 2014 2015 2016 2017 2018 2019 2020 2021 2022 2023 2024
National championship seasons in bold

v t e Northern Illinois Huskies football
Venues	Glidden Field (1903–1948, 1951–1965) Dekalb Township High School football field (1949–1950) Huskie Stadium (1965–present)
Bowls & rivalries	Bowl games Ball State: Bronze Stalk Trophy
Culture & lore	" Huskie Fight Song" Huskie Band
People	Head coaches NFL draftees Statistical leaders
Seasons	1899 1900 1901 1902 1903 1904 1905 1906 1907 1908 1909 1910 1911 1912 1913 1914 1915 1916 1917–1919 1920 1921 1922 1923 1924 1925 1926 1927 1928 1929 1930 1931 1932 1933 1934 1935 1936 1937 1938 1939 1940 1941 1942 1943 1944 1945 1946 1947 1948 1949 1950 1951 1952 1953 1954 1955 1956 1957 1958 1959 1960 1961 1962 1963 1964 1965 1966 1967 1968 1969 1970 1971 1972 1973 1974 1975 1976 1977 1978 1979 1980 1981 1982 1983 1984 1985 1986 1987 1988 1989 1990 1991 1992 1993 1994 1995 1996 1997 1998 1999 2000 2001 2002 2003 2004 2005 2006 2007 2008 2009 2010 2011 2012 2013 2014 2015 2016 2017 2018 2019 2020 2021 2022 2023 2024
National championship seasons in bold

2004 Northern Illinois Huskies football

MAC West Division co-champion Silicon Valley Football Classic champion
Silicon Valley Football Classic, W 34–21 vs. Troy
Conference	Mid-American Conference
Division	West Division
Record	9–3 (7–1 MAC)
Head coach	Joe Novak (9th season)
Offensive coordinator	John Bond (1st season)
Defensive coordinator	Denny Doornbos (1st season)
MVP	Garrett Wolfe, Brian Atkinson
Captain	Brian Atkinson, Josh Haldi, Lionel Hickenbottom, Jake VerStraete
Home stadium	Huskie Stadium
Seasons ← 2003 2005 →