March 01--The good news for Northern Illinois fans is that NIU will have six home games for the 2015 football season.
The more challenging news is that the Huskies will travel to Columbus, Ohio, on Sept. 19 to face defending national champion Ohio State.
NIU is coming off an 11-3 campaign, during which it captured another Mid-American Conference championship, its third in the last four years.
The Huskies open the season against UNLV on Sept. 5 at Huskie Stadium. The Rebels will be the first Mountain West Conference team to play in Huskie Stadium.
"We're excited to open the season with back-to-back home games this year, and really happy to be playing six games at Huskie Stadium instead of five [the last two years]," NIU coach Rod Carey said in a statement.
NIU has won 31 of its last 32 games played in Huskie Stadium, including a school-record 28-game home winning streak from 2009-2014.
The Huskies also travel to Boston College on Sept. 26. NIU is 0-1 all-time versus both Ohio State and Boston College. They lost 35-13 to OSU in the 2006 season- opener and 20-10 to Boston College in Chestnut Hill in 1971.
"Our mindset is conference first, and always will be," Carey said. "The MAC is a great league, and anytime you play teams that know each other well, it's going to be extremely competitive. No matter how your schedule falls every year, you have to take them one at a time."
fmitchell@tribpub.com
Northern Illinois University 2015 Football Schedule
September
5 UNLV
12 Murray State
19 at Ohio State
26 at Boston College
October
3 *at Central Michigan
10 *Ball State
17 *at Miami
24 *Eastern Michigan
November
3 *at Toledo
11 *at Buffalo
18 *Western Michigan
24 *Ohio
December
4 Marathon MAC Championship Game (Ford Field, Detroit)
*Mid-American Conference game
Huskies have won 31 of their last 32 games at Huskie Stadium
