1983 Northern Illinois Huskies football team

The 1983 Northern Illinois Huskies football team represented Northern Illinois University as a member of the Mid-American Conference (MAC) during 1983 NCAA Division I-A football season. Led by Bill Mallory in his fourth and final season as head coach, the Huskies compiled an overall record of 10–2 with a mark of 8–1 in conference play, winning he MAC title. Northern Illinois was invited to the California Bowl, where they beat played Cal State Fullerton. The team played home games at Huskie Stadium in DeKalb, Illinois.

1983 Northern Illinois Huskies football
MAC champion California Bowl champion
California Bowl, W 20–13 vs. Cal State Fullerton
Conference	Mid-American Conference
Record	10–2 (8–1 MAC)
Head coach	Bill Mallory (4th season)
Defensive coordinator	Joe Novak (4th season)
MVP	Tim Tyrrell
Captains	Scott Bolzan Steve Hirsch Jim Mukite
Home stadium	Huskie Stadium
Seasons ← 1982 1984 →

1983 Mid-American Conference football standings

v t e	Conf.							Overall
Team	W		L		T			W		L		T
Northern Illinois $	8	–	1	–	0			10	–	2	–	0
Toledo	7	–	2	–	0			9	–	2	–	0
Bowling Green	7	–	2	–	0			8	–	3	–	0
Central Michigan	7	–	2	–	0			8	–	3	–	0
Ball State	4	–	4	–	0			6	–	5	–	0
Western Michigan	4	–	5	–	0			6	–	5	–	0
Miami (OH)	3	–	5	–	0			4	–	7	–	0
Ohio	3	–	6	–	0			4	–	7	–	0
Kent State	1	–	8	–	0			1	–	10	–	0
Eastern Michigan	0	–	9	–	0			1	–	10	–	0
$ – Conference champion

The Huskies won their conference championship since 1965, since the 1965 team won the Interstate Intercollegiate Athletic Conference (IIAC) title during the final years of the conference's existence. The Huskies' trip to the California Bowl was also their first bowl game since 1965 and first bowl win since the 1963 team won the Mineral Water Bowl and was ranked atop the AP small college football rankings.

Schedule

Date	Opponent	Site	Result	Attendance	Source
September 3	at Kansas*	Memorial Stadium Lawrence, KS	W 37–34	26,000	[1]
September 10	at Wisconsin*	Camp Randall Stadium Madison, WI	L 9–37	56,941	[2]
September 24	at Kent State	Dix Stadium Kent, OH	W 38–7	8,321	[3]
October 1	at Ball State	Ball State Stadium Muncie, IN (rivalry)	W 27–14	15,075	[4]
October 8	Western Michigan	Huskie Stadium DeKalb, IL	W 27–3	26,250	[5]
October 15	at Eastern Michigan	Rynearson Stadium Ypsilanti, MI	W 34–15	8,010	[6]
October 22	Bowling Green	Huskie Stadium DeKalb, IL	W 24–23	18,500	[7]
October 29	at Miami (OH)	Yager Stadium Oxford, OH	W 17–0	27,866	[8]
November 5	at Central Michigan	Perry Shorts Stadium Mount Pleasant, MI	L 14–30	19,274	[9]
November 12	Toledo	Huskie Stadium DeKalb, IL	W 26–10	27,700	[10]
November 19	Ohio	Huskie Stadium DeKalb, IL	W 41–17	21,500	[11]
December 17	vs. Cal State Fullerton*	Bulldog Stadium Fresno, CA (California Bowl)	W 20–13	20,464	[12]
*Non-conference game Homecoming

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