1998 Northern Illinois Huskies football team

The 1998 Northern Illinois Huskies football team represented Northern Illinois University as a member of the West Division of the Mid-American Conference (MAC) during the 1998 NCAA Division I-A football season. Led by third-year head coach Joe Novak, the Huskies compiled an overall record of 2–9 with a mark of 2–6 in conference play, placing fifth in the MAC's West Division. Northern Illinois played home games at Huskie Stadium in DeKalb, Illinois.

1998 Northern Illinois Huskies football
Conference	Mid-American Conference
Division	West Division
Record	2–9 (2–6 MAC)
Head coach	Joe Novak (3rd season)
Offensive coordinator	Dan Roushar (1st season)
MVPs	Duane Hawthorne Deon Mitchell
Captains	Perry Amoo Orlando Bowen Deon Mitchell
Home stadium	Huskie Stadium
Seasons ← 1997 1999 →

1998 Mid-American Conference football standings

v t e	Conf.							Overall
Team		W		L					W		L
East Division
Marshall xy$		7	–	1					12	–	1
Miami (OH) x		7	–	1					10	–	1
Bowling Green		5	–	3					5	–	6
Ohio		5	–	3					5	–	6
Akron		3	–	6					4	–	7
Kent State		0	–	8					0	–	11
West Division
Toledo x		6	–	2					7	–	5
Western Michigan		5	–	3					7	–	4
Central Michigan		5	–	3					6	–	5
Eastern Michigan		3	–	6					3	–	8
Northern Illinois		2	–	6					2	–	9
Ball State		1	–	7					1	–	10
Championship: Marshall 23, Toledo 17
$ – Conference champion x – Division champion/co-champions y – Championship game participant

Schedule

Date	Time	Opponent	Site	TV	Result	Attendance
September 3	7:30 pm	at Western Michigan	Waldo Stadium Kalamazoo, MI		L 23–37	35,107
September 12	11:30 am	at No. 5 Kansas State*	KSU Stadium Manhattan, KS	FSN	L 7–73	41,967
September 19	6:30 pm	Eastern Illinois*	Huskie Stadium DeKalb, IL		L 10–24	20,184
October 3	1:00 pm	at Ball State	Ball State Stadium Muncie, IN (rivalry)		L 13–18	16,829
October 10	5:00 pm	at UCF*	Florida Citrus Bowl Orlando, FL		L 17–38	30,415
October 17	11:00 am	Central Michigan	Huskie Stadium DeKalb, IL	FSN	W 16–6	15,012
October 24	5:00 pm	at Eastern Michigan	Rynearson Stadium Ypsilanti, MI		W 26–14	8,423
October 31	11:00 am	Toledo	Huskie Stadium DeKalb, IL	FSN	L 3–16	14,931
November 7	11:30 am	Miami (OH)	Huskie Stadium DeKalb, IL		L 10–41	15,867
November 14	12:00 pm	at Ohio	Peden Stadium Athens, OH		L 12–28	16,172
November 21	12:30 pm	Bowling Green	Huskie Stadium DeKalb, IL		L 23–34	11,380
*Non-conference game Rankings from AP Poll released prior to the game All times are in Central time

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