2000 Northern Illinois Huskies football team

The 2000 Northern Illinois Huskies football team represented Northern Illinois University as a member of the West Division of the Mid-American Conference (MAC) during the 2000 NCAA Division I-A football season. Led by fifth-year head coach Joe Novak, the Huskies compiled an overall record of 6–5 with a mark of 4–3 in conference play, tying for third place in the MAC's West Division. Northern Illinois played home games at Huskie Stadium in DeKalb, Illinois.

2000 Northern Illinois Huskies football
Conference	Mid-American Conference
Division	West Division
Record	6–5 (4–3 MAC)
Head coach	Joe Novak (5th season)
Offensive coordinator	Dan Roushar (3rd season)
MVPs	Justin McCareins Buster Sampson
Captains	Ryan Diem Chris Finle Justin McCareins Cameron Saulsby Kevin Selover
Home stadium	Huskie Stadium
Seasons ← 1999 2001 →

2000 Mid-American Conference football standings

v t e	Div							Conf.							Overall
Team		W		L					W		L					W		L
East Division
Marshall xy$		5	–	1					5	–	3					8	–	5
Akron x		5	–	1					5	–	3					6	–	5
Ohio		4	–	2					5	–	3					7	–	4
Miami (OH)		4	–	2					5	–	3					6	–	5
Bowling Green		1	–	5					2	–	6					2	–	9
Buffalo		2	–	4					2	–	6					2	–	9
Kent State		0	–	6					1	–	7					1	–	10
West Division
Western Michigan xy		4	–	1					7	–	1					9	–	3
Toledo x		4	–	1					6	–	1					10	–	1
Northern Illinois		2	–	3					4	–	3					6	–	5
Ball State		2	–	3					4	–	3					5	–	6
Eastern Michigan		2	–	3					2	–	5					3	–	8
Central Michigan		1	–	4					2	–	6					2	–	9
Championship: Marshall 19, Western Michigan 14
$ – Conference champion x – Division champion/co-champions y – Championship game participant Due to an unbalanced conference schedule, the team with best division record within each division was awarded that division's championship game berth.

Schedule

Date	Time	Opponent	Site	TV	Result	Attendance	Source
August 31	7:00 pm	at Northwestern*	Ryan Field Evanston, IL		L 17–35	23,352
September 9	6:30 pm	No. 5 (I-AA) Illinois State*	Huskie Stadium DeKalb, IL		W 52–0	24,682	[1]
September 23	4:00 pm	at No. 20 Auburn*	Jordan-Hare Stadium Auburn, AL	PPV	L 14–31	79,635	[2]
September 30	12:00 pm	at Ball State	Ball State Stadium Muncie, IN (rivalry)		W 43–14	13,859
October 7	1:00 pm	UCF*	Huskie Stadium DeKalb, IL		W 40–20	18,148
October 14	6:00 pm	at Akron	Rubber Bowl Akron, OH		W 52–35	9,487
October 21	12:00 pm	at Western Michigan	Waldo Stadium Kalamazoo, MI	FSN	L 22–52	27,523
October 28	12:00 pm	Buffalo	Huskie Stadium DeKalb, IL	ESPN Plus	W 73–10	16,586
November 4	1:00 pm	Toledo	Huskie Stadium DeKalb, IL		L 24–38	13,354
November 11	12:00 pm	at Eastern Michigan	Rynearson Stadium Ypsilanti, MI		L 32–39	4,592
November 18	1:00 pm	Central Michigan	Huskie Stadium DeKalb, IL		W 40–6	6,016
*Non-conference game Homecoming Rankings from AP Poll released prior to the game All times are in Central time

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