2005 Northern Illinois Huskies football team

The 2005 Northern Illinois Huskies football team represented Northern Illinois University as a member of the West Division of the Mid-American Conference (MAC) during the 2005 NCAA Division I-A football season. Led by tenth-year head coach Joe Novak, the Huskies compiled an overall record of 7–5 with a mark of 6–2 in conference play, sharing the MAC's West Division title with Toledo. By virtue of their head-to-head win over Toledo, Northern Illinois advanced to the MAC Championship Game, where they lost to Akron. Despite reaching bowl eligibility, the Huskies were not invited to a bowl game. The team played home games at Huskie Stadium in DeKalb, Illinois.

2005 Northern Illinois Huskies football
MAC West co-champion
MAC Championship Game, L 30–31 vs. Akron
Conference	Mid-American Conference
Division	West Division
Record	7–5 (6–2 MAC)
Head coach	Joe Novak (10th season)
Offensive coordinator	John Bond (2nd season)
Defensive coordinator	Denny Doornbos (2nd season)
MVP	Garrett Wolfe
Captains	A. J. Harris Ray Smith Brian Van Acker
Home stadium	Huskie Stadium
Seasons ← 2004 2006 →

2005 Mid-American Conference football standings

v t e	Conf.							Overall
Team		W		L					W		L
East Division
Akron xy$		5	–	3					7	–	6
Miami (OH) x		5	–	3					7	–	4
Bowling Green x		5	–	3					6	–	5
Ohio		3	–	5					4	–	7
Buffalo		1	–	7					1	–	10
Kent State		0	–	8					1	–	10
West Division
Northern Illinois xy		6	–	2					7	–	5
Toledo x		6	–	2					9	–	3
Western Michigan		5	–	3					7	–	4
Central Michigan		5	–	3					6	–	5
Ball State		4	–	4					4	–	7
Eastern Michigan		3	–	5					4	–	7
Championship: Akron 31, NIU 30
$ – Conference champion x – Division champion/co-champions

Schedule

Date	Time	Opponent	Site	TV	Result	Attendance
September 3	2:30 pm	at No. 4 Michigan*	Michigan Stadium Ann Arbor, MI	ABC	L 17–33	110,971
September 10	4:00 pm	at Northwestern*	Ryan Field Evanston, IL	ESPNC	L 37–38	35,114
September 17	1:00 pm	Tennessee Tech*	Huskie Stadium DeKalb, IL	CSNC	W 42–3	26,123
September 24	5:00 pm	at Akron	Rubber Bowl Akron, OH		L 42–48 OT	15,612
October 5	7:30 pm	Miami(OH)	Huskie Stadium DeKalb, IL	ESPN2	W 38–27	20,023
October 15	3:00 pm	Eastern Michigan	Huskie Stadium DeKalb, IL	CSNC	W 24–8	27,641
October 22	12:00 pm	at Kent State	Dix Stadium Kent, OH		W 34–3	3,554
October 29	1:00 pm	Ball State	Huskie Stadium DeKalb, IL (rivalry)	ESPN Plus	L 17–31	18,732
November 5	12:00 pm	at Central Michigan	Kelly/Shorts Stadium Mount Pleasant, MI		W 31–28	13,812
November 16	6:30 pm	at Toledo	Glass Bowl Toledo, OH	ESPN2	W 35–17	20,912
November 23	1:00 pm	Western Michigan	Huskie Stadium DeKalb, IL	ESPN2	W 42–7	18,361
December 1	6:30 pm	vs. Akron*	Ford Field Detroit, MI (MAC Championship Game)	ESPN	L 30–31	12,051
*Non-conference game Homecoming Rankings from AP Poll released prior to the game All times are in Central time

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