When the 2009 season began, the Northern Illinois Huskies were projected to finish third in the Mid-American West behind Western and Central Michigan.

Now 10 games into the season, the Huskies (7-3, 5-1 MAC) will be no worse than the No. 2 team in the MAC West. With a win Saturday over Ohio in Athens, NIU will head into its game at Central Michigan with a trip to Detroit hanging in the balance.

The Huskies did what they needed to do these past four games with wins over Miami (OH), Akron, Eastern Michigan and Ball State. Those teams entered the Huskies' four-game stretch with a 1-25 record and enter this next week 4-37. Any losses would have been devastating for a MAC team fighting for a bowl.

But masked in the impres...

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