Perhaps the most remarkable thing about Northern Illinois’ unbeaten record and No. 12 national ranking is that the Huskies have come from behind to beat all six of their opponents: Maryland, Tennessee Tech, Alabama, Iowa State, Ohio and Central Michigan. Coach Joe Novak and quarterback Josh Haldi discussed this phenomenon. “I admire our kids’ perseverance and poise,” Novak said, “but I don’t like our being behind in all six games. I never liked it. Our kids have confidence that they can come back, but sooner or later we’ll get caught doing this.” Said Haldi: “I really can’t explain our habit of falling behind. We believe in ourselves. We just never give up. We have a mind-set that we’ve been in this situation before, and we know how to get out of it.”
