DETROIT — Northern Illinois has been projected to win its third straight Mid-American Conference football championship in a media poll released Tuesday.
NIU returns 55 lettermen and 16 starters from last year’s team that went 12-2 overall, 8-0 in conference play. The Huskies became the first MAC team to play in a BCS Bowl, losing 38-10 to Florida State in the Orange Bowl.
Under first-year head coach Rod Carey, NIU returns senior quarterback Jordan Lynch, who was voted the league MVP last season and received votes for the Heisman Trophy after rushing for 1,815 yards. He ran for 19 touchdowns and threw for 3,138 yards and 25 touchdowns.
While NIU is the preseason pick to capture the MAC-West, Ohio was selected in the East with 164 total points. Northern Illinois had 16 first-place votes in the West and had 138 points. NIU opens its season at Iowa on Aug. 31.
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